Civil partnerships protect you and your partner financially without the traditional aspects of marriage. If you need advice on entering into a civil partnership, our family lawyers are here to help you take the next step. On the other hand, if you're looking to dissolve your civil partnership following the breakdown of your relationship, our team can guide you through the process and secure the best outcome for you.

Entering into a civil partnership

A civil partnership is a legal relationship registered between two people who are not related to each other.

Marriage is not for everybody, and a civil partnership offers an alternative to marriage that gives your relationship legal recognition. Civil partnerships are available to both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples.

It is always our advice that you consider a pre-civil partnership agreement first.. This is a formal contract that you would enter into before you form your civil partnership, which sets out what will happen if you wish to dissolve your partnership in the future. This agreement gives you an opportunity to protect any pre-acquired assets in the event of the partnership breaking down.

What are the advantages of a civil partnership?

Many of the advantages of a civil partnership are similar to those of a marriage. Some examples include:

• If you or your civil partner die without making a will, the other partner will inherit some or all of your property.
• You benefit from an exemption from inheritance tax as a civil partner.
•  You will often obtain pension benefits as a civil partner.
• You have the ability to obtain parental responsibility for a partner’s child.
• You will have “home rights” – i.e., you will have a right to remain in the home, regardless of who bought it or has a mortgage on it, unless a court has ordered otherwise.

How can you dissolve a civil partnership?

A civil partnership can only be ended if one of you dies, or by applying to the court to bring the partnership to an end. You cannot apply to dissolve a civil partnership before the partnership is one year old.

The introduction of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 has meant that since 6 April 2022, you no longer have to place blame on your partner to end a civil partnership. All that is required is a statement confirming that the relationship has irretrievably broken down. The new law also means that the dissolution cannot be disputed - unless the civil partnership is less than one year in length or the courts of England and Wales are not the correct place for the dissolution to take place. 

There is a minimum period of 20 weeks from the start of proceedings to when the “Conditional Order” can be made. Usually, parties will use this time to make arrangements to divide their finances or agree arrangements for their children.

Financial settlement following the breakdown of your partnership

Civil partners have a legal responsibility to support each other financially, and on the breakdown of a civil partnership the couple have the same claims for financial relief as married couples:-

1. Income claim – this is a claim for your spouse to make monthly payments to you for a specified period of time or indefinitely. It must be demonstrated that you require financial support in order to meet your income needs
2. Capital claim – this includes claims against capital assets, such as the family home
3. Pension claim – this is a claim against your partner’s pension. Where pension assets are significant, it may be necessary to instruct a pension actuary for specialist advice

Our specialist family lawyers are here to give expert advice, whether you are considering entering into a civil partnership, or you believe that your civil partnership may have broken down irretrievably. Please get in touch for a free 15 minute telephone conversation where we can find out more about your situation and tell you how we can help.