Before you register

Whether you have been awaiting the opportunity to register for many years or you have recently heard about civil partnership and feel it may by right for you and your partner, it is important to think very carefully about the pros and cons of this serious legal commitment.

Same sex couples who are not in a civil partnership are treated in the same way as heterosexual unmarried couples and as there is no recognition of any couple relationships other than civil partnership and marriage, people who live together have to rely on property law to unravel their joint lives in the event of a disagreement.

It is very important for all couples living together to understand what protection the law does and does not give in relation to their property and financial rights. It is relatively cheap and straightforward to record in a legally enforceable way the intention that you will own a property jointly (or that, for example, your partner does not have a claim on your own property). If you do not do so and need to resort to a claim to the court at a later stage, the costs will be a great deal higher and the outcome uncertain.

If you and your partner register a civil partnership it will impact on any agreements you already have about property and financial matters, so it is well worth taking advice on this before registration.

For further information, contact Louise Coubrough or Melanie Hay.


Registration 
Before you register 
Pre-partnership agreements
Social Security
Living in the UK