Ask the Experts

Consent orders

Date: 11 Jul 2007 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	I am 38, my husband is 41. We lived together for 11 years (1994 to 2005), married in 1998 and are awaiting Nisi (July 2007). We were legally married for 9 years. My husband has lived with his new partner since around February 2006. I am still living on my own with our 7yr old daughter (who spends 2/3 nights a week with my husband). My husband earns c£40k per year, I earn £21k per year. (His income has been up and down throughout our relationship – for a period of about 2 years I was the higher earner). Throughout our relationship, we have always had separate bank accounts and have always split all outgoings 50/50, e.g. I would make the mortgage payments, insurance etc., he would pay the bills, buy the food etc. His pension payments were part of his outgoings. I never had a pension of my own. When we separated, we sold the house for £185,000, leaving c£58,000 profit. My ex took £25,000, and I took c£33,000 plus most of the contents (less estate agent /solicitors fees etc). to enable me to buy a decent house in the same area for me and our daughter. I receive £400 a month from my husband for my daughter (nothing directly to me, although without the £400 a month I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the mortgage payments). My husband has arranged the divorce himself. However, he has emailed me a ‘Divorce Online Clean Break Consent Order Fact Finder’. As I haven’t completed it he has asked me for the value of my house, what my outstanding mortgage is, and the value of any other assets (a car c£3K). His intention is to complete the form himself, including his pension details I assume!, and he tells me it will be sent to a solicitor to be drawn up. My questions are . . . can he state on the form that the larger proportion I received from the house sale was to offset my share of his pension? At the time he told me he was happy with less than half, to enable me to afford to buy somewhere reasonable for his daughter to live. Should I be contacting a solicitor? If so, at what stage? We have remained friends over the last 2 years, but I’m becoming a little wary. Will anything stand before I have seen an official copy of the Consent Order? Your advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your help . . .
A.	It seems that your Husband is trying to finalise matters to ensure that neither of you have any claims against the other at any stage in the future. It does not seem that he is trying to claim anything at the moment and he is trying to ensure that neither of you can do so in the future. This is extremely sensible where matters were dealt with at the time of separation and enables both of you to move on. As far as documentation is concerned, the Courts require to know the exact financial circumstances of you both at the time of making the order to ensure that the agreement reached is a fair one. I would advise you to seek your own independent advice, once you have got the forms from him to sign, so that you can be sure that the order as drafted is what you have agreed between you.
Date: 2 Jul 2007 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	I'm currently selling my house to someone who is divorcing and leaving his marital home. He will using some money from his divorce settlement as deposit for the purchase of my house. They are about to sign their Consent Order document. How long after signing the consent order will the funds be available to my buyer so he can sign the contract to buy my house?
A.	Sorry but this really depends upon the terms of the Consent Order. The usual period allowed is 56 days from the date of sealing of the Order for one spouse to pay the other if there is property to be transferred. Usually a spouse can arrange a loan from a Bank once an Order has been sealed by the Court. A lot will of course depend upon how quickly they can get the draft Order before the Court and sealed. You really should speak to your Purchaser to get definite dates.
Date: 1 Apr 2007 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	Financial Settlement Background synopsis DIY divorce absolute granted 2005. Married in 1991. 13 years of marriage. One child born 1994. On divorce we owned jointly 2 houses both valued at £99k we sold one to pay off the mortgage and charges on that property and joint debt. Ex stayed in 2nd property still in joint names I left that property in Jul 2006. He pays £400 maintenance by verbal agreement for his son. His net salary is £2000 per month Plus RAF Pension in the region of £800. His final rank at reitrement was SGT, He was in the RAF for his final 3 years during our marriage. I have 3 questions : What financial settlement am I entitled to? I think it is 3/22 of his pension and 50% equity of the property. How long do I have to claim this since my divorce? Is the maintenance level he is paying correct, should it be less or more?
