Civil Partnership Divorce

Civil partnership in the UK is used as an alternative to marriage, by both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, but in the event of a relationship breakdown is there such thing as a civil partnership divorce and if so how do you go about ending a civil partnership?

How to dissolve a civil partnership

To end or dissolve a civil partnership you need to apply to a court for a civil partnership dissolution order. This process is very similar to filing for divorce but is called civil partnership dissolution.

You can only apply to dissolve your civil partnership if you’ve been in the partnership for a year or more. However, during the first year of your civil partnership, you can instead apply for a legal separation if you wish.

The dissolution of civil partnership process in England or Wales is known as civil partnership dissolution and the steps for this process are almost the same as those taken when filing for divorce.

If you have children, you will have to sort out living arrangements for them when you end a civil partnership, just as a divorcing married couple would have to.

START YOUR CIVIL PARTNERSHIP DISSOLUTION FOR JUST £249

Do civil partners have the same rights as married couples?

Yes, just like a marriage, a civil partnership officially recognises a relationship between two individuals. Therefore in the eyes of the law, civil partnership is identical to marriage – civil partners have the same legal rights, responsibilities and tax benefits as though they were married.

So, in summary the legal rights of civil partners are generally much the same as those provided by marriage, which include:

• Rights to property – Joint ownership of assets with a fair division upon dissolution
• Inheritance rights – Inheritance of a portion of the estate in the event of death without a will – with an exemption from inheritance tax
• Pension rights – Entitlement to pension sharing and certain other benefits
• Tax benefits – Married Couple’s Allowance and transfer of assets tax-free
• Parental responsibility – Opposite-sex civil partners automatically have parental responsibility for a partner’s child if they are the child’s biological mother or father

Civil partnership dissolution financial settlement

Just as with divorce, when you apply for a dissolution order to dissolve a civil partnership it is highly recommended that a financial settlement is reached between both parties.

If you can arrange your finances at the same time as dissolving a civil partnership you can achieve a ‘clean break’. This ensures both parties can move on with their lives, knowing that neither can make any future financial claims.

Even if you have had a short civil partnership and there are no joint assets like property, savings or pensions it is still important to obtain a legally binding clean break order.

If you do have assets or property to deal with our Civil Partnership Dissolution & Clean Break Consent Order Service helps you to achieve a simple, affordable, and hassle-free dissolution whilst also dealing with separating your money and assets. (This is labelled ‘Managed Divorce & Consent Order’)

Using this service will also prevent any future claims from being made on inheritance money, future property purchases or pensions for example.

Our service is fully managed, you just need to provide the relevant financial information and then check and sign the drafted documents. Your personal case manager will be on hand to answer any questions.

This combined service suits those who want to include the matters listed below as part of their financial agreement and offers a cost saving of £99 compared to buying individual services:

• Clean break order – Preventing future claims.
• Sale or transfer of any property
• Personal belongings
• Child and/or Spousal maintenance
• Savings and/or Debt provisions
• Lump-sum payments
• Business assets or investments
• Division of pensions

Dissolution of civil partnership process

The process of dissolving a civil partnership in England or Wales can only happen once your civil union has lasted for one year and is done by applying to a court for a civil partnership dissolution order, then paying the court fee which is currently £593.

How long does it take to get a civil partnership dissolved?

A civil partnership dissolution order generally takes around 7 months from initial filing to the final order being granted by the court.

To get a civil partnership dissolved you first must declare to the court that the civil partnership has irretrievably broken down. Following a 20 weeks pause, called a reflection period, the court will grant a conditional order. A day after a further 6 weeks pause called a cooling-off period the conditional order will be followed up with a final order that officially dissolves the civil partnership.

For more information see Divorce Process Explained as the dissolution of civil partnership process is much the same.

How much does it cost to dissolve a civil partnership

The court cost in England or Wales when you apply to end a civil partnership online or by post is £593 – but if you don’t want the responsibility of making the application yourself, our fixed-fee dissolution service costs just an additional £249 to arrange the civil partnership dissolution order on your behalf.

In total, the dissolution of civil partnership process will cost you £792 including VAT when using our family law service.