Dissolution of a civil partnership: arrangements for children
You may ask the Court staff for information regarding Court procedures, but Court staff are NOT allowed to offer legal advice or advise you about your different legal options.
Why it is better to reach agreement
Before beginning proceedings to dissolve your civil partnership or separating from your civil partner, one of your first concerns will be about your child[ren]’s future.
Try to reach agreement with your civil partner as to arrangements for the children as a constructive approach through the proceedings for dissolution or separation will help the children to adjust to the changes.
As you know your child[ren] best, you should be best able to consider how the break-up of your civil partnership will affect them, and to make arrangements which best suit their needs. It is better for you to sort matters out yourselves if at all possible, but if you cannot agree on the arrangements, you may be able to sort these out by attending mediation.
The Statement of Arrangements (Form CP5)
The person starting proceedings for dissolution of a civil partnership or for a separation order (“the applicant”) will need to submit a completed Statement of Arrangements for the Children, Form CP5.
Before doing this, the applicant should try and reach agreement with his/her civil partner (“the respondent”) about those arrangements. The Court will need to know about the child[ren] treated by you as though they were yours (known as “children of the family”). These include adopted children, but not foster children.
A. What happens if agreement is reached?
The respondent is served with the cause application for dissolution or separation including a Form CP4 Acknowledgement of Service and the Form CP5 Statement of Arrangements for the Children. If the respondent agrees with the arrangements for the children, he/she must sign and date Form CP5.
Both Forms CP4 and CP5 are then returned to the Court, and copies are then sent by the Court to the applicant (or to the applicant’s lawyer). The applicant (or the lawyer) then applies for ‘the Greffier’s Certificate’, enclosing the relevant documentation. If the Family Judge is satisfied with the paperwork, he/she issues the Greffier’s Certificate and, if the application for dissolution is undefended, sets a date for the pronouncement of the Conditional Order, and in a Separation case application for a Separation order.
If the Court is satisfied about the arrangements for each child, this is stated in the Court Minutes, and a Certificate of Satisfaction will be issued to you. Six weeks and a day after the pronouncement of the Conditional Order, the applicant can apply to the Family Judge for the civil partnership to be dissolved. If he/she does not do so, the respondent may apply three months after the six weeks period by filing a summons. There may be special cases of urgency when an earlier application may be made.
An order for dissolution will not be made unless the Family Judge is satisfied with the arrangements for each child of the family, or unless there are circumstances in which it may be necessary to make the order without delay, and there is an undertaking from both parents that the arrangements about the children are to be brought before the Court within a specified time.
B. What happens if you cannot reach agreement about the child/ren of the family
The respondent can file his or her own Statement of Arrangements (also in Form CP5), and negotiations can take place to try and reach agreement about the arrangements.
The Court will not make any order relating to a child unless it is satisfied that making an order would be better for the child than not making an order.
Even if Court proceedings have started, you can still continue to try and reach agreement attend mediation.
If you are unable to reach an agreement, one or both of the parties can make an application to the Court to decide the issue in dispute (see notes re Children)