Meet Scotland's expert in gay divorce cases

SHE has emerged as Scotland's leading "gay divorce" lawyer, making legal history as the first civil partnerships fail to last.

And solicitor Rachael Kelsey claims that while both gay and straight couples usually split up for the same reasons, gay couples are less likely to argue over trivial items in the event of a break-up.

Edinburgh-based Kelsey has found herself dealing with break-ups resulting from Scotland's newest family institution in her role as a family law practitioner.

Since they were legalised in 2005, there have been more than 1,000 civil partnerships solemnised in Scotland, and more than 18,000 across the UK.

But, just like traditional marriages, not all have lasted. Only last week it emerged that Little Britain star Matt Lucas and his partner Kevin McGee had split 18 months after their civil partnership ceremony.

Kelsey, a family law expert with Edinburgh firm Pagan Osborne, has dealt with eight cases involving the break-up of a civil partnership since the law was changed. A third of her current family law caseload comes from same-sex partnerships. "The cases tend to be very similar to straight divorces. The disputes will be about money and property. I think that over time the rate for splitting up will be the same as for straight couples.

"One of the things you notice, at least in the cases I have dealt with so far, is that the gay couples don't tend to argue about minor trivial items as much as the straight ones."

In some cases, the two parties came to her with everything already arranged in order for there to be an amicable split.

Kelsey, who has been a lawyer since 1996, developed a track-record among the gay community through dealing with equal rights cases early in her career. That meant that when civil partnerships were brought in she was already known among same-sex couples.

A legal insider said: "She has built up a reputation over the years for being one of the most respected lawyers among the gay community."

Kelsey said that before civil partnerships, some same-sex couples would agree on future division of assets – in the event of a split – through legal contracts.

Explaining her interest in equality issues, she said: "I think many people get into law to help people be treated fairly."

Jonathon Creel and his partner Malcolm Kennedy entered into a civil partnership in 2006 after being together for 10 years.

Creel, who works with an HIV charity in Edinburgh, said: "The point from the lawyer about gay couples not arguing so much about 'trivial' things is interesting. I don't think it's because gay couples are somehow 'better' but that there is a different kind of power balance in the relationship.

"Gay couples might often both be working, they might be professionals, they are likely to bring the same things to a relationship. And when they split up, you are less likely to have one side feeling that they have given up a lot for the other partner."

Calum Irving, from the equality organisation, Stonewall Scotland, added: "I think it will become clear over time that gay couples are basically much the same as any other couple. They will be as likely to stay together and as likely to split as anyone else."

Matt Lucas, who is worth an estimated £15m, is the first high-profile gay "divorcee". He "married" his long-term boyfriend McGee in December 2006 and their ceremony was followed by a lavish pantomime-themed reception at a 17th-century palace in London. They said their split was "amicable".

Love by numbers

According to the Office for National Statistics, 18,059 couples, or 36,118 individuals, entered into an officially recognised civil partnership in the UK between December 2005 and the end of December 2006, the latest date for which figures are available. Most of the partnerships involved mature couples, with the average age being 47 for men and 44 for women.

Over the same period, there were 275,400 conventional marriages and 133,000 divorces.