Chapter 4: Termination of the Life Partnership
Paragraph 15
Termination of the Life Partnership
(1) The Life Partnership can be terminated by court order upon petition by one or both Life Partners.
(2) The court shall terminate the Life Partnership if
1. the Life Partners have been living apart for one year and
a) both Life Partners petition for termination or the respondent consents to the termination or
b) it cannot be expected that the Life Partnership can be re-established,
2. one Life Partner petitions for termination and the Life Partners have been living apart for three years,
3. the continuation of the Life Partnership would pose an unreasonable hardship to the petitioner for reasons that lie in the person of the other Life Partner.
The court shall furthermore terminate the Life Partnership if one of the Life Partners exhibited a lack of will in the sense of Paragraph 1314, Section 2, Nos. 1 to 4, of the German Civil Code; Paragraph 1316, Section 1, No. 2, of the German Civil Code shall apply accordingly.
(3) The Life Partnership shall not be terminated under Section 2, Sentence 1, even though the Life Partners have lived apart for more than three years, if and as long as the termination of the Life Partnership would, owing to extraordinary circumstances, pose such serious hardship to the respondent who opposes it that the upholding of the Life Partnership, by way of exception, appears to be advisable, despite the interests of the petitioner.
(4) Termination in accordance with Section 2, Sentence 2, shall not be possible if the Life Partnership has been confirmed; Paragraph 1315, Section 1, Nos. 3 and 4, and Paragraph 1317 of the German Civil Code shall apply accordingly.
(5) The Life Partners shall be deemed to live apart if no domestic community exists between them and it is clear that one Life Partner does not wish to establish such a domestic community because he rejects the Life Partnership. Paragraph 1567, Section 1, Sentence 2, and Section 2 of the German Civil Code shall apply accordingly.
[ . . . ]
Source: Gesetz über die Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft [Law on Registered Life Partnerships], BGBl. I 2001, pp. 266 ff.
Translation by Catherine Hales; paragraphs 9 and 10 redacted by GHDI staff from the English translation available on the website of the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany [Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland or LSVD], www. lsvd.de
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