A.	The child maintenance for your son is set at about the right level from what you have said. Child Support Agency rates are currently 15% of income net of tax and nic only for one child which would be £420 per month approximately. An allowance is made if a child stays with an absent parent for more than 52 nights per year. Therefore if your son stays with his father every weekend for 2 nights he would be entitled to a discount. The pension issue is a difficult one to answer, if there is sufficient equity in the property your ex husband may prefer to buy out your share of his pension and give you extra cash now. If he was in the RAF for 22 years as you seem to be suggesting, then you ought to be entitled to 50% of the 3 years you were married to him. It should be possible for you to have a pension sharing order if you are not so worried about a larger cash settlement now. As far as capital is concerned, all capital assets should be taken in to account regardless of whose name they are in. First regard is taken as to need of a child whilst a minor such as housing etc. and then a fair division is made (usually 50/50 if possible). However if one or other party put in more initially say towards the purchase of a house then that party could obtain repayment of those funds first prior to the balance being split equally. There is no time limit until you have a clean break order dismissing all claims. This of course works both ways! Good luck
Date: 22 Jan 2007 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	I have recently divorced. I met someone whilst I was married and although I was quite perpared to go along with a divorce based upon my adultery (my ex-wife and I had not had a 'relationship' for a very long time'); my ex-wife would not agree to this as she said it was not in her financial interest. I carried on paying the mortgage for the marital home for as long as I could and indeed never took any assests or money. Eventually my ex-wife agreed to a divorce based upon two years sepeartion and that chapter of things is now closed. The finances however are not. Originally, she told me that if I allowed her to buy a new house with the proceeds of the sale of the marital home she would give me a divorce, obviously this never happend. But the house was sold and the agreement was that I would have half of the residual money after the new house had been purchsed. I waited over three months and then never got half as my ex-wife decided that she could use the money to pay her debts. Needless to say I had a new partner (now my wife) and I had to put our interest first and felt vey vulnerable financially. I asked for a clean break agreement, which she consented to as long as she could keep a large endowment that was in joint names. A consent order has been submitted to the court but it seemes my ex-wife has lied on her financial statment and it is now being questioned. The lie that has arisen is that just prior to our seperation I inherited a large sum of money from my late father which was put into an account in my wife's name (as I did not have a savings account). Obviously as we had just seperated and other priorities took over (like putting a roof over my head). When it comes to to the financial statement I was expecting to see this money listed and then somehow it would be divided and/or handed back over to me. Instead my ex-wfie backed me into a corner of accepting just £10000 for a clean break settlement (she has had in excess of £250,000). After questioning, a statement was produced clearly showing that she had spent (?) or got rid of all the money my father left me within 4 months of me leaving. She has then tried to say that I gave her permission to do this, which I did not. I want to know where I stand regards this as I have been advised that it could cost me alot of money to make a seperate application to the court, however, surely the court needs to be aware of these facts when summising the consent order that has been submitted. I wanted to question things further before the consent order was submitted to the court, but seeing as I seemed to have been 'taken to the cleaners', I had to stop as I just do not have the finances to run up large solicitors bills. Please advise? Thank you.
A.	You need to write to the Court extremely urgently quoting the case number setting out the above. It is likely that you will both have to attend before the District Judge dealing with this issue to explain what has happened. The District Judge will then be able to give you guidance as to future proceedings. Once the Order has been sealed it is very difficult to set it aside and the longer it is left the worse it gets. If the Order has already been sealed and she has failed to disclose things to the Court then that is a ground for Appeal but you do need to deal with this extremely extremely urgently. Good Luck.
Date: 4 Jan 2007 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	The divorce between my 'ex' wife and myself has been a totally amicable affair. We have agreed all financial details and we have written various substantiations to this effect.A decree nisi was granted to us in Sept. '05. As it is a very amicable divorce we decided that only one solicitor was necessary and she employed the services of a local solicitor. However, the solicitor is stalling in applying for the Decree Absolute because of one issue. That being proof of my wifes pension fund. She is a teacher and they are being extremely slow. I have written a letter stating that I will have no future claim with regards her pension, but the solicitor is not satisfied with this. This has now dragged on for over a year and we are both now keen to close this issue and obtain our decree absolute. Can you please advise us how this can be achieved in the quickest time. Thank you.
A.	The Petitioner can apply to the Court for the Decree Nisi to be made Absolute any time after 6 weeks and one day after the pronoucement of the Decree Nisi. The Form is available from the Court Service Website. The Respondent can apply 3 months after pronouncement of Decree Nisi. It is usual for financial matters to be finalised before the Decree Absolute is granted however. The form is available from the Court Service web site and this should be completed preferably by the Petitioner to the proceedings and sent in to the Court with the fee.
Date: 16 Aug 2006 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	i have recently divorced and my ex wouldnt sign a clean break form i have re married and here she has now re married too do i still need this to stop her coming for money in years to come
A.	It is always advisable to get a clean break but if you have both remarried the likelyhood of any claims she may make being succesful are very slim.
Date: 16 Apr 2005 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Are consent orders put before the court to make them a binding agreement or just through the solicitors.
A.	Consent orders are orders made by the court, that is what makes them binding and enforceable.
Date: 6 Apr 2005 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have been divorced from my ex-wife for a year. A Consent order was put in place stating that i should pay her £450 pm for our two daughters (now 5 & 7) until they have finished their education. The consent order also stated for me to pay her £150 pm spousal support for 3 years or until she re-marries. I agreed with this as she was living on her own and needed help to stay in the matrimonial home. She also said she didn't want to move to a smaller house and disrupt our children. So we verbally agreed that if she was to co-habit i can stop paying the spousal support. As soon as the consent order was finalised she sold the matrimonial home and moved into a new 4 bedroom detached house with her new partner. My questions are how do i go about changing the consent order (if i can) so i don't pay spousal support, and can i reduce the child payments as i am now living with someone who already has a daughter (5) and we have one on the way. I have applied to the CSA but they say they can't do anything as my ex-wife hasn't returned their forms and she is not obligated to do so. Thanks in advance. Richard.
