Separation, Divorce and Dissolution of Civil Partnerships

The breakdown of any relationship is always difficult and a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership is rarely painless.

Divorce or dissolution is an application to the Court made on a standard application for Divorce or Dissolution and will only be granted by a Court if it is satisfied that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and that there is no chance of reconciliation. All applications for divorce or dissolution are made remotely via an online government portal.

Any reference to ‘marriage’ and to ‘divorce’ in the application, including same-sex marriage and divorce, follows the majority of the provisions of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which came into force on 13th March 2014. Civil partners have been able to convert their civil partnership to marriage under the same legislation.

Prior to April 2022, the irretrievable breakdown of any marriage had to be proved by one of five facts, specifically, adultery, unreasonable behaviour, two-year separation by desertion, two-year separation with the consent of both parties or five-year separation, but this is no longer the case.

Following a change in the law with the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 coming into effect on 6 April 2022, these five ‘facts’ no longer need to be relied upon, and the Court will issue an application for the dissolution of a marriage or civil partnership based on the irretrievable breakdown of the relationship.

The procedure for divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership is now identical and there is no differentiation between either. The legal terminology has changed and divorce and dissolution are one and the same. It used to be commenced by issuing a Petition, but this is now simply called an Application.

This change in law now nearly three years ago brought about the idea of ‘no fault’ divorce, which has, to some extent, simplified the procedure. There is also now, very limited scope for costs orders to be made against a party.

With the change in law came new time limits in that once an application for divorce (and this includes dissolution) is issued, there is a legally imposed ‘holding’ period of 20 weeks before the Court will allow any further action to be taken. Following the expiry of this time period, the divorce will progress to the pronouncement of the Conditional Order. This is the first Order towards the divorce and used to be called the Decree Nisi under the ‘old law’.

A Final Order can be applied for some six weeks following the pronouncement of that Conditional Order. The Final Order used to be known as a Decree Absolute, but the terminology was amended so that the wording and procedure for the dissolution of a marriage or a civil partnership are now the same.

When divorcing, this procedure will only dissolve a marriage or a civil partnership, and it will not sever or conclude any financial ties with your spouse or partner.

Not ready for divorce?

Aside from divorce or dissolution, legal separation could be considered. An application could be made to the Court for Judicial Separation, but this is incredibly rare because the procedure itself is identical to a divorce. It attracts the same cost implications (the court fee) and is only really used for religious reasons.

However, divorce or dissolution could be avoided if this course of action through the Court is not desired, and parties could enter into a formal Deed known as a Separation Agreement. This is a Deed which embodies within it the terms of a separation and can outline any agreement that you have reached as to how your finances are to be dealt with, or what arrangements may be in place for any children.

The Courts are considering such contractual arrangements more and more these days and giving weight to such agreements if they are entered into following a strict criteria at the outset.

A Separation Agreement is not a divorce or dissolution, and does not have the finality as a Financial Remedy Order (or a Consent Order) would have to conclude financial issues following divorce. Either spouse could still apply to the Court for a financial order.

Contact our Family Law solicitors today

Should you require legal advice as to how to proceed with a divorce or a dissolution, or any form of Separation Agreement, our specialist Family Law team will endeavour to deal with matters sensitively and swiftly. Please do not hesitate to contact us by using our online enquiry form or by calling 0330 191 0070.