Civil partnerships create a legal relationship between same-sex and mixed-sex couples, similar to that of marriage, and offer many of the same legal rights.
To register a civil partnership, the couple must give notice to their local registrar and then, once registered, they will be entitled to certain legal rights relating to tax, pensions, employment, immigration, child maintenance, parental responsibility and protection from domestic abuse.
Our dedicated and award-winning family lawyers, based in Edinburgh and Glasgow, will work with you with utmost discretion and care. We can help you with all aspects of family law relating to civil partnerships (mixed- sex or same-sex) including:
- Pre-nuptial and post nuptial agreements
- Separation and dissolution/divorce
- Adoption
- Child related disputes
Pre-civil partnership agreement
With civil partnerships offering many legal similarities to marriage, you may wish to create a pre-civil partnership agreement (similar to a pre-nuptial agreement), which helps to set out what each person is entitled to should the relationship break down.
If you think this would benefit you, our family lawyers can explain how these agreements work, prepare and draft the agreement or revise an agreement that has already been drafted, protect your assets to help avoid lengthy court battles in the event that you separate, and help you understand the potential impact on your legal rights if one of you lives or spends substantial time in another country during your marriage.
Guidance on international civil partnerships
Should you decide to move elsewhere in the UK or abroad, it is important to remember that your civil partnership may not afford you the same rights as it does in Scotland.
Some countries accept civil partnerships, but others don’t, and our experienced team can guide you on this.
Dissolving your civil partnership
Our expert family lawyers can support you in the unfortunate event that you need to dissolve your civil partnership. Resolving financial disputes in a civil partnership works in much the same way as a marriage; civil partners can claim for ongoing financial support, capital sums and pension sharing orders just like divorcing couples can.
All financial matters must be settled before the partnership can be dissolved, and we can guide you through this process.
