What You Need To Know About Ending A Civil Partnership.

Ending a civil partnership in the UK follows broadly the same process as getting a divorce, but there are some differences that can be helpful to know, alongside elements like child arrangements that can differ depending on your and your partner’s genders.

If you are looking to end your civil partnership, visit our divorce page or call us on 0203 007 5500.

What are civil partnerships?

Civil partnerships were introduced in the UK in 2005 as a way for same-sex couples to enter a legal union, while leaving existing marriage laws unchanged. Since their introduction, same-sex marriage was legalised in 2013, followed by the expansion of civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples.

Similarly to marriage, couples wishing to enter a civil partnership must be over the age of 16 and not closely related – you must also ask for permission from a parent or guardian if you are under the age of 18. Lastly, you must also not be involved in any other marriage or civil partnership.

Like marriage, civil partnerships are a legally recognised relationship status that offer a number of benefits:

• If you or your partner dies without a will, the surviving partner will inherit the deceased partner’s estate
• Civilly partnered couples receive the same tax benefits as married couples, like a Marriage Allowance and transferable nil-rate bands for inheritance tax, amongst others
• Couples in a civil partnership will both automatically have parental responsibility for children born to them together
• For same-sex female couples, both birth and non-birth mothers can appear on the birth certificate

Crucially, couples living together who are not married or in a civil partnership (also known as being in a ‘common law marriage’) do not have many rights to finances, property or children.

What is the difference between marriages and civil partnerships?

Modern-day civil partnerships and marriages are much the same in their legal recognition and practice, but with some differences:

• Marriage legally requires marriage vows, whereas all you need for a civil partnership is to sign the civil partnership schedule in front of a registrar and witnesses
• Married couples are legally called ‘husband and wife’, ‘wife and wife’, or ‘husband and husband’, while civilly partnered couples are simply called ‘civil partners’
• Internationally, marriages are more widely recognised than civil partnerships
• Divorce ends a marriage while dissolution ends a civil partnership
• Civil partnerships can be converted into marriages, but marriages cannot be converted into civil partnerships

Although civil partnerships were intended to enable same-sex couples to marry when they were first introduced, they saw a sharp decline when same-sex marriage was legalised in 2013, with civil partnerships now mainly used by couples who prefer non-religious ceremonies.

There used to be differences in some of the legal terminology used at certain stages of ending a marriage or civil partnership, but many of these have since been standardised with ‘no-fault divorce’ reforms in April 2022. The most obvious remaining legal difference is that the process to end a marriage is called divorce, whereas it’s called dissolution for civil partnerships.

Ending a civil partnership: dissolution.

Dissolution is the formal end of a civil partnership and essentially follows the same steps and process as divorce. As with a marriage, you must have been in your civil partnership for at least 1 year to apply for a dissolution.

Once you decide to proceed with ending your civil partnership, you or your solicitor will need to complete an application form online to start the process. You might also hear this form referred to as a ‘D8’, which is the formal name for the application form.

When applying, you can choose to complete the dissolution form on your own or together with your partner. There’s no right or wrong answer as to which option to choose as it depends on your relationship with your partner. Usually, couples ending their civil partnership on amicable terms will complete the form jointly, while those splitting less amicably will complete it separately.

Once you submit your dissolution application, the court will issue your partner with an ‘Acknowledgement of Service’ notification, which they will need to reply to within 14 days. The Acknowledgement of Service is a court document that asks whether your partner consents to the dissolution. If they agree to dissolution, they simply need to return the completed form and this triggers a mandatory 20-week waiting period before you can apply for a Conditional Order.

It’s rare for partners to disagree to dissolution as there are only a few valid reasons for this that mainly surround jurisdictional issues.

No-fault dissolution

Previously, you had to provide a ground for dissolution from 5 categories, but since April 2022, this is no longer needed. You can find more information on our ‘no-fault divorce’ page.

Applying for a Conditional Order.

You can apply for a Conditional Order once your partner has completed their part of the dissolution form and 20 weeks have passed. The 20-week reflection period allows both partners to decide whether to continue with the dissolution and to consider the arrangements you’d like to make for your children and finances.

The Conditional Order is a confirmation from the court that your dissolution can go ahead. After the Conditional Order is granted, you are still civilly partnered as the dissolution has not been finalised yet. Your civil partnership is only legally dissolved when the Final Order is issued.

Child arrangements and civil partnerships.

Child arrangements can be made both during and after dissolution. If you’re not able to agree on arrangements with your partner, you’ll be expected to attend a MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) where a mediator decides whether mediation is suitable. Usually, all couples will be expected to go through mediation unless there are safeguarding risks such as domestic violence.

Mediation is a confidential process in which a neutral third party listens to both your and your partner’s wishes and seeks common ground. It’s voluntary, but the courts will expect you to have gone through mediation and to have taken the process seriously.

