Our civil partnership lawyers can help if you’re entering into a partnership, or looking to dissolve one. We’re particularly experienced in cases involving complex financial or child law issues – from pre-partnership agreements, to using a surrogate to have a child.

Our family lawyers regularly write and lecture on the legal issues surrounding civil partnerships. We’ve also helped to shape the law in this area through cases such as Roocroft vs Ball. This landmark case at the Court of Appeal decision was a major moment in relation to financial provision for individuals in same sex partnerships.

Call our specialist team on 0345 604 4911 or contact us online for a consultation about your case.

What services do we offer?
Civil partnership dissolution
Why choose us?
Case study

What Services Do We Offer?

Our civil partnership solicitors can help you with a range of family law issues, including:

Pre-partnership agreements (similar to a prenuptial agreement).
Family formation – if you’re looking to start a family using a surrogate or donor, or if you’re looking to adopt.
Civil partnership dissolution.
Negotiating contact with your children and child maintenance payments.
Negotiating a financial settlement following the breakdown of your partnership.
Making claims to “set aside” previous financial settlements, if you suspect your former partner has hidden some of their wealth.

Civil Partnership Dissolution

The ground for dissolving a civil partnership is the same as that for getting a divorce: you must prove the irretrievable breakdown of the partnership. To prove that you need to use one of the following reasons:

Unreasonable behaviour
Desertion
Two years separation (if both of you agree)
Five years separation (even if there’s no agreement).

It’s disappointing that for all the progress that’s been made in the legal recognition of same sex relationships, the law is unequal here. The legal definition of adultery is that a person who’s in a partnership/marriage has been unfaithful with someone of the opposite sex. This effectively rules out adultery as a reason that same sex couples can use to proceed with dissolution. In these cases we usually have to proceed with the reason of unreasonable behaviour instead.

Our civil partnership solicitors are experts in this area, and can help you apply, or respond to a dissolution order.

Civil partnership dissolution can take as little as four months, if the split is amicable and you’re both in agreement. However, it can take longer if there‘s disagreement, or complex financial matters involved. We’ll work hard to get things resolved quickly, while making sure your interests are protected.

Why Choose Us?

Civil partnerships offer an important alternative to marriage – which can carry religious or gendered connotations for some people. For nearly a decade civil partnerships were also the only form of legal recognition that same sex couples could achieve.

We’ve been part of the conversation in this area. When civil partnerships became law, they were only for same sex couples. We featured in the national press, arguing that the institution should also be open to heterosexual couples.

At the same time we campaigned for same sex couples to not be lost in the debate. Civil partnership was the only relationship status that gay and lesbian couples had for a long time. We argued that if civil partnerships were to be made available to everyone, then so should the institution of marriage.

Our lawyers have taken cases to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court – helping to shape the law for same sex couples. This included a case which confirmed that same sex couples have the same rights as heterosexual couples, when it comes to dishonesty about financial affairs.

Contact us

For a consultation about your civil partnership legal issue, call us on 0345 604 4911 or contact us online.

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Ros Bever National Head of Family Law Meet the team

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