Civil Partnership

Our family law solicitors will offer factual and practical advice to civil partners in relation to protection of their rights and entitlements under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (the “2010 Act”). The 2010 Act provides for a statutory civil partnership registration scheme for same-sex couples and places civil partners on broadly the same legal footing as married couples in areas such as maintenance, the family home, succession rights and pensions. To obtain a decree of dissolution of a civil partnership the partners must have lived apart for a period of at least two years out of the previous three years and the court must be satisfied that proper provision is made for both parties.

 The 2010 Act also provides protection to cohabiting couples, namely two people living together of either the same or opposite sexes who have or have had an exclusive sexual relationship but who are not married to each other or living in a registered civil  partnership. The Act applies to such couples who have lived together for a period of 5 years where there are no children and 2 years where there are children of the relationship.