Non-traditional families; the next hot topic in european family law

I have just come home from the annual conference on European family law in Trier, Germany. We have discussed and debated everything from marital property regimes in Muslim jurisdictions to electronic apostilles (e-APP). I believe however, that one of the most burning topics right now are the rights of non-traditional families. EU has done great progress when it comes to the handling of property rights in relation to cross-border inheritance. But the next big challenge will without question be rights that spring from marriage and partnerships. The different views on for example same sex marriages, non-traditional families and surrogacy, was the reason why marital property was left outside the EU inheritance regulation (applicable from August 2015). EU cannot for very much longer hide from the fact that there are many non-traditional families within EU, and by traditional families EU means mom, dad + child/ren. The different take on the matter causes problems since you might have rights in one country and in the next one you do not.

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