Gavin This is the comment of the Commission on your query: "Although I would still be interested to know what sort of date the court was liable to "determine" - was it the start of the cohabitation, or the 5th anniversary, or what?" "The law on marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute gives rise to a number of difficulties. First, what is a sufficient length of cohabitation? No firm answer can be given. It was stated in the Inner House in 1909 that a period of 10 months was not enough. " More recently, however, a period of 10 months and 23 days was accepted as sufficient in the Outer House. Secondly, what is sufficient reputation? Again no firm answer can be given. The fact that a few people know that the cohabitants have never been regularly married will not necessarily prevent a marriage, but the repute of marriage must be "substantially unvarying and consistent". Thirdly, when will the presumption of tacit consent be rebutted? Clearly the presumption will be rebutted if both parties deny, credibly, that they ever intended to get married. Indeed, as both parties must consent, it should be sufficient if one party denies ever having had matrimonial intent, provided that he or she is believed. .......... A further problem is that of fixing the date of the marriage. There are cases and dicta which tend to push the date of the marriage back to the earliest possible date -for example, the date when cohabitation began or when an impediment to the marriage is removed -but, as a matter of logic, it seems odd to regard a marriage as constituted before the requirements for it (including a sufficient period of cohabitation in Scotland while the parties are free to marry) have been fulfilled. It was for these reasons that the Commission recommended its abolition but this was not implemented. Other recommendations were enacted in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 relating to parental responsibilities and guardianship. John