Civil Partnership & Relationship Breakdown

A civil partnership is a legally-registered relationship between two people of the same sex.  If you want to end your civil partnership, you need to get permission from the Court.

You can ask the Court to grant:-

A Dissolution Order: Your civil partnership must have lasted for at least one year before you can apply for a dissolution order.

• A Separation Order: You don’t have to wait until your civil partnership has lasted for a year before you can apply for a separation order.  You can apply for a separation order at any time.
• An Annulment.

Grounds to Dissolve a Civil Partnership

To dissolve your civil partnership, an application will need to be made to Court.  Your civil partnership must have lasted at least one year before applying.  You must prove to the Court that the civil partnership has ‘irretrievably’ broken down – that is broken down on a permanent basis.  You must be able to prove at least one of the following things:

• Your partner has behaved unreasonably
• You and your partner have lived apart for two years, and that you both agreed to the dissolution
• You and your partner have lived apart for at least five years, if only one of you agrees to the dissolution
• Your partner deserted you at least two years ago.

The Dissolution Process

If you decide to start dissolution proceedings then there is a legal process that you must follow. Our expert Family Law Solicitors can deal with drafting all of the Court paperwork on your behalf, advising and assisting you through the process and discussing any issues as and when they arise.

We will make an application to the Court on one of the above grounds. If there is agreement to the dissolution the Court will consider the matter and make a conditional order of dissolution.  The dissolution will be made final six weeks from the date of the conditional order.

Separation Orders

If you want to separate but don’t want to dissolve the civil partnership (or it’s been less than a year since you registered your civil partnership), you can apply to the Court for a separation order.

You don’t have to wait for a year after registering your civil partnership before you can apply for a separation order and you don’t have to have been living apart from your partner first.  However, neither of you will be free to register another civil partnership (or to marry) unless you get a dissolution order.

If your civil partnership does not meet one of the required conditions the Court can end the partnership by granting an annulment.

Fixed Fee Civil Partnership Dissolution Packages

We offer a fixed fee for a straightforward Civil Partnership Dissolution of £595 plus VAT plus Court fees.  The Court fees are currently £550.

You may be entitled to a fee remission so you do not have to pay the Court fees quoted above. We can advise if you are eligible for this and how to apply including the documents required by the Court when you instruct us.

If there are complications or if the matter becomes contested then there may be additional charges and further Court fees payable.

Call our specialist Family Solicitors now on 0844 800 9860 for a free telephone consultation or request a call back through this website.