In 2005, the law changed to allow same sex couples to register their partnership, and become Civil Partners. The Civil Partnership Act changed a number of other Acts of Parliament so that they must now be read to include Civil Partners, where they were originally drafted to refer only to married couples.

In respect of relationship breakdown, the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 now makes provision for Civil Partners to seek dissolution of their relationship, in the same way that a married couple can seek a divorce. Further, the provisions for financial claims to be brought are also extended to include Civil Partners.

As such, all the information on our website dealing with issues surrounding relationship breakdown apply equally to Civil Partners.