Civil Partnership Dissolution

Solicitors in Norwich - Fosters Solicitors

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Home > Family > Civil Partnership Dissolution

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Financial Agreements

Since the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act 2004, which came into effect on December 5th 2005, same sex couples have been able to commit to each other in the same way that married couples do.

The rights and obligations that civil partnership registration create are essentially the same as those afforded to married couples.

When civil partners decide to separate, they often wish to dissolve the legal responsibilities that exist between them.

At Fosters we can guide you through the process, whether you are applying for the dissolution or responding to your civil partner’s application. Indeed, we will draft all the necessary legal paperwork and offer you clear advice at each stage.

There is only one ground for civil partnership dissolution in this jurisdiction; that the partnership has broken down irretrievably. This can be established within the petition in a number of ways known as facts:

Behaviour by the respondent which means that the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent;
desertion of the applicant by the respondent for a period of 2 years;
separation for 2 years where both parties consent to a dissolution;
separation for 5 years.

We are able to advise you on the most suitable way forward, taking into account your particular circumstances.

The various stages of the dissolution process are as follows:

Application for dissolution filed at court in the form of a petition;
respondent is served with the dissolution papers;
respondent has the opportunity to acknowledgement receiving the dissolution papers (if the respondent fails to acknowledge service of the papers, the applicant may take various steps to enable the dissolution to proceed);
the applicant swears or affirms an affidavit (sworn statement) in support of his or her petition and applies for directions for trial
the court makes a conditional order of dissolution or decree nisi (at which point the court is able to make orders in relation to the financial side);
At the expiry of 6 weeks, the applicant can apply for the condition order of dissolution to be made final or absolute, at which point the partnership is dissolved and the parties can usually enter into a different partnership in the future

If there are assets within the civil partnership, we can advise you in relation to the best settlement, if necessary by way of an application to the court to deal with the financial side. If you are facing an application by your civil partner, we are equally in a position to offer you sound advice on how best to respond.

If you require more advice about civil partnership dissolution, please contact us.