A.	Richard You need to apply to the court for a variation of the order, which is quite straight forward. Without giving you legal advice, I would say you have a very strong application to get her maintenance varied downwards. it involves filing an application and preparing an affidavit about the changed circumstances and then if she does not agree, a short hearing dealing with the matter. We can prepare the application and affidavit and guide you through for £170.00 http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/services/Legalcentre/adjustment.asp We will need a copy of the original order, but our drafting team will request this upon purchase. We look forward to helping you.
Date: 7 Feb 2005 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My husband and I are seeking divorce, he wants to file on the grounds of my adultery, although we disagree about this being the reason the marriage ended i have resolved to go ahead by these means. I have been self-employed for the last year, although not really earning much money to live on. My husband has been out of work on benefits for about 3 years. My worry is that I am about the form a limited company, around the same time I will be going through divorce. I wonder what kind of impact this might have on me. It all seems so complicated, I am considering offering a share in the company in exchange for work that he did last year on the business website. Is this advisable? Thanks very much for any advice.
A.	I cannot see there will be any impact on your new venture from the divorce. As part of the divorce I would advise that you file a clean break order which will set out what you have agreed financially and then go onto make a clean break, so that any income, property etc that you earn after the divorce is final cannot be touched by either party.
Date: 2 Feb 2005 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	separated in 1999,divorced since June 2001,using your online service.As divorce was by consent and we had divided our assets at the time of separation,did not apply for financial settlement through the court. Can either of us now apply to obtain money from the other,if so would the court take into account what we had mutually agreed at the time of separation.We agreed verbally and had no written agreement.
A.	No, either of you can apply to the court as no financial order was made. An order is usually filed before Decree Absolute but it can be filed afterwards. However if you apply now for a consent order, a clean break order can be made which will then protect you for the future. This will reflect what you have already agreed and divided and then go on to dismiss all the potential claims each party could make. We can do this for you with our clean break order service which costs £90.00 + court fee We can get the papers ready for filing back to you within a few days. The court then takes about 3-4 weeks to ratify the order. http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/services/legalcentre/consent.htm
Date: 22 Nov 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	As part of our clean break consent order my ex-wife made a declaration that she had no intention to co-habit or remarry within 6 months, however less than four months have passed and she has begun co-habiting, I beleive the intent was always there - is there anything that can be done re this statement given that our decree absolute has been pronounced ?
A.	Phil If you entered into the order on the basis that she would not be cohabiting and by cohabiting, the order is now unfair to you, then you can apply to set aside the order and have a fresh hearing. i would however get independent legal advice as to whether you would materially be any better off by doing so, taking into account the cost of bringing the application, the time involved and the likely increase in assets etc that you would receive.
Date: 23 Aug 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	What is the definition of 'full time tertiary education? The editor of this web site stated in the discussion forums that '"full time tertiary education'' is post secondary or 6th form college but it does not include 4 years of university. The definition changes depending on who you ask. Who can I write to obtain an official, legal ruling?
A.	I have been in discussion with other family lawyers regarding this question. In the past the phrase full time education was used to describe upto 6 th form, but this has been interpreted to also mean higher education by some judges. The SFLA have issued guidance that we should use the terms secondary education for upto 6th form and tertiary to the end of higher education.
Date: 10 Aug 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	hello, i have been going thro this divorce for over 4 years and had my nisi last nov 7th. i started the divorce but was counter petitioned and went along willingly just to be free. but it has halted as ,before the absolute can be pronounced, the judge wants me to sign another consent order form as he is not happy with me signing away my half of the marital home. i want to do this, i want nothing from the marriage. but i am still waiting for the court summons. so, on oct 8 this year, my 5 year separation will be up. can i just get a quickie divorce via your website?? im dying to know. i just want shot of this marriage. many thanks.
A.	Sharon The judge cannot force you to sign another order if you don't want to. It is a consent order so it needs your consent. I woulkd rwite to the court indicating that you are happy with the original order and that you do not want any of the matrimonial assets. Tell the judge he has no power to halt the order being made as it is a consent order and that you want it to be made and will apear before him to confirm it if that is what he wants.