If mediation fails or isn’t suitable and you can’t agree on child arrangements with your partner, you will need to apply for a child arrangement order. However, both you and your partner must have parental responsibility for that child in order to do so. When it comes to children, parental responsibility is largely dictated by a combination of whether a couple is married or civilly partnered at the time of conception or birth, and the sex of both parents.

Child arrangement orders are made by the court and always put the child’s best interests first, often with help from CAFCASS (Children and Families Court Advisory and Support Service). CAFCASS’ role is to determine whether there are any safeguarding issues for the children and to find out what they want.

Ultimately, the court will decide who is best suited to look after a child based on the factors that are in the child’s best interests. This might include the following:

• Who can meet the child’s needs
• Who the child wishes to live with
• Where the child will be safe from harm
• The child’s age, characteristics and background
• Who has parental responsibility for the child

Child maintenance payments are not agreed through child arrangement orders, but they can be affected by them and any dissolution financial settlements. Instead, child maintenance is usually calculated and enforced by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

What is parental responsibility?

Parental responsibility determines who has legal authority over a child’s welfare, including key decisions such as where they live, where they attend school, what medical treatment they receive, and what religious beliefs they follow. Parental responsibility is normally automatically granted to both parents at birth.

Usually, if a couple is married or civilly partnered and they decide to have a child together, both parents will be named on the child’s birth certificate and will share parental responsibility. However, parental responsibility is governed not only by marital status, it’s also governed by the gender of each person in a couple.

With many same-sex couples historically opting for civil partnerships, this can create confusion, particularly as the law is not applied equally to both men and women:

Legally, who has parental responsibility for a child at birth?

Relationship type	Who has parental responsibility at birth?
Married or civilly partnered opposite-sex couples	Both parents
Unmarried opposite-sex couples	Birth mother Second mother, if both mothers jointly register the birth
Married or civilly partnered female same-sex couples	Birth mother Second mother if child was conceived through a fertility clinic
Unmarried female same-sex couples	Birth mother Second mother if both mothers jointly register the birth
Married or civilly partnered male same-sex couples	Birth mother Neither father has parental responsibility
Unmarried male same-sex couples	Birth mother Neither father has parental responsibility
Married or unmarried couples using a surrogate	Only the birth mother has automatic parental responsibility

Dividing finances in civil partnerships.

Many couples will formalise discussions about their finances during the 20-week reflection period before applying for a Conditional Order. This can be done privately by negotiating with your partner, through mediation, or formally through the courts. Whichever way you agree on finances, you should apply for a Consent Order through the court to ensure you both stick to what you have agreed.

If you can’t agree privately on a financial settlement and need to go through court, as with child arrangements, you’ll need to attend a MIAM so that a mediator can decide whether mediation is suitable for you and your partner in relation to your finances. A single MIAM can cover both child and financial issues so you don’t have to repeat the same process.

Initially, one party will complete a ‘Form A’, which tells the other and the courts that you intend to start formal court proceedings to agree on dissolution finances. You’ll then each need to complete a ‘Form E’, which discloses what you own, your debts, income, and spending, and is accompanied by supporting documents. It’s important to be honest at this stage, as any dishonesty or asset concealment can have severe consequences.

You’ll then use the information in the Form Es to negotiate a financial settlement, and if you can’t reach an agreement, the court will decide for you. The starting point for this decision is always a 50/50 split, but varies depending on a ‘needs basis’, i.e. how much the court considers is fair given each person’s personal circumstances. Ultimately, any dissolution settlement is bound through a financial remedy consent order.

Financial remedy consent orders outline how you are going to divide things like:

• Property
• Savings
• Pensions
• Investments
• Spousal maintenance payments
• Sometimes, child maintenance payments

You don’t have to have a solicitor to agree a financial settlement, but it can help, particularly when you know the financial aspect is going to cause a major disagreement, or you don’t think your partner will stick to any informal arrangements.

Obtaining the Final Order and beyond.

Once you’ve waited 20 weeks, applied for the Conditional Order, agreed on financial arrangements and waited an additional 6 weeks, you can apply for a Final Order. When the Final Order is granted, your civil partnership legally ends, drawing the dissolution process to an end.

You must finalise the split of your property and finances before you apply for the Final Order; however, you don’t need to finalise child arrangements at the same time. For most couples, the process takes around a year from start to finish.

If more than 12 months pass between receiving your Conditional Order and applying for the Final Order, you’ll need to explain to the court why there was a delay.

Lastly, if you have a will and/or lasting power of attorney in place, it’s worth checking these documents and, if necessary, re-drafting them. With wills, unlike getting married or entering a civil partnership, which revoke any existing will you may have, dissolution only revokes some of your ex-spouse’s rights and responsibilities over your estate, not all.

Ending a civil partnership can be a difficult step to take, and if you’re not sure about what you need to do, or want to speak to an experienced family solicitor in confidence, call our team on 0203 007 5500. Our initial consultations are untimed, so you can take as long as you need to ask the questions you have and clarify the process.