PART 7MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL
Miscellaneous
108Meaning of “family” and “spouse”: cohabitation
1
For the purposes of this Act, a person (“A”) is a member of another’s (“B's”) family if—
a
A is the spouse of B, or A and B live together as husband and wife or in a relationship which has the characteristics of the relationship between husband and wife except that the persons are of the same sex, or
b
A is B’s parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.
2
For the purpose of subsection (1)(b)—
a
a relationship by marriage is to be treated as a relationship by blood,
b
a relationship of the half-blood is to be treated as a relationship of the whole blood,
c
the stepchild of a person is to be treated as that person’s child, and
d
a person brought up or treated by another person as if the person were the child of the other person is to be treated as that person’s child.
3
In section 83 (members of a person’s family) of the 1987 Act—
a
in subsection (1)(a), after “wife” insert “or in a relationship which has the characteristics of the relationship between husband and wife except that the persons are of the same sex”,
b
in subsection (2), after paragraph (c) insert—
ca
a person brought up or treated by another person as if the person were the child of the other person shall be treated as that person’s child;
c
after subsection (2) insert—
3
Except in subsection (1)(a), references in this Act to a person’s spouse include references to another person living together with that person as husband and wife or in a relationship which has the characteristics of the relationship between husband and wife except that the persons are of the same sex.