Date: 2 Aug 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	What exactly is "Ancillary relief"? We are trying to find out if we we can appeal against a court ruling with regard to the family home. My parents divorced in 1976, my mother agreeing to sell when the youngest child (me) became 18. We did not see my father again. He did not keep to terms of maintainance for 3 children or pay the mortgage on a regular basis. He then turned up when I was 21 and living with my mother with 2 small children. He wanted half our family home. It went to court and my mother agreed to give him £6000 on the spot (provided by my brother in law) and my father got 20% interest in the house when my mother dies or sells it. He refused to leave this to his children. My mother now cannot move due to the legal costs due to come out of the house if she sells it and the money he will collect. Which will leave her with little. He has not had anything to do with the house, or its maintanence which has been providied by me and my brother and sister in terms of windows, heating etc, but stands to collect even though he is a stranger from 1976! We feel a great miscarrege of justice has occured and would like to know if she has grounds to appeal. Thanks in advance
A.	My view is that it is far too late to appeal the order it having been made many years ago. Your father was compensated for his loss of equity by the court which he would receive when she dies or sells the property. It would also appear that when she paid the £6,000 the subsequent order which provides for the later sale was made by consent between the parties. It is very difficult to overturn any orders that are made by consent and where both parties were represented or refused representation. However that said you should in this case seek independent legal advice from a specialist Solicitor in your local area. If your mother is on benefits or a low income she may qualify for legal funding (legal aid). The alternative is to make your father an offer. Your mother is in the driving seat as she can say either you take my offer or I stay where I am until I die and you may never therefore get any money as men tend to die earlier than women. If he then accepts you would have a variation to the order drawn up by consent and filed at court. That would discharge her liability to him.
Date: 5 Jun 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	why if my wife and i have agreed to try sort our divorce between us and reach a figure for her to buy me out of house do sols still need my wage details and bank slips etc?
A.	If you have agreed to a divorce and have sorted out the finances amicably then you do not need to instruct a Solicitor. Our Platinum service costs £170.00 and will deal with both the divorce and an agreed financial order for both of you. The only disclosure you both need to make is on a financial information statement when the consent order is filed at court. This just asks for your annual income, your capital details and your pension values if you have them. You only need to give full documentary disclosure if the case is likely to be contested.
Date: 2 Jun 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Can you advise how best to secure my residency in the property - my husband left two weeks ago and said he wanted nothing, now he is consulting a solicitor about his rights concerning the home - I have a 13 year old son who is learning impaired - please advise, I am worried sick. Theresa
A.	My advice is to begin divorce proceedings as this will then allow you to issue an application for ancillary relief ( financial matters) against your husband as the court cannot make an order in your favour until this has been done. If he has agreed to sign over the house to you then I would advise you have a consent order drawn up which you can then send to him or his Solicitors for approval. This will help speed the process up and if agreed will create a binding order which will force him to transfer the property to you. If he does not do so, the court will sign the deeds in his place.
Date: 31 May 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	hi, could you help, ive been divorced since november 2003 (absolute), but because of a mix up this was processed before a financial settlement was done, I was hoping to set up my own business in a couple of months, could my ex husband claim part of my business, at the moment he is refusing to do financial settlement, he made me an offer but it was refused as it was unreasonable... please could you help i dont want to start this business if he can claim half the profits... many thanks
A.	Technically any assets you both have now could be taken into account by the court, inclusing any assets he has accrued. However the court is highly unlikely to award any money or assets that have been built up since the divorce, so I would not hold back on setting up your business. I would however suggest you have a consent order drawn up and sent to him, with a warning that of he does not agree to it, you will apply to the court for an order and will seek costs from him for doing so. That should focus his mind on matters.
Date: 4 May 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife divorced me over 2 years ago and we had a mutual arrangement for maintenance for the kids, she was to keep the FMH and I my pension, I took alll the debts. The kids have one by one moved in with me, aged 20, 19 and 16. We are both co-habiting, I have a new house with my new partner, I have mainatained mortgage payment on the FMH and contribution to the kids whilst living with their mother. There was no prayer for ancillary relief on the divorce forms (they were crossed out). Can I get a consent order drafted for the court to agree a clean break based on these wishes?
A.	Yes of course you can. All we have to do is provide you both with Form A's to sign when you lodge the consent order. This enables you to file an application for ancillary relief for dismissal purposes only. We can draft the consent order and anciallry documents for you. This package costs £90.00 + £30.00 court fee. To order this Goto: http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/redirect.asp?goto=services/Legalcentre/consent.htm
Date: 18 Mar 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	After 18 months my court order is with the court, I have met and intend to live with a new partner, my husband does not know this. I have signed the order to say that I have no intention at present of cohabiting or remarrying, how long do should I legally wait before cohabiting. I realise that the decree absolute says ' you are free to remarry' but this does not seem to be the case. I have been told that my husband could have the case reopened in court if I cohabit. I would be grateful if you could shed some light on this Thank you.
