Settling down with your partner is an enthralling step, but it is vital to make sure you understand your relationship’s legal status in the UK. Living together means cohabitating as a couple without getting married or in a civil partnership. A civil partnership is a lawful relationship which can be formed by two people who aren't related to each other. Civil partnerships can be of both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. As civil partners, you may choose to set down an agreement, known as a pre-registration agreement, before you register your civil partnership. You can dissolve your relationship if you are just living together, but you cannot apply to bring a civil partnership to get dissolved until it has lasted for at least one year.

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