Dale & Co. Solicitors Lincoln

We specialise in Family Law, Divorce, Property, Conveyancing, Probate, Wills and Powers of Attorney.

What are civil partnerships?

A civil partnership is a recognised, legal union between two people of the same sex, which came into operation on 5 December 2005 with most of the rights, responsibilities and other consequences of marriage. Civil partnership registration in England and Wales is modelled on civil marriage and most provisions are similar or the same. Accordingly, gay or lesbian couples can now publicly register their relationship, showing their commitment to each other and both gain a number of rights and also acquire responsibility for each other.

Such rights and responsibilities extend, as in marriage to all aspects of the relationship, from finances to children. For example, where there are children in the family, civil partnerships enable the second partner to apply for parental responsibility; benefit applications will assess both partners; civil partners have next of kin rights and can now benefit from pension rights, inheritance tax provisions etc. in the same way as a married couple.

Family & Divorce Solicitors

We take on Agency work for all aspects of Family Law.

What happens when a civil partnership comes to an end?

As in marriage, civil partnerships must be legally dissolved if the couple decide to end the relationship and the only ground for dissolving the partnership is, like divorce, the irretrievable breakdown of the relationship. This must be based on one of four facts - which are again identical to those for divorce save for the omission of adultery. The procedure for dissolution is almost identical to that of divorce. Upon dissolution of the partnership the court will make a Dissolution Order.

Again, similar to divorce, the civil partnership can be annulled by the court, in certain circumstances.

To dissolve a civil partnership, it must have lasted for at least one year. The court must be satisfied that the relationship has permanently broken down, to do this you need to prove one of the following facts:

Behaviour
Separation of 2 years or more with consent; or
Separation of 5 years or more
Desertion

How is a civil partnership registered?

A civil partnership is a totally civil procedure performed by a registrar; in approved premises. In practice, the procedure and ceremonies tend to be almost identical to civil marriage.

The main difference is that, although the option is available, there is no requirement for the exchange of vows in a civil partnership and registration takes place when both partners have signed the document. Whereas, with a civil marriage the marriage takes place upon the exchange of vows and the register is signed afterwards. In practice, both ceremonies often involve the exchange of vows followed by the signing of the register.

Signing the document can be private as it does not have to be part of a ceremony.

To register a civil partnership, there are rules for eligibility and consent, you must give notice of your intentions and the details of each partner. The notice is published by the registration authority for a period of fifteen days. The registration can take place after this fifteen day period, and your notice is valid for twelve months. This procedure is almost identical to that for civil marriage.

What is a CETV?

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is obtained from your pension trustees to assess the value of your pension. It is this figure which is taken into account for the purposes of calculating the assets available for division when considering a financial settlement following the breakdown of a marriage/civil partnership. The CETV of a pension is of particular importance when the pension is of a high value and/or the couple have been married/in a civil partnership for a substantial length of time. On occasion, it is necessary to obtain the advice of a pensions actuary to prepare various calculations in respect of the pension in order to determine the entitlement of the spouse/civil partner making a claim upon a pension.

If you choose more than one Attorney

If you have more than one attorney they can act together (never alone) or together and independently so that they can sometimes sign together and sometimes separately. This works well when the attorneys do not live near each other or if one were to retire or die then the other attorney could still act. If you appoint your attorneys together then the power will end if for example one dies, or looses mental capacity or decides he or she no longer wants to act.
You can, if you require, set out which matters you want your attorneys to act in together and when they can act together or independently. This may, however, prove difficult to work in practice with some financial institutions.
If you appoint your spouse or civil partner, dissolution of your marriage or civil partnership will end the appointment of your spouse/civil partner unless you have indicated otherwise.

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11 Beaumont Fee Lincoln Lincolnshire LN1 1UH United Kingdom

01522 513 399

Fax 01522 53 05 89

mail@dale-law.co.uk

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