Serving clients across the UK, from offices in Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Yatton, Wedmore and Clevedon
Civil Partnerships January 2007
Just over one year ago on the 5th December 2005 the Civil Partnership Act was introduced which for the first time in this country offered to same sex couples the opportunity of registering their relationships and obtaining rights and obligations largely equivalent to those of married couples. Such personalities as Elton John and more recently Little Britain's Matt Lucas have been quick to take up this right with their long term partners.
A "Civil Partnership" is defined as a relationship between two people of the same sex which has been formed by registration in England and Wales or alternatively a relationship which has been formed overseas but is recognised in England and Wales.
The process for entering into a Civil Partnership is administered by the Local Authority. It is a civil not a religious act. The parties must be over the age of 16 years, of the same sex and must not already have a civil partner or be married. As with marriage there are also prohibitions against people within certain degrees of relationship entering into a Civil Partnership.
A Civil Partnership may be terminated very much in the same way as married couples may obtain a divorce and either by Nullity, Dissolution, Legal Separation or the making of a Presumption of Death Order.
As with standard divorce proceedings no application can be made for a dissolution order before a year has elapsed from the date the Civil Partnership was formed. The application for dissolution is on the grounds that the relationship has irretrievably broken down proved by one of four facts namely, unreasonable behaviour, living apart for 2 years with the other parties consent, desertion for 2 years or having lived apart for 5 years.
Upon termination either party may, again like divorce make application to the Court for financial relief. The Court may make very much the same orders as it can in divorce proceedings including for maintenance including maintenance for the benefit of any child of the family, lump sum, adjustment of the ownership of property, sale of property and pension sharing.
In considering applications for financial provision the Court must first have regard to the welfare of any child of the family and then factors such as the financial resources of each partner now and in the foreseeable future, their financial obligations, the standard of living they have enjoyed, the age of the parties and the duration of the partnership, any mental or physical disability, conduct where inappropriate to ignore and the value of any benefits that might be lost in the event of dissolution.
With such wealthy stars being amongst the first to enter into these agreements the financial aspects of any subsequent separation could be substantial. The over-riding objective of the Court will be to ensure that the parties financial dependency upon each other is determined as soon as possible.
With Cohabitation Agreements becoming increasingly more popular with couples in order to address possible financial issues arising in the event of their relationship breaking down this is another area for consideration pre to entering into any Civil Partnership or Marriage. Whilst there is no guarantee that such an agreement will be held binding by the Court it does in many cases provide a sensible course of action to be taken. It is particularly important that they both take independent legal advice and provide full details of their respective financial positions to each other prior to any such agreement being entered into. Whilst many still see such a document as unromantic it is a sensible approach to take as it will flag up those areas that need to be addressed to protect one another as much as possible and detail each party's intentions and expectations at a time when they are not in conflict.
This is a fascinating and rapidly developing area of law and the above article is only a a brief synopsis. If you require any further information or have any queries then please do not hesitate to contact Stewart Castle in our expert Family Department on 01934 623511 and he will be pleased to help.
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