Civil Partnership Dissolution Solicitors in South Wales

If you wish to end a civil partnership, you will need a civil partnership dissolution order. This is similar to a divorce and will signify the end of your legal relationship. You will also need to have a financial order put in place establishing how your assets and liabilities will be dealt with to prevent a financial claim from being made against you in the future.

At hpjv, our civil partnership dissolution solicitors in South Wales provide advice and representation. We know that this is likely to be a difficult time for you and our team members will provide you with guidance and support, ensuring that we are available to answer your questions and discuss any issues of concern.

We offer a full civil partnership dissolution service, including:

Advice on and application for civil partnership dissolution
Financial settlements on dissolution
Arrangements for children

Contact our civil partnership dissolution solicitors in South Wales

For a free, no obligation chat with our civil partnership dissolution solicitors in South Wales at Cardiff, Newport and Chepstow, please get in touch today by giving us a call or filling in our online enquiry form. We can discuss how to end a civil partnership and advise you on related issues that you may need to deal with at the same time.

Our civil partnership dissolution expertise

Civil partnership dissolution advice and applications

If you are considering a civil partnership dissolution, we can provide advice on the process, taking into account what other issues need to be dealt with.

A financial order will usually be dealt with simultaneously, meaning that we may need to wait until this has been agreed upon before applying for the dissolution of your civil partnership.

Civil partnership dissolution financial settlement

Splitting your assets and liabilities when ending a civil partnership is not always straightforward, particularly if much of your capital is tied up in a shared property.

Our expert civil partnership solicitors in South Wales can advise you of your options and represent you in negotiations. Where necessary, we can also support you through mediation, which is an alternative to litigation. You will usually be required to consider mediation before asking the court to hear your case if you cannot reach an agreement with your former partner.

If the court is asked to decide, it will prioritise the needs of any children. This could mean the party will stay in the family home for their day-to-day care. The other party could receive more of the other assets instead. Alternatively, the individual staying in the home could obtain a mortgage to buy their former partner’s share of the property.

In some cases, the court can order that a sale take place once children have reached the age of 18, and the sale proceeds can be split at that time.

The court also has the power to split pensions if it believes this is necessary to ensure that both parties have the financial provision they need for the future.

We can discuss your priorities and work to achieve the desired outcome with you.

Arrangements for children

If you have children, you can consider putting a child arrangements order in place. This is a legally binding order which sets out details such as where a child will live, what time they will spend with their other parent and what their schedule will be in school holidays.

You will need to try and make these arrangements without court intervention where possible. We can negotiate with your former partner’s solicitor, and if an agreement cannot be reached, you will usually need to consider mediation.

We will make sure that you know what to expect and help you explore potential solutions. If you are able to decide on the terms you would like, we will ask the court to approve and seal this, making an order.

Where necessary, we can ask the court to decide the terms of the child arrangements order. This process will involve the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), who will interview you, your child, their other parent and sometimes other family members before preparing a report for the court to help it decide.

Why work with our civil partnership dissolution solicitors?

We have many years of experience in dealing with dissolution and divorce and we hold the Law Society’s accreditations for both family law and children law. This acknowledges the high standards of client care we provide as well as our legal expertise.

We routinely deal with complex and high-value cases and will always work to achieve your preferred outcome with minimal conflict. We are expert negotiators and are often able to resolve disputes out of court, making the dissolution process faster and more cost-effective.

We can also guide you through alternative methods of dispute resolution if necessary, including mediation and arbitration.

If your case reaches court, we will ensure that you have the preparation you need and that you are represented by an experienced civil partnership advocate.

Civil partnership FAQs

How to dissolve a civil partnership

It is a relatively straightforward process to end a civil partnership. An application needs to be made to the court by you or your partner or by you both together. However, you should also deal with related issues at the same time. For example, you must ensure that you have a financial order in place to protect you against future claims. It is important to deal with matters in the right order to make sure that you secure the best possible result.

What happens when a civil partnership breaks down?

If your civil partnership has broken down, you must decide whether you want to dissolve it. This is the legal ending of the partnership. However, you may decide to separate but choose not to dissolve your partnership. If this is the case, you can consider a separation agreement, which will give you a level of financial certainty while you are still in the partnership.

It may be the case that your partner applies for a civil partnership dissolution. It is not usually possible to stop a dissolution if either party wants this to happen. Another option is for both of you to apply together for a dissolution.

What are the grounds for civil partnership dissolution?

The only ground for dissolving a civil partnership is that the relationship has irretrievably broken down.

If you apply for a civil partnership dissolution, you will need to confirm to the court that this is the case.

You need to have been in the civil partnership for at least a year before you apply.

How quickly can you dissolve a civil partnership?

For the civil partnership dissolution process only, the length of time taken is six months.

The first step is to file an initial application. If you make a sole application, notice will need to be served on your partner.

There is then a cooling-off period of 20 weeks. Once this has passed, you can apply for a conditional order of dissolution. Once this has been issued and notice served on your partner, you will need to wait six weeks and then you can apply for a final order of dissolution.

However, you should speak to a dissolution solicitor before finalising matters, as it may be beneficial to deal with other issues such as separation of finances first.

How much does it cost to dissolve a civil partnership?

The court fee for applying for a civil partnership dissolution is £593.

If you ask us to represent you, we can give you an estimate of the cost of our services as well as updates throughout. You will be represented by a lawyer with the right level of experience for your requirements, meaning you will not be paying for expertise you do not need.

For more information on our services, see our same sex law solicitors in South Wales page and our family law solicitors in South Wales page.