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This page is for you if you have been through a marriage or civil partnership ceremony, either in England & Wales or abroad (marriage only). Also see our finances on divorce, dissolution & legal separation page for what happens to your assets when you separate when married or in a civil partnership.
There is a lot of jargon when it comes to separating and the same issue can be known by multiple names. This page contains information about divorce, civil partnership dissolution, legal separation, judicial separation, annulment, nullity, void marriage, voidable marriage.
divorce.
Emma Gill is an award-winning divorce lawyer who has been named “quite simply the best matrimonial lawyer in the North” by Legal 500.
Divorce describes the process where a married couple legally dissolve their marriage, allowing them to share and finalise their assets, change their next of kin and remarry.
All divorce in England & Wales is “No Fault Divorce” since 6 April 2022. You now do not need to give a reason to evidence your divorce. There is now no blame in divorce.
Can anyone get divorced?
You can divorce in England & Wales:
- if you have jurisdiction for the court to process your application;
- if you are validly married in England & Wales, i.e. your marriage is legally recognised in England & Wales;
- if you have been married for at least a year; and
- your relationship has permanently broken down.
Most divorce applications are made via the government divorce portal.
You can make an application yourself; your spouse can make an application on their own or you can make a joint application together.
dissolution of civil partnerships
Dissolution is a very similar process to divorce and applies to Civil Partnerships. Same sex couples were able to form Civil Partnerships in 2005, and opposite sex couples were able to form Civil Partnerships in 2019.
A Civil Partnership formed before 2013 can be converted into a marriage.
Civil Partnerships are a ceremony, like a marriage. You have to have participated in a Civil Partnership ceremony, and conformed to the legal requirements of that ceremony, for your Civil Partnership to be valid. You do not have a Civil Partnership by living together.
Can anyone dissolve their civil partnership?
You can dissolve your Civil Partnership in England & Wales if you have been a Civil Partnership for over a year.
You can make an application yourself; your spouse can make an application on their own or you can make a joint application together.
legal separation/judicial separation
This application will allow you to separate and deal with some financial aspects of your marriage, but you will remain married.
Why would I want a Legal Separation/Judicial Separation?
Legal Separation, also known as Judicial Separation, is used where one spouse has a good reason to not want to divorce, such as religious beliefs.
You can start a Legal Separation/Judicial Separation in the first year of your marriage. If you needed to make a financial claim in the first year of your marriage and your relationship was over, you could apply for a Legal Separation/Judicial Separation and convert it to divorce proceedings after the year had elapsed.
annulment / nullity / void marriage / voidable marriage
This is an application available where there was some defect with the marriage itself, so the marriage never existed or a legally specified reason is available that the marriage should be voided, which means the marriage existed until it was annulled.
This is a complex area of the law and you should take specialist advice if you think you may have a void or voidable marriage. It may affect the financial claims you are able to make.