Civil partnership barristers for dissolution and finances.

The dissolution application is made online by one or both partners. After twenty weeks a conditional order can be applied for, and six weeks later the final order. It is usually sensible not to apply for the final order until the financial settlement is agreed or ordered.

The financial side follows the Financial Remedies Court process: Form A, exchange of financial disclosure on Form E, a First Appointment, a Financial Dispute Resolution hearing where a judge gives an indication, and a final hearing if agreement is not reached. Private FDRs and arbitration are increasingly used to avoid delay.

Where the couple lived together before forming the partnership, the court may treat the whole relationship as relevant. That can make a substantial difference to how pensions, property and savings are shared.

• No fault dissolution and jurisdiction issues
• Financial remedy from Form A to final hearing
• Pension sharing, including public sector schemes
• Pre and post partnership agreements
• Child arrangements and parental responsibility
• Children born through surrogacy or donor conception
• Partnerships formed overseas and foreign assets
• Private FDRs and family arbitration

Agreements made before or during a civil partnership are not automatically binding, but following Radmacher v Granatino the court will give effect to an agreement freely entered into with full understanding of its implications, unless it would be unfair in the circumstances.

Counsel can advise on the terms of a proposed agreement, and on the weight an existing agreement is likely to carry if the partnership ends.

Every fee is fixed and agreed in writing before work begins. Written advice typically costs between £750 and £2,000 plus VAT depending on the volume of papers and the complexity of the issues.

Court attendance is where most of the cost lies. In most cases you should expect at least £1,000 for counsel to attend a hearing, with longer or contested hearings priced per day once the evidence and bundle are known. Hourly rates are available for ongoing advisory work, but most clients prefer the certainty of fixed fees for each stage.

It is free to send Clerk&Counsel an enquiry. If you instruct a barrister through us, a Clerk&Counsel service fee of up to £150, depending on urgency, applies and is shown separately from the barrister's professional fee before you decide.

Clerk&Counsel is an intermediary and clerking service. We do not provide legal advice or legal representation. Barristers instructed through us are independent practitioners regulated by the Bar Standards Board and are responsible for the legal services they provide.