A.	This is a difficult one to answer as it is such a grey area. What you have to avoid is the inference that you knew you would be living your new partner at the time the order was filed. If you can leave it for 6 months, this should be a reasonable period of time for a "new" relationship to develop into one where the parties wish to live together.
Date: 5 Mar 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have been married for 10yrs with two children. I started divorce proceedings 2 years ago following marriage breakdown. can I include in the "pot" his portion of a house he owns with his first wife. she still lives in it with his 3 children. I am having to put in the "pot" my house which I inherited from my father and is my home for me and the children. I have had to put asside 17,000 for him (I am in the middle of a house move) and just want to reduce (fairly) the amount he has from me and the children. Also can i include his two pensions which add upto 8,000
A.	Yes these are matrimonial assets as they do belong to him and should be taken away as far as his assets are concerned as should the value of his pensions. However if the court has made an order within the proceedings already then you will not be able to reduce the amount that has been ordered to be paid. If you do not have an order and you can reach agreement may I suggest you obtain a clean break order which we can draft for you for £90.00 http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/services/legalcentre/consent.htm
Date: 24 Nov 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Hi We are having problems getting my partners ex wife to sign a 'Clean break' order. She seems to think she doesn't have to sign it - it this correct ? My parner will be getting his final through in 4 weeks time and we hope to get her to sign it before then. Her solicitor keeps telling her to stall as much as possible ! Many thanks
A.	Kim If you want a final order by consent then I am afraid she is going to have to sign it. Your only other option is to apply for ancillary relief to the court. If she has agreed to the draft order in open correspondance between Solicitors, they can apply to the court for a ruling that the order should stand and she would then have to pay your costs as well.
Date: 13 Nov 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My partner has been separated form his ex wife for over 5 years. He is 45 and she is 38. They have 3 children, 17, 15 and 12. He moved in with me 6 months ago and since then his ex has been stalling with regards to getting a divorce (although she was all for it before he met me). I am currently paying the mortgage, although he does help with the bills. After many months of trying to get her to sign the divorce papers, and her stalling at every opportunity, he finally had his Nisi granted this week. He has now had a letter from his ex's solicitor saying they need to know how much his pension is worth, although she has said she doesn't want any money from him. (It will be worth very little as he hasn't paid into it for many years and doesn't have a pension at the moment). She gets all the maintenance money for the children, although we look after them from Friday until Monday morning. We also pay for school trips, clothes etc.. He works full time, but she doesn’t work. We hope to get married next year, but we are concerned that she will try to get money from him in the future. I am paying the mortgage on my house and have some savings plus a holiday home on the coast. Is there any way that she can apply for money from these assets if we get married ? Is there any way of ‘keeping her to her word’ with regards to her not asking for any finance from him ? Many thanks
A.	I think what is happening is that the Solicitor is obtaining full and frank disclosure of your Husband's assets in advance of a consent order being filed which will formally dismiss any potential claims, either party may have once the divorce is finalised. It would appear to be nothing to worried about.
Date: 31 Oct 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I am divorcing my husband on the grounds of adultery. We have agreed our finances between us to be reviewed when our son leaves home and cannot afford to get solicitors involved. I have retained the marital home and custody of our 10 year old son - he is paying maintenance. If we should 'fall out' in the furture, can we still get a court order over finances, even tho we would be divorced by this time?
A.	Valerie We can deal with your consent order for you. We can draft and prepare the documents needed to obtain a consent order for £85.00 + the court fee of £30.00 All our orders are drafted by experienced legal practitioners (5 years +) and take 28 days to be drafted. We interact with you until the order is correct and ready to file. If the court raise any queries we will also deal with those for you. The Consent Order can be found at http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/legalcentre.asp choose Clean Break (consent) order. You will then pay and then download our Fact Finder which is a Word document to complete and return to us.
Date: 19 Aug 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	my wife is divorcing me on ground of adultery. We completed transfer of equity on our house in to my sole name earlier this year and inconsideration for her share of the equity she received 25k. She is now saying that she will sue me for half of my property with the divorce. please can you confirm whether the courts will award her half again? Or is the divorce and finances a seperate issue, surely cannot take half again? Thanks.
A.	As you have already divided the assets of the marriage it is very doubtful if she would receive a share of any property bought after the transfer, and for which she has made no contribution. I would advise that you have a consent order prepared and put to her dismissing all claims between you on the basis of your prior division. She would either have to accept it, or make a formal claim to the court for ancillary relief which in my view would fail. If that were the case she would be liable for your costs.
