Terminating civil partnerships — overview

A civil partnership may be terminated on the grounds of nullity or by either party applying for dissolution, a separation order or a presumption of death order.

Nullity

Under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004) the court can make a nullity order annulling the civil partnership. This can be either void or voidable:

• void: the civil partnership is treated as never having taken place

• voidable: the nullity order annuls the partnership from the date on which the order was made final and is treated as if it had been valid and existed up to that time

CPA 2004 provides that a civil partnership will be void where the civil partners were not eligible to register or there was a procedural irregularity of a type prescribed, or in the case of a minor, where written notice has been given refusing consent by a prescribed person.

A civil partnership will be voidable where:

• there was an absence of valid consent by one party

• either of them were suffering from a mental disorder as prescribed in CPA 2004

• the respondent was pregnant by someone other than the applicant

• after the formation of the partnership, an interim gender recognition certificate has been issued to either party

• the respondent is a person whose gender, at the time of its formation, has become acquired under the Gender Recognition Act 2004

In the case of a voidable civil partnership, CPA 2004 provides for situations in which the court must not make a nullity order.

The procedure is broadly similar to the procedure for nullity of marriages. Certain grounds for nullity are subject to time limits for presenting the petition and additional documents are required if relying upon the issue of an interim gender recognition certificate as a ground.

Dissolution

There is one ground for dissolution of a civil partnership: the partnership has irretrievably broken down. To establish irretrievable breakdown the court has to be satisfied on one of the four facts laid down in CPA 2004:

• the respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent

• the parties have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years and the respondent consents to a dissolution order being made

• the parties have lived apart for a continuous period of at least five years immediately preceding the making of the application

• the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition

Unlike divorce, adultery is not one of the facts that can be relied upon for establishing that a partnership has broken down irretrievably. There is a bar to commencing proceedings within one year of formation of the civil partnership.

Separation orders

In certain circumstances civil partners may not wish to apply for dissolution of the civil partnership and instead may apply for a separation order. A separation order is similar to a judicial separation. Proceedings may be commenced within the first year of the partnership. The applicant will have to establish one of the four facts listed above, but there is no requirement to establish that the partnership has irretrievably broken down. Within the proceedings the parties may apply for financial provision. The procedure is broadly similar to the procedure for judicial separation.

Presumption of death orders

A presumption of death order dissolves the civil partnership on the ground that one of the civil partners is presumed to be dead. The civil partner must be absent for seven years. There are jurisdictional requirements. A petition for presumption of death must, in addition to the information required for a petition for dissolution, contain additional standard information including details of the last place the respondent was seen or heard of.

Procedure for dissolution

A civil partnership cause must be commenced in one of a limited number of courts known as civil partnership proceedings county courts. The procedure for dissolution of civil partnerships, nullity and separation orders mirrors the procedure for divorce, nullity and judicial separation. The terminology, however, is different. In place of a decree nisi a conditional order is made and in place of a decree absolute of divorce the court grants a dissolution order.

There are the same potential restrictions on making a conditional order final as there are in divorce proceedings where the fact relied upon is separation for two or five years. In that situation a respondent may apply to the court to have their financial position considered .

If there are any relevant children, the arrangements for them will be considered by the court as would be the case in a divorce. If a solicitor is instructed, a certificate with regard to reconciliation must be filed. The proceedings may be adjourned if the parties wish to try to effect a reconciliation.

For the procedure on undefended and defended cases, see Divorce procedure.