Civil Partnership Dissolution: Dissolving a Civil Partnership and How it Works

The ending of a civil partnership or civil partnership dissolution can be as difficult an ordeal as a divorce. Although marriages and civil partnerships are different, the breakdown of these relationships can both be disheartening and confusing to navigate. Read on for a full explanation of how to end a civil partnership and how to best prepare yourself for the process.

A civil partnership is a legal union of either a same sex couple or a couple of the opposite sex. A civil partnership gives the relationship legal recognition in a similar way to a marriage. However, there are some noticeable differences between a civil partnership and a marriage – and therefore differences in how these unions come to an end in relation to a civil partnership dissolution and a divorce – as set out below.

When looking at a civil partnership, UK citizens should remember that dissolving a civil partnership is different depending on where you live. The legal proceedings for dissolving a civil partnership in England and Wales is different those in Scotland or Northern Ireland, so be sure to consider this if you are planning a civil partnership dissolution.

Hawkins Family Law is based in England, with offices in Milton Keynes, Watford and London.

Similar to marriage and divorce, the dissolution of civil partnerships takes place through the courts. Make sure your preparation beforehand is consistent with local government advice and done within the correct jurisdictions.

Civil partnerships are legal unions registered by either same-sex or opposite-sex couples. They were first introduced in 2004 for same-sex couples and extended to include opposite-sex couples in 2018. This legal relationship is formed when the two people sign as civil partners in the presence of a registrar and two witnesses. It will only end through death, dissolution, or annulment.

Registering a civil partnership can give a relationship added legal rights and responsibilities that may not have existed in a simple, living-together relationship. This extra recognition is similar to marriage. However, there are some noticeable differences between the two legal unions in how they are formed as well as how they are ended or dissolved – as set out below.

Marriage and civil partnership share a lot of the same rights and legal responsibilities, but there are some distinctions. For one, the same traditional and religious connotations connected to marriages are not typically associated with civil partnerships. Marriages can be conducted through civil or religious ceremonies and involve an exchange of spoken vows. Civil partnership ceremonies are non-religious, do not include vows, take place in front of a registrar, and are registered by the signing of a document.

When civil partnerships were first introduced in England and Wales in 2005 and they provided legal recognition and protection in relation to the union of same-sex couples.

A couple may not want to proceed with marriage because of the religious connotations, and civil partnership provides a way for legal recognition without traditions tacked on.

Aside from that, marriage and civil partnership share many similarities regarding rules on pensions, survivor benefits, annulment, and dissolution.

If the breakdown of a civil partnership has occurred, you may want to end the relationship. This can be done in two ways: an annulment or a dissolution.

Annulments are usually done within the first three years of the partnership, but there can be exceptions. Ending a civil partnership through annulment can be done if the conditions legally required for the partnership were never met in the first place.

The conditions for a civil partnership are:

• Both parties are required to be aged 16 or older. If aged 16 or 17, they will need to obtain written consent from parents or legal guardians
• Both need to have lived in the same area in England or Wales for at least seven days
• Both are free to register, neither is already in a marriage or civil partnership
• The couple is not closely related by blood

If these conditions have not been met, a court will be able to grant an annulment and end the relationship. An annulment states that your civil partnership was either void or voidable – meaning it may have been legal at the time but is no longer.

The dissolution of civil partnerships is different from annulments as they are for partnerships that were formed legally and are not void or voidable.

Legally, you do not get ‘divorced’ from a civil partnership. The correct term for a civil partnership divorce is a ‘dissolution’. If the civil partnership breaks down, then the couple needs to follow a legal process in order to dissolve the civil partnership. A divorce relates to the legal process to end a marriage and a ‘dissolution’ is the term used regarding the ending of a civil partnership.

In 2014 a heterosexual couple, Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, wanted to form a civil partnership but were unable to, as at the time, they were restricted to same-sex couples only. Rebecca and Charles challenged this decision by way of a judicial review at the High Court, and in 2018 they finally received the legal ruling that they had been waiting for. It was declared in a unanimous vote by the 5 Judges at the Supreme Court that the refusal by the Government to allow opposite-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships was against Human Rights Law.

Whilst legally marriage and civil partnerships have binding legal consequences, people can view the two different types of union in a very different way.

