Civil Partnership Law

Before entering into a Civil Partnership you may want to take some advice about how your civil partnership will affect different aspects of your life. Vincents Solicitors civil partnership specialists can offer advice on financial matters relating to civil partnership, pre partnership agreements or matters concerning children within the family. Call us today to speak to our Family Law solicitors for all of the Civil Partnership Law advice you need.

What is Civil Partnership?

Civil Partnership brings security to same sex families by giving legal recognition of the relationship. Following the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act in December 2005, Civil Partnership means that same sex couples have similar responsibilities to each other and similar rights to married couples.

How does a Civil Partnership Law affect our rights as a couple?

Civil Partners have responsibilities and rights as a couple similar to married couples. These include:

Next of Kin rights
Parental Responsibility for any children within the family
Responsibility to provide for your partner and your family
Equal treatment in tax and benefits
Life Assurance recognition similar to married couples
Pension and Employment benefits
Household income is assessed on a joint basis

How do we arrange a Civil Partnership?

To register your civil partnership you must both attend the registry office in person to give notice of your intention to form a civil partnership. This notice period is 15 days during which time certain information is made public. The information however differs to a civil marriage as your addresses will not be made public.
You can enter into a civil partnership if you are 18 or over. Parental permission must be given if you are between 16 and 18 years old. You can’t be in an existing civil partnership or marriage that has not been dissolved.

During registration of the Civil Partnership no religious element is permitted under the rules of the Civil Partnership Act, however couples can speak vows to one another before the civil partnership registration. Both partners sign the civil Partnership registration along with two witnesses.

How will a Civil Partnership affect me financially?

Our Civil Partnership Law expertscan offer advice and financial planning to couples entering civil partnership, we will cover all financial matters including property and other assets. We can assist in putting together pre-partnership agreements similar to prenuptial agreements. Pre-partnership agreements are fair agreements where both parties are fully aware of the others financial position before entering into an agreement. Another financial consideration to make when entering into a Civil Partnership is that household income will be viewed as a joint income and this may have financial implications when one partner is claiming benefits.

What happens if the relationship breaks down?

Under Civil Partnership Law dissolution of a Civil Partnership can’t happen within the first 12 months of the partnership, you may want to consider relationship counselling which is available through organisations such as Relate. In the event that you want to end your civil partnership the process is similar to the legal process of divorce for married couples. Reasons for dissolution of a civil partnership must be on the grounds of either:

Unreasonable behaviour
Desertion for a period of two years
Joint agreement to the dissolution and separation over 2 Years
Separation of a period of 5 Years