Civil Partnerships

What is a civil partnership A civil partnership is a legally-registered relationship between two people of the same sex. A civil partnership will come to an end if you or your civil partner dies. If you want to end your civil partnership before this time then you will need to get permission from a court. There are different ways you can ask a court to end your civil partnership.

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 to a court for a dissolution order. You must prove to the court that the civil partnership has 'irretrievably' broken down - that is broken down on a permanent basis. We can advise you on the best course of action to take.

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.

An annulment. For a civil partnership to be legal, it must meet certain conditions. For example, you must both be over 16 when you register and you must not already be a civil partner or married to someone else. If your civil partnership does not meet one of these conditions, the court can end the partnership by granting an annulment.

If you're not a British citizen, ending a civil partnership may affect your right to stay in the UK. You will have to sort out financial and housing arrangements as well as sorting out any child care issues if relevant. This can all be extremely stressful and at some point you may require the help of a solicitor to guide you through the process.

Where children are concerned, the the court will sometimes ask you and your partner, and any other parents involved, to meet with the Children and Family Reporter to see if you can sort things out without having to go on with the court case. If you can come to an agreement at this stage, the judge can make an order to confirm what was agreed. If you can't come to an agreement, the judge can order that a report is produced before the case goes any further.

The Mckinnells Family Team offer prompt and practical support on how to cope with relationship and childcare problems as well as how to resolve them.

Meet the Family Law team...