Date: 2 Jul 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I REPRESENTED MYSELF IN AN FDR COURT HEARING. WHEN THE ORDER CAME, IT WAS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT AGREED WITH MY EX-WIFE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES. CAN I CHALLENGE THIS AND IS IT TRUE THAT THE DRAFT ORDER SHOULD HAVE BEEN AGREED BY BOTH PARTIES BEFORE BEING FINALISED? THANK YOU.
A.	Paul If the order as drafted is different, you need to raise this with her Solicitors first, line by line referring to the order and then to your notes. If they agree, then you can file an amended agreed order under what is called the slip rule. If not, then you will need to make an application to the court to have the order reviewed. I would suggest you instruct a Solicitor for this part.
Date: 21 May 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	If there is a consent order stating that three teenage children are to be maintained until the end of further education including higher, is there a possibility of applying to the CSA to have them agree a figure instead and voiding the court order? Or is it fixed until the children decide to leave university after as many courses as they want to take? Thanks
A.	Under the new rules either party is at liberty to apply to the CSA for an assessment after 12 months where an order by consent has been made by the court. The order would normally last until the children leave full time education, which is 6th form or college and would not include higher education unless specifically asked for and agreed to and would include 1 completed course of undergraduate study
Date: 25 Apr 2003 Answered by: Hilary Bowles, Solicitor, Fullagarbrooks
Q.	MY PARTNERS WIFE HAS NOT COMPLIED WITH THE CONSENT ORDER THAT STATED SHE HAD TO PAY HIM 15K AND SHE WAS TO OWN THE PROPERTY, THEY HAVE 2 CHILDREN WE HAVE 1. WHAT IS LIKLEY TO HAPPEN NOW, THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN 2 EXTENSIONS AND STILL NOT COMPLIED ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE CONFIRMED SHE HAS A MORTGAGE AND HAVENT MADE US AWARE OF PROBLEMS.
A.	Wendy I assume that the two extensions that your partner’s wife has been given were voluntary and not by way of Court Order. If no problem has been communicated to you then I would suggest that firstly you ask your Solicitors for the next course of action. If you do not have Solicitors then I would suggest that you formally ask for a reason for the delay and if no satisfactory reply is forthcoming then inform her or her Solicitors that you will be making an application to Court to enforce the Court Order. They may also need to be reminded that it is likely that interest is running on the £15,000. The Court will give a Directions Hearing and can make Orders for the implementation of the Consent Order. There may also be other forms of enforcement but without seeing the documentation and being fully aware of the circumstances I am unable to elaborate further on this point.
Date: 30 Mar 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife and I have been seperated 2 years after her adultery,and she has now started divorce proceedings. We sold the family home at the time of seperation, sharing the profit, and I bought my present home-letting her stay with me for a 4 months as she was homeless.In the divorce papers the following passage was left in - Ancillery Releif-that she may be granted the following A Relief- an order of maintenance pending suit-a periodical payments order-a secured provision order-a lump some order-a propery adjustment order-a pension adjustment order under section 24Bor 25B and C of the matrimonial causes act. She received settlement when she left and I gifted £20 thousand to her after she had stayed with me to help her buy a home for our 2 children - as far as I was aware the only payment i should make now is maintenance - what exactly is she asking for? If my new partner moves in with me will this affect any financial settlement. I would welcome any advice you can offer. J Grocott
A.	The prayer that your refer to is a standard inclusion into the petition so that the parties can after decree nisi apply for a consent order, as someone has to formally make a claim before it can be dismissed. I do not think she is actually going to ask for any of these orders. You need to get a consent order drawn up dismissing these claims on the basis of your agreed settlement.
Date: 30 Dec 2002 Answered by: Hilary Bowles, Solicitor, Fullagarbrooks
Q.	For the Consent Order I was forced into offsetting my personal assets[ my inherited posessions and small savings] against his thriving business and large pension or I would have lost the lot..Can I appeal as I am in financial difficulties as I worked in his vet business? I may get a small lump sum , probably not the inheritance money I ploughed into the house,when the former marital home is sold [ minus all his loans]If I can is there a time limit? Also he has not delivered up items requested within 28 days. How can I formally retrieve these? Divorce absolute was obtined 10 months prior to this Consent Order.
A.	Sue There are only specific circumstances in which you can set aside a consent order. The criteria are; a. since the order new events must have taken place which invalidates the basis or fundamental assumption upon which the order was made, so that if leave to a appeal were granted, the appeal would be certain or very likely to succeed. b. the new events must have occurred within a relatively short time of the order (usually a few months) c. the application for leave to appeal must be made reasonable promptly d. the grant of leave must not prejudice any third parties. If there was non-disclosure of facts and assets by your ex-husband then this could also give grounds for appeal. On the face of the facts you give, it does not immediately strike me that you have grounds to appeal or set aside the order. However, by far the best person to advise you as to this, would be the solicitors who acted for you in the proceedings as they are in possession of all the facts.
