I’m no longer sure I want to go ahead with my civil partnership dissolution. Can I change my mind?

Dissolution of a civil partnership is an extremely difficult decision and one that is not taken lightly.

When a relationship is ending emotions can run high. You may find that once you have started the proceedings to dissolve your civil partnership you and your partner decide to change your minds and no longer want to dissolve your civil partnership.

You can change your mind and have the dissolution dismissed or even decide to put your dissolution on hold at any point up until when the decree absolute – also known as the final order – is made.

Once the respondent has been served with the petition for the civil partnership dissolution (this can be done by process servers if they refuse) then the conditional order – also known as the decree nisi – can be applied for. If the grounds of the petition are accepted the conditional order will then be pronounced in court. The court will then make an order in relation to finances and once this is agreed the final order – also known as the decree absolute – will be applied for. It is when the final order is finalised that the civil partnership is dissolved. The final order has to be applied for at least 6 weeks and 1 day after the conditional order is pronounced but this can take much longer if there is a complex financial settlement, for example if you are a high net worth individual with pension funds and investments spread out across the world.

If you are unsure about whether you wish to go ahead with your civil partnership dissolution in any stage of the proceedings then it is important you speak to your solicitor to get legal advice as soon as possible.