Civil Partnerships

Ending a civil partnership has many similarities with ending a marriage. Rather than a divorce, it is called ‘dissolution’. First your solicitor will file a dissolution petition with the Court, which will need to show that your relationship has irretrievably broken down.

There are four grounds for ending the civil partnership:

1. Your partner has behaved unreasonably;
2. You have been separated for two years and both consent to the separation;
3. You have been separated for five years (no consent is required); or
4. Your partner has deserted you for two years or more.

You will then need to apply for a conditional order, which means that the Court sees no reasons why your civil partnership cannot be dissolved. After six weeks, you can then apply to Court for a final order. This document legally ends your civil partnership. The Courts will deal with finances upon dissolution of a civil partnership in the same way as a divorce. Please see our various information pages on Financial Disclosure, Orders and Settlements for more information.