Mary Welstead Visiting Professor in Family Law University of BuckinghamIt is questionable whether the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970 is out of date. Why should engaged couples be treated more favourably than the non-engaged with respect to financial disputes following a relationship breakdown. Lord Denning noted in Bernard v Joseph ([1982] 2 WLR 1052) that the term engagement is an ‘undetermined and indeterminable’ concept. They illustrate the time-honored tradition of a man kneeling on one knee to request his loved one’s hand in marriage. Because the 1970 Act is silent on the meaning of the term engagement the court is left to infer whether a couple were engaged before deciding financial claims under the Act.