How Does the Civil Partnership Dissolution Process Work?

If your civil partnership has come to an end, you can apply to the court for a dissolution order.

The application can be made solely by one civil partner or jointly by both civil partners. It is not necessary to provide evidence about the reasons the relationship ended and the ability to dispute a dissolution application is limited.

Making the application

Most civil partnership dissolution applications can be completed online.

Once the application has been issued by the court, the proceedings enter a mandatory waiting period. This provides time for both civil partners to consider the practical and financial consequences of ending the relationship.

The conditional order

An application for a conditional order can usually be made once 20 weeks have passed from the date the dissolution application was issued.

The conditional order is the first formal stage of the dissolution. It confirms that the court sees no legal reason why the civil partnership cannot be ended.

The civil partnership remains legally in place at this stage.

The final order

Once the conditional order has been made, a further period of at least six weeks must pass before the applicant can apply for the final order.

The final order is the legal document that ends the civil partnership.

Although the administrative dissolution process is often relatively straightforward, the final order does not automatically resolve financial arrangements or prevent financial claims from being made.

It is therefore important to consider property, savings, pensions, income, maintenance and other financial matters alongside the dissolution process rather than treating them as entirely separate concerns.

The next part of this series considers what happens to financial claims when a civil partnership ends.

Are you considering dissolving your civil partnership? Elizabeth Stocker can explain how the dissolution process interacts with your financial position and help you address the arrangements that may need to be resolved before the civil partnership is legally ended.