(a) Separate Legal Personalities
In Balfour v. Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571, which is still the leading case, the Court of Appeal held that an agreement between a husband and wife in respect of maintenance was unenforceable because there was no intention to enter into legal relations. However, this is an old case, and times have changed since then. Today in family law there is a considerable emphasis on the importance of reaching agreement, and there has even been discussion about making pre-nuptial agreements enforceable. For these reasons, the presumption in Balfour against legal relations between family members is unlikely to apply, unless there is inequality of bargaining power or some other vitiating factor.
(b)Property Rights
(c)Parental Responsibility
(d)Protection Against Violence
(e)Rights on Marriage Breakdown
(f) Rights in Respect of Adoption
(g) Citizenship and Immigration