Our Civil Partnership Dissolution Services
We understand that separation can be stressful and upsetting and we will guide and support you through each stage of the process.
Initiating and responding to dissolution applications
Anyone who has been in a civil partnership for a year or more can start the dissolution proceedings (provided one of your permanent places of residence is in England and Wales or one of you has been resident here during the last year).
We will advise you on the best way to proceed, whether you can start proceedings and when those proceedings should be issued. We can help you by drafting the application and pursuing the proceedings to conditional and final order. Our team of specialists will consider the timing of the final order when looking at your financial position.
Financial settlements involved in the dissolution
Part of the process of a separation means reaching agreement upon how a couple’s assets and financial affairs are separated once the marriage or civil partnership has legally ended. With civil partnership dissolution, whilst the dissolution order can be applied for six weeks and one day after the date of the conditional order, we advise that this is not completed until any financial issues have been finalised. This is because the civil partnership is formally over once the dissolution order is pronounced and means that you might lose out on some financial entitlements if your former civil partner were to die before financial issues were dealt with.
Child arrangements following a dissolution
In any separation, the issue of arrangements for children can be extremely emotional. Following the dissolution of a civil partnership you will want to achieve the best outcome for you and your children. We take a solution-focused approach to arrangements for children and advise that you think about the short and long term needs of the children, as well as involving them in the process.
How our civil partnership solicitors can help dissolve your partnership
Our approach to dissolving a civil partnership:
- We aim to adopt a non-adversarial approach to resolving matters and encourage the use of Mediation and the Collaborative law model.
- We will provide advice and information specific to your circumstances.
- We always focus on achieving practical and cost-effective solutions. We will signpost you to a network of third-party support to assist you and your family through the process.
- We follow the Resolution Code of Practice and Family Law Protocol.
In the unhappy event of you considering a dissolution of your civil partnership or same sex marriage we will address the following:
- How to minimise the emotional and financial cost to you and your family.
- Alternatives to a Dissolution; there may be other suitable option.
- The options for resolving the issues e.g. Mediation and/or the Collaborative law model and/or Arbitration.
- The financial issues arising from your separation and the possible Dissolution proceedings.
- Issues involving your children, for example, where they live and the time they spend with each of you.
- Wills and claims against your respective estates.
Dissolution of a Civil Partnership does not have to be a contentious process. Our team of civil partnership dissolution solicitors will look at how to manage this difficult and emotive time for you and your family.
This may be a good time to give careful consideration to what options are available to resolve matters, for example through mediation, the collaborative law model or arbitration.
Contact our friendly, professional civil partnership dissolution solicitors
If you would like an appointment with one of our specialists in Brighton, London, Horsham, Kent, Essex, North Hampshire & Surrey or South/Mid Hampshire then please contact us on 0330 055 2234.