Make sure you’re eligible to end your civil partnership.
If you’ve been in a civil partnerships for more than a year, you can apply to end (‘dissolve’) it.
You can acquire a formal separation to live apart if you don’t want to break your civil relationship. During the first year of your partnership, you can file for divorce. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, ending a civil partnerships are handled differently.
How can you dissolve your civil partnership?
To dissolve a civil partnerships, you must file documentation with the court.
You and your ex-partner may need to hash out the following issues in addition to the paperwork:
- Make plans to care for any children who may be present.
- child support payments if there are any children
You must also divide your assets and money. If you wish to make this legally binding, you must meet a deadline.
If you agree on the issues of children, money, and property, as well as the grounds for ending your civil partnership, you may usually avoid going to court.
Obtain assistance in reaching an agreement on a problem.
It can use a mediator. Check to see if you qualify for legal assistance to assist with the cost of mediation.
You can also get guidance from the following people for establishing agreements:
Reasons for dissolving a civil partnerships
When you file for the dissolution of your civil partnership, you must show that your relationship has broken down and cannot be saved.
You have to provide one or more of the four reasons (also known as ‘facts’).
Unreasonable conduct
Your civil spouse has acted in a way that makes it impossible for you to live with them.
It could involve the following:
- cruelty to the body or mind
- Harassment, whether verbal or physical
- being financially irresponsible
- being unfaithful sexually
Desertion
In at least two years, your civil partner has purposefully abandoned you. If you lived together for a total of 6 months during this time, you could still claim desertion. They will not include it in the two years.
You’ve been separated from your partner for at least two years.
You can request to dissolve your civil partnership if you’ve been separated for at least two years and both parties agree to dissolve it. To end the civil relationship, you and your civil partner must agree in writing.
As long as you were not living together as a couple, you may be able to prove that you’ve been separated while living in the same house as your civil partner (for example, you sleep and eat apart).
You’ve been estranged from your partner for at least five years.
Even if your civil spouse objects, you can apply to break your civil partnership if you’ve been separated for at least five years.
How to Get Started
To dissolve a civil partnerships, you must first apply for dissolution.
You must include the following:
- your complete name and address
- complete name and address of the civil partner
- transmit the original of the civil partnership certificate 4. obtain a copy of the certificate from a record office
Include any children’s names and dates of birth (no matter how old they are).
If you don’t know your civil partner’s present address, you must look it up. It will be required by the court to send a copy of the dissolution application to them.
Make the court cost payment.
To file a dissolution application, you must pay a court charge of £593.
If you were on the benefits or have a low income, you may be eligible for court cost assistance.
Using a debit or credit card over the phone
You are summoned by the court to make your payment. Include a letter requesting a call with your petition, as well as your phone number.
Using a debit or credit card over the phone
You are summoned by the court to make your payment. Include a letter requesting a call with your petition, as well as your phone number.
By mail with a check
Make a cheque payable to “HM Courts and Tribunals Service” and enclose it with your application.
Would you please provide the forms?
After you’ve completed the paperwork, you’ll need to:
- Send three copies of your document to the court
- make copies for yourself
- enclose your check or a note requesting payment by phone
‘Where should the forms be sent?’
Send the forms to the court that handles civil partnership dissolution in your area.
Make an application for an order based on conditions.
If your partner has agreed to end the civil partnership, you can receive a conditional order.
A conditional order is a document that states that the court sees no reason why you should not be able to break your civil partnership. It’s the first of two steps for dissolving the civil partnership; the second is obtaining a final order.
You can still seek a conditional order if your partner refuses to end the civil partnership. You need to attend a court hearing to discuss your case, and a judge will determine whether or not to issue you the conditional order.
Complete the online application.
Fill out the application for a conditional order to apply for one.
If your spouse is defending the case, fill out section B of the form, requesting a ‘case management hearing’ with the court.
You must also sign a statement affirming the accuracy of the information you provided in your dissolution application.
There are four different statement forms to choose from; use the one that best fits your cause for ending the civil partnership:
- a remark about unreasonable conduct
- statement of desertion
- A statement of two years’ separation
- A statement of five years’ separation
Your civil partner must be listed on the forms:
- has been notified of the application for dissolution
- consents to the dissolution of the cause for the dissolution is that you’ve been living apart for two years.
- It accepts any proposal for children’s arrangements.
Send the dissolution application to the court with your civil partner’s response attached. Save a copy for yourself.
The ‘final order’ actually ends your civil relationship, so you’ll still be civil partners at this point.
Obtain a final order by applying.
The final order is a legal document that declares your civil relationship to be over.
To apply for a final order, you must wait six weeks following the conditional order’s date.
You must wait three months and six weeks after the date of the conditional order if your civil partner sought one.
If you don’t apply within 12 months of receiving the conditional order, you’ll have to justify your delay to the judge.
Before you seek a final order, you must first apply to the court for a legally binding agreement on how to divide your money and property.
Fill out the form for a conditional order to be made final to apply for a final order.
To the court, return the form. It is almost always the same court that heard your conditional order case.
Obtaining final approval
The court will determine whether there are any obstacles to ending the civil relationship. Within the time constraints, you must give all facts requested by the court.
The court will issue you and your civil partner a final order if they are satisfied with the material.
Your civil partnership will come to an end after you receive your final order, and you will be free to marry or form a new civil partnership.
Keep your final order safe; you’ll need it to prove your status if you enter another civil partnerships.
If your significant other is mentally challenged,
If your partner ‘lacks mental capacity and refuses to end the civil partnership or participate in the procedure, you can file a petition to dissolve your civil partnership.
During the process, your spouse will require assistance in making decisions. A ‘litigation friend’ is someone who represents them in court. They could be a family member, a close friend, or someone else.
Your partner isn’t a litigator’s best buddy. You can question the court to appoint a litigation buddy if no one is appropriate and willing. When there is no one else to help (‘litigation friend of last resort), the Official Solicitor may have to agree to act as your partner’s litigation friend.
How to Make an Application
Ensure there isn’t anyone else who is suitable or willing to function as your civil partner’s lawsuit buddy.
Ensure that you have the money to cover any charges the Official Solicitor may incur. Legal aid may be available to you and your civil partner.
Provide the court the name and address of your civil partner’s doctor or other medical professional so that they can request a certificate of competency.
After you’ve submitted your application,
You can end a civil partnerships if the Official Solicitor agrees to act as your civil partner’s litigation friend.
Contact the personnel of the Official Solicitor’s Office.
If you have a question, send an email or phone the private family law team.
Official Solicitor- Law private family team
ospt.dsm@offsol.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone Number: 020 3681 2754
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