Civil Partnership Dissolution

Civil Partnership Dissolution is similar to divorce, as both marriage and civil partnership give the people involved legal rights. Therefore, a civil partnership needs to be legally ‘dissolved’.

How do you legally end a Civil Partnership?

A civil partnership can only be ended by a Dissolution order. As with divorce proceedings, dissolving a civil partnership is undertaken by the court, and an application for dissolution needs to be made.
Importantly, the Dissolution order doesn’t deal with the specifics of what people worry about when they separate, like the house and their children. These specifics are dealt with via financial and child arrangements.

If you would like to learn more about our Dissolution services, please call us on 020 8865 1555 or visit our contact us page.

What are the Grounds for Civil Partnership Dissolution?

Dissolution law (in England and Wales) allows couples to end (“dissolve”) their partnership after one year. During the first year of a civil partnership, the couple could decide to legally separate.
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 simplified the process of legally ending a marriage or civil partnership and removed the need for blame in proceedings. The only ‘ground’ for Dissolution is that the relationship has ‘broken down irretrievably’, with no further evidence required.

What does the Dissolution process involve?

If your Civil Partnership Dissolution is uncontested, the following steps will be followed.

1. If you are the applicant/joint applicants, you apply for a Dissolution Order.
2. The ‘cooling off’ period, during which financial discussions are had and arrangements are made, will be a minimum of 20 weeks after the initial application is made
3. Your lawyer prepares and submits the application for a Conditional Order (formerly Decree Nisi)
4. There is a further 6 weeks’ “cooling off” period between the conditional and final order
5. Your lawyer prepares and submits the Final Order (formerly Decree Absolute)

How much does Civil Partnership Dissolution cost?

At Amphlett Lissimore, we offer a fixed fee service for uncontested dissolutions only and can be used if you are the applicant (person applying for dissolution, and formerly known as Petitioner), or if you are a Respondent (person receiving the papers):

• Applicant – fee of £675 + VAT with additional court fee of £628, totalling £1,438.
• Respondent – £400 + VAT, totalling £480

If you initiate the application (the applicant), then you are responsible for paying the court fee. Due to the Divorce, Dissolution, and Separation Act 2020, you and your partner can now complete a joint application. For this, fees are the same as if you were a single applicant.

If you would like to learn more about our Fixed Fee service for uncontested dissolutions, please call us on 020 8865 1555 or visit our contact us page.

Please bear in mind that any financial, property, or child arrangements are separate matters. We can help you with this and can separately discuss the costs of these.

What if it’s contested?

If the respondent does not agree, then it will be called a defended or contested dissolution, and the respondent will have a further 21 days to file an Answer at court. Since 6 April 2022, there are extremely limited circumstances under which a divorce can be contested, and no longer will a civil partner be able to argue that the civil partnership has simply not broken down.

How can we help?

At Amphlett Lissimore, we have an experienced Family Law team who can help you through the process of ending a civil partnership. Many of our clients have found an initial fixed fee meeting hugely beneficial as a first port of call. This is where we can tell you where you stand legally and discuss how you can use this information to move forward to resolve future plans with your partner.

If you would like to learn more about our initial fixed-fee meeting, please call us on 020 8865 1555 or visit our contact us page.

About our Family Law team

Our team of family lawyers is based at offices across South and Central London, including Bromley, Crystal Palace, Battersea, and London Bridge. Whether you’re seeking expert legal advice on dissolution, child arrangements, or financial settlements, our solicitors are here to help.
As members of Resolution, our family solicitors and lawyers are committed to resolving disputes in a non-confrontational way whenever this is possible. Our Family team is ranked in the Legal 500 UK Guide 2026 and in Chambers and Partners. Many of our team hold individual accreditations such as the Law Society Family Law accreditation, and we have two family mediators in our firm.