Date: 23 Nov 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have purchased the Divorce Package (£150). I have been amazed how easy things have progressed so far (thank you). I have just received a court date of 9th Dec for the Divorce Nisi to be 'granted'. The court has indicated they have no objection to the arrangements my wife and I have agreed for the children involved. My questions are:- when should I submit the Complete Break (financial) forms to the court? Will it have any impact if this is not received at the court by the 9th Dec? Is it wise to get this settled asap? When this form is submitted to the court what happens and can the court refuse the agreement wife and I have made? Many thanks for doing a great job in making this awful process as painless (emotionally and financially) as possible. Ken
A.	The consent documents can be filed at any time after the decree nisi has been pronounced. It is usually preferable to have the order made before you apply for Decree Absolute but it does not make a great deal of difference as the order will still be made after the absolute has been made.
Date: 18 Oct 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife and I are seperated owing to my adultery and she is divorcing me. I have admitted this and I have agreed to pay the costs of the divorce. We jointly own 2 properties and we live in each. Both are mortgaged and I pay £718 per month and she pay £365 per month. We both have occupational pensions. MIne is £9k gross pa and hers is about £7k gross pa. I earn £17800 pa at my job and she has an income of £12 - £15kpa Both house have joint equity of around £100k. The balance of the mortgage on the house I pay for is £47k and the balance on the ione she pays for is £23k. There are no dependent children. She wants to remain in her property and I in mine but on receiving papers from her solicitors the Prayer lists a demand for sgared costs, pension rights, maintenance etc. I have also been asked by her solicitors for bank statements, etc. The questions are; Can I be forced to sell my house whilst she retains hers? Is she likely to be given Maintenance payments by the court? Am I likely to be asked to asked to pay her part of my pension income? Do I have to give her solicitor the evidence requested and do I have the right to withhold this until I have a request to see her financial statements etc? Finally is this financial informatin dealt with at the divorce hearing or is it requested later? Thanks Ted Walker
A.	What you decide is best for you as a couple cannot be underminded by Solicitors or the court if that is what you want. However in order for nay agreement to be enforeable there needs to be full and frank disclosure of assets on both sides. It is therefore sensible to co operate with her Solicitors as far as diclosure is concerned. As for the prayer, it is normal for all claims to remain in the petition so all claims can be dealt with in a consent order for dismissal purposes.
Date: 29 Aug 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	In divorce proceedings - if financial agreement is made between myself and my husband - does this have to go throught the court for agreement - or is it up to us what is decided ?
A.	The agreement needs to be formalised into what is known as a consent order. This sets out the agreement reached ad then goes on to make any orders you have asked for such as the sale of a home. It then dismisses any future claims between you so after the order is made and the decree absolute, niether party can then make any future claims.
Date: 13 Jul 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	The decree nisi is to be pronounced in court on 7th August. We are thinking of using your Consent Order package; however there is a couple of points bothering us: 1 - My wife has given me a list of assets she wants to take out of our rented house (of which I am remaining in with our two children). She is living with the man she committed adultery with. Would I need to send you this list or do I just attach it to the order 2 - She has agreed to leave my pension alone; however I think I still need to obtain a copy of my pension value from my employers. Again, do I post this to you or do I attach it the final order? Basically what I am trying to say before we purchase the package is how does the whole thing come together?
A.	When you order the package you have to complete a questionnaire which asks for your basic assets for both of you. You will need to complete the details of your pension value for the questionnaire before you return it to us. We then draft the order and other documents for you,and send them to you for filing with a guide. It is very straight forward.
Date: 29 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	In a recent email you stated that 'you are going to have to have your pension funds valued, whether for the court or if you have agreed your finances for disclosure purposes'. Surely if we are amicable on financial matters in that my wife is willing to leave my pension alone then why should the court wish to view any valuation?
A.	The court need to have disclosure of your assets. This is to make sure that once the order is made neither side can then go back and say they want the order changed because dislosure has not been given. This is to protect the validity of the order
Date: 26 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife has left me and we are currently proceeding with the divorce. She is currently living with another man who owns his own house although it has only one bedroom. There are two children who live with me. I meet all of their expenses and financial needs and receive no maintenance towards thier upkeep from my ex. We have a house worth £115k with an outstanding mortgage of £40k and other assets of £30k. I earn £25k and my ex earns £5k although she could earn £12k but she will only work part time. My ex is asking for a clean break lump sum of £40k to enable her to buy a larger house, is this a reasonable amount?
