It does bind you with greater legal obligations to each other however it is a protection for both parties. For instance: - Property titles, bank accounts, insurance contracts and 'Last Will and Testaments' are often still drawn up with the clause "the espoused" in them. This term in court refers 'only' to those legally wedded under Australian law. Also if a pagan partner dies and if other relatives contest the will, a non-legal marriage could make the surviving partner miss out on everything intended for them. Also the reality is that relationships start nicely but they don't always end that way. So you can see, that if a couple decided to separate and it is not amicable, and one of them wants to create trouble, the other party can find that legally, in many circumstances, they don't have a leg to stand on.

It's points of law, but important points of law.

A slight digression. The thing that worries me the most is the legal situation as regards SAME SEX MARRIAGES... they cannot be made legal and have no defecate rights. They get screwed over all the time. This is an issue that the Pagan community could get behind full force - LEGALIZE THE RITES OF SAME SEX MARRIAGES - and de factos, as they are many same sex couples with in the Pagan community.

A traditional handfasting that is not legalized is currently considered to be a de facto relationship under Australian law. The parties do have rights under common-law legislation that commence 6 months from the commencement of cohabitation. However the points mentioned above and more, can be contested. common-law covering marriages comes from a body of pre-existing laws that recognize many forms of marriage that included handfastings. It is also to your advantage to be aware that prenuptial and co-habitation agreements have been given greater weight under Australian law as of February 2002.

Who can legally marry you as a Pagan?
As a pagan you obviously want someone to perform your handfasting who is spiritually capable. This could be your High Priest/ess, a relative a friend or your teacher. Whoever you feel comfortable with. Always trust your instincts. Don't be swayed by what others say. This is your special day and the final decision is yours. If you want your handfasting to be a legally binding one, a registered "Marriage Celebrant" must solemnize the signing of the documents. Which means, if you want to make it legal you have 2 choices:-

1) Search out a registered Pagan celebrant to officiate and solemnize legally.
2) Have whoever you like to officiate and have a civil celebrant legally solemnize. In other words, a civil servant cannot officiate on any religious grounds...but you can have a minister of religion i.e. Pagan, attending to that and the civil servant just handling the paper work.

Also your handfasting will not be legal if you get a Christian minister to preside over a Pagan ceremony. I have heard of this happening on many, many occasions. Scary, but true! Sure they can perform the ritual you may have written for them but the Australian government will not recognize the marriages. That means, I, as a registered "Pagan" celebrant, cannot perform Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Calathumpian or weddings of any other faith. You have to declare which rites you are married under on the documents. If you are unsure please check with the "Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages" in the state of Australia in which you were wedded. My license says "Pagan" and that’s all that I can perform. A marriage celebrant when applying as a "religious" celebrant must state which denomination he/she is laboring for. As a religious celebrant, one has to submit a copy of the ceremony / rites under which you will be marring couples. The rite / ceremony is submitted when you apply for your registration. If you perform a ritual that deviates vastly, (i.e. the Spiritualist Church rites though very spiritual, are basically Christian rites and not Pagan,) the marriage is not legal under the provisions of the Australian Marriage act 1961. Some times people who have been registered as religious celebrants of other faiths become pagan however they are still only licensed to perform weddings according to the rites they have registered. This is stressed to us when we get our religious celebrant's license. Any celebrant of another religion that says they can legally handfast you with Pagan rites is misleading you and themselves.

Why worry about all of this?
To have Pagan rites performed by a religious celebrant of any other religion will leave you exposed to the dangers mentioned in the previous section. It is another point of law, but important also, as some of those marriages mentioned previously may not be legal. There will be hell to pay if the couple go to divorce, or one party dies. Their legal rights may not be able to be upheld. The last thing the Pagan community is a scandal news story about "Illegal Pagan Weddings'. And besides if you really want to be legally handfasted, you might as well be getting what you want.

What if you are of the number who have been legally married but incorrectly?

Where do you stand?
What can you do? Illegal marriages can be corrected by performing another legal ceremony. But their status may only be common law before this. If any one thinks they have a problem with this, you may contact me privately,

So can I legally have our ceremony altered so that it incorporates our God/desses and means something to us personally?
A ceremony may be tailored but it must stay close to the originally registered rite / ceremony and legal clauses must be maintained. You must ask your celebrant about her / his registered ceremonies if you are about to be legally handfasted.