Civil Partnership

We regularly provide assistance to the LGBTQ community and can advise on all issues relating to divorce and civil partnership dissolution. We also advise on wealth protection matters such as inheritance & estate planning and draft prenuptial agreements and civil partnership agreements. 

There is only one ground for the dissolution of a Civil Partnership (a same-sex partnership); that is that the partnership has irretrievably broken down.

The court will not find that the partnership has irretrievably broken down unless the Applicant satisfies the court of one of the four facts:

• That the Respondent has behaved in such a way that the Applicant cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent;
• That the Respondent has deserted the Applicant for at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
• That the parties to the partnership have lived separate and apart from each other for a continuous period of two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition and the Respondent consents to the decree being granted; or
• The parties to the partnership have lived separate and apart from each other for a continuous period of five years immediately preceding presentation of the petition.

How long does it take to get a civil partnership dissolved?

The dissolution process can take four to six months and usually there is no need for either party to the partnership to attend court, unless costs are in dispute.

However, the process can be prolonged if the Respondent fails to acknowledge the dissolution papers, or if there are unresolved financial issues.

Examples of work undertaken by our family team include:

• Acting for a husband in a same-sex marriage in relation to contested remedy proceedings. The matter involved an urgent application for an injunction in light of the husband's steps to place assets out of reach;
• Drafting civil partnership agreements;
• Drafting prenuptial agreements;
• Advising same sex partners in relation to surrogacy and obtaining parental orders;
• Acting for same sex grandparents in seeking a child arrangements order to enable their grandchildren to live with them.

Based in Altrincham, Manchester, Cheshire, we are easily accessible for clients who live in the surrounding areas including Warrington, Macclesfield, Hale, Bowdon, Lymm, Knutsford, Alderley Edge, Wilmslow and Prestbury.