Dissolving a civil partnership is very similar to a divorce. You must have been in the civil partnership for a minimum of 1 year before you can apply for dissolution. If the minimum period of 1 year has passed, then either one party or the couple jointly can complete a dissolution application online. You will need to provide a colour copy of the civil partnership certificate and pay the relevant Court fee.

A civil partnership can be successfully dissolved by making an application to the court, asking for permission to end the relationship. The application for this “dissolution order” can only be done after a year of your civil partnership has passed.

In your application, you must provide a statement that sets out that the partnership has irretrievably broken down. The traditional ‘facts’ that used to be relied on in order to prove this are no longer applicable, in the same way that they have been removed in the no-fault divorce process.

You can avoid going to any court hearings by agreeing ahead of time on aspects such as finances, children and property. It is best to wait until these issues have been resolved before completely dissolving the civil partnership.

If you are at all unsure about any part of the process, then it may be best to seek  the help of a solicitor in order to receive civil partnership advice and guidance through the dissolution process.

There are a number of steps that need to be followed when ending a civil partnership. It’s important to be prepared as much as possible before starting. This can substantially relieve some stress from the experience and make it go by much smoother.

Before you apply to dissolve your civil partnership in England and Wales, you will need to find the original certified copy of your civil partnership certificate. The courts will need a colour copy of this to be lodged with your application at the start of the process.

You may also want to sort out child arrangements if you have children, division of finances, and housing problems beforehand. This can help prevent the process from becoming hostile, which will benefit everyone involved and make everything go smoother.

As with no-fault divorce, there are no longer any grounds (or facts) that need to be relied on when dissolving a civil partnership. It simply needs to be stated that the partnership has irretrievably broken down.

A civil partnership petition is an application for the dissolution of a civil partnership. If only one party to the partnership is making the application, the they will be referred to as the Applicant, and the other party will be called the Respondent.

Since 6^th April 2022, it is also possible for both parties to make a joint application for the dissolution of their civil partnership.

Form D8 is a form that asks a court to end your relationship through the dissolution of civil partnership, divorce, or separation order. You can apply for a dissolution order yourself on the government website. However, it can be substantially easier to navigate this process with the help of a solicitor.

The D8 form will ask for your and your civil partner’s full name and address as well as the original civil partnership certificate. If you have any children, you must also include their names and dates of birth. If you don’t know your civil partner’s current address, you must try to find it. When you make the application to the court, you must also make a payment for the court fee.

20 weeks after the application has been made, you can apply for a Conditional Order which will state that the courts see no obvious reason why not to grant a civil partnership divorce or dissolution.

The Final Order can be applied for after six weeks and one day have passed from the date of the Conditional Order. It is the Final Order that dissolves the partnership.

Even if a partner doesn’t want the civil partnership to end, the Conditional Order can still be granted. The court will list the matter for a hearing to discuss the case, and they will decide whether to grant the Conditional Order then.

If the original applicant does not apply for a Final Order, then the other party to the partnership can make the application three months and six weeks after the date of the Conditional Order.

If no application for a Final Order is made within 12 months of the Conditional Order being granted, then an additional application has to be made in order to explain to the court the reasons for the delay.

In reality, the Final Order can sometimes be delayed whilst the couple sort out and finalise the separation of their financial circumstances.

Having a solicitor to deal with all the paperwork and court correspondence can help reduce any stress involved in the process when emotions are already running high. A solicitor can also communicate with your ex-partner so that you don’t have to.

A Final Order is a legal document from the court that terminates a civil partnership.

Once you receive this order, the civil partnership is officially dissolved. It’s important to keep this document safe. Although you are free to marry or enter into another civil partnership, the Final Order will need to be shown to prove your status.

At Hawkins Family Law we currently charge between £500 – £600 plus VAT for the work undertaken in relation to a straightforward dissolution of a civil partnership. There will also be a court fee.

Extra work concerning related matters, such as sorting out the financial situation upon the dissolution, is charged separately and is not included in the above figure, as the costs of sorting out the finances can vary greatly from case to case. We can give tailored estimates of costs concerning the separation of finances to each client.

Meet our team of expert solicitors, and do not hesitate to get in contact for more information or to discuss our services.