“As a specialist Family Law firm you can be assured of the best possible advice, client care and outcomes”
Amy Walklate of Amy Walklate Family Law has several years’ experience of handling the Dissolution of Civil partnerships.
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 gave same-sex couples the right to enter into a Civil Partnership. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 granted those registered in a Civil Partnership the ability to convert their partnership into a marriage.
Grounds for Dissolution
As a civil partner applying for the Dissolution Order you need to satisfy the Court that your Civil Partnership has permanently broken down on the basis of one of the following grounds, these are the same as for divorce except you cannot rely on the basis of adultery:
- Unreasonable behaviour of one party
- 2 years separation and you both consent to the Divorce
- 5 years separation (consent of your partner is not required)
- Desertion
Dissolution proceedings cannot be issued within the first year of registration of the civil partnership.
The procedure
In the case of 2 years separation the consent of your partner should be obtained to avoid difficulties later in the proceedings. If you intend to rely on the unreasonable behaviour of your Partner, the Dissolution petition will be prepared and approved by you and will contain 5 to 6 particulars of behaviour upon which you wish to rely, depending on the severity of the behaviour. The Petition will then forwarded to your partner, or their solicitor, to see if the particulars can be agreed prior to forwarding to the court to try to avoid defended proceedings or animosity.
The Dissolution Petition will then be sent to the court to be issued with the Civil Partnership Certificate and court fee, currently £593. The petition will then be served on your partner. Your partner will file an Acknowledgment of Service to confirm whether or not they intend to defend the proceedings.
If the proceedings are undefended you may then apply to the court for a Conditional Order of Dissolution. This is the first decree in the process certifying that you are entitled to dissolution. After the pronouncement of the Conditional Order, you must wait a further 6 weeks and 1 day before applying for the Final Order. This is the final decree and will dissolve the civil partnership.
The procedure normally takes 4-6 months. As with divorce if a financial settlement has not been reached it may be sensible to postpone the application for the Final Order until the finances have been resolved.
Civil Partnership can be confusing and it is best to obtain specialist advice.
At Amy Walklate Family Law Limited we offer specialised Civil Partnership Dissolution advice at competitive prices.