Same sex couples who want to take advantage of the new Civil Partnership Act should be clear about what they are getting into, according to a Coventry law firm.
The Bill will allow same sex couples to enter into an agreement similar to marriage.
"Legally it has similar legal consequences as marriage," said Dawn Mobbs, a partner with Band Hatton.
"This is obviously what same sex couples have been campaigning for over the years but it is important that anyone entering into a civil partnership realises what they are getting into.
"It is not something you can sign up to one day and then terminate the next.
"The 'get-out' process will be similar to a divorce." Just as in a marriage, the dissolution procedure will need to satisfy the court on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour, a two-year separation by consent, five years apart with no consent required or two years' desertion immediately before the application is made.
The only difference to the grounds for divorce is that adultery is not one of the criteria.
Similarly, it will be impossible for there to be an application for a dissolution order made within a year of registration.
On dissolution the court will also be able to make financial provision including the settlement of property, lump sum orders, pension adjustment orders, and maintenance for a term period.
