The Civil Solidarity Pact (PACS), unlike divorce, is not subject to any judicial review. As easy to conclude as to break, its dissolution is quick, simple and… effective!
The legislator thought of the PACS (Civil Solidarity Pact) as a very simple union to implement and with as few formalities as possible. Established in 1999, this union recognized by the state evolved in November 2017. Its registration is no longer carried out by a clerk of the district court, but by a civil registrar, such as a mayor. Hyper-accessible, 92,000 civil solidarity pacts (Pacs) were concluded in 2016 according to INSEE.
Breaking up a PACS is also relatively easyespecially when the decision to put an end to it results from a joint decision. The death of one of the partners or the marriage of one of them are two events resulting in the automatic dissolution of the contract. But the pact can also be broken by unilateral decision of one of the two partners. In all these cases, several steps are available to you…
Breaking up a PACS by joint declaration
The first scenario is the easiest. If the partners agree to break this pact, they only have to fill And sign a joint declaration of dissolution. Once this step has been completed, you must send the declaration by registered letter or submit it to the town hall which received the initial PACS. Finally, three to five weeks later, it is possible to check at the town hall that the mention of the dissolution has been made on their birth certificate.
Being alone and wanting to move away is possible: the unilateral decision
It is enough thatonly one partner wishes to dissolve the pact to make it so. This operation is a bit more complex and takes more time than the previous one. You just need to notify the partner by an act issued by a bailiff. This is what we call “a meaning” and it can cost between 90 and 150 euros. The latter will then be delivered either to the town hall, to the district court, or to the notary with whom the PACS was registered. If an agreement is impossible to resolve financial or real estate issues, the dispute must be resolved by the family court judge.
A marriage dissolves the PACS
Nothing complicated here: if a marriage takes place, the dissolution of the PACS is automatic. This annulment applies whether the marriage takes place between the civil partners or not. IF one of the two parties marries another person, the pact dissolves. Surprisingly, the partner who is getting married is not no obligation to warn the other partnerit is the civil registrar of the town hall where the marriage ceremony takes place who will take care of this. Secondly, after having validated the dissolution of the PACS, thecivil status officer informs the official records department of the town hall of the marriage.