A.	From your figures you have capital of £105 and she would like £40k. This would still leave you with over half the total matrimonial assets which on the face of it would seem reasonable. however can you afford to raise your mortgage or would you be able to pay her from another source? At the end of the day there are no hard and fast rules, save that you have to be able to provide for your children. You cannot have a clean break as far as they are concerned, only between you as parents. If she is not paying child support you may either agree a voluntary figure which the court can endorse or apply to the CSA for an assessment. This has nothing to do with you and her as far as capital is concerned and she cannot exclude maintenance. We can help you with your divorce using our market leading Divorce LegalPac service which costs just £80.00. The Divorce Service gives you a completed suite of documents, a step by step guide to procedure and free help and support by telephone or e-mail until you are divorced. This means we are here to assist you throughout the process from answering simple queries and court related questions to editing or amending your documents. In addition to the fee for our service there are court fees payable of: £150.00 at the start of the divorce £30.00 at the end of the divorce. For more information and to order this service goto: http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/legalcentre.asp If you have agreed your finances with your spouse then you will need to obtain a court order to ensure that there can be no further claims in the future. This is called a Consent Order and we can also draft this documentation for you to ensure that your finances are settled with the divorce. The Order is normally filed between Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute so you may need to order the service as soon as possible to ensure you can receive your order in plenty of time. We have developed the Divorce Extra package to cover both the divorce and finances. This package costs £150.00 To order this Goto: http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/legalcentre.asp
Date: 20 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	If me and my wife sign a consent order which allows her 50% of assets out of our rented house and a certain amount of my terminal grant when I leave the RAF in return for her leaving my pension alone is this classed as a clean break due to the the fact that she is getting the lump sum at a future date? I am living in RAF quarters with my children. My wife committed adultery and is living with that person.
A.	Yes it will be a clean break between you and your wife although because you have children their can never be a true clean break as applications can still be made in respect of the children for capital and income.
Date: 15 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have recently filed for divorce from my wife on grounds of adultery. She has returned the petition and doesn't want to defend it.(She actually wanted me to file for divorce). I live in an armed forces property with my two children; my wife has moved in with her lover. We don't have our own property and not much savings. However, we are agreed amicably on the financial side in that she can have assets from our home i.e furniture, etc and she has agreed to leave my pension alone and I will give her a percentage of my terminal grant when I leave the forces in 18 months time. To get this as a consent order what forms do we need to fill in and will the courts change anything when the order is submitted? Or will they agree to it as it is an agreement between me and my wife? She has sought legal advice regarding pensions but understands I need to provide housing for the children when I leave the forces.
A.	Divorce-Online can prepare your consent order for you for £80.00 All you have to do is complete a straight forward questionnaire and we then proceed to draft the order and application in readiness for you filing the documentation once the Decree Nisi has been pronounced by the court. There is a court fee of £30.00 in addition to our charges for drafting the draft order and application. For more information goto: http://www.divorce-online.co.uk/legalcentre.asp and choose Consent Order.
Date: 14 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Is it usual practice for a solicitor to hold the funds from the sale of a house until the 'minutes of consent' have been sealed? What are the 'minutes of consent'?
A.	Yes, it is quite normal for this to happen. The minutes of the consent order is effectively the draft consent order having been submitted to the court. The order is then approved and sealed by the court to make it binding. Once it has been sealed the monies then can be released.
Date: 11 Jun 2002 Answered by: David Leadercramer, Solicitor
Q.	My ex-wife and I agreed the terms for a consent order, through our solicitors, which required me to make a cash settlement. I made the agreed payments, but having received the money, my ex-wife no longer shows any sign of applying to the court for the consent order. It took several months after agreeing the settlement before she produced a statement of information, which I have not accepted as being accurate as it greatly understates her income and assets. What can I do to break this impasse, without involving a lot of expense? Is there any simple means by which she can be compelled to produce evidence to substantiate the figures she has provided? Is there a time period after which it can be argued that has no serious intention of applying for the consent order, and that the settlement previously agreed to may be re-negotiated in the light of our present financial circumstances?
A.	I was surprised to read that you had in effect implemented the terms of the order before it was signed. Simply because she has not signed the order does not mean that there is no binding agreement between you. It may be clear from correspondence that this is the case and if so your solicitor could apply to the court for an order that your wife needs to show cause why the court should not make an order in the terms of the consent order. There is no time period as such but I would not leave it too long before trying to press this particular issue.
Date: 10 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife walked out on me 2 weeks ago saying that we could no longer live together. There was no indication as to why she came out with this. We have in the region of 110,000k equity in our property and my father in law who just so happens to be a retired solicitor has advised that they would pursue a 2 year seperation and that we would not abide my the true legal position by splitting the equity 50/50. I have received some figures which are in the region of 60/40 in my favour and my wife promised she would not take me to the cleaners. Her father has shown that i have put down 27k in total which has helped generate our equity. I have also had to put our house on the market which I am not particually happy with as everything seems to have happened so quickly. He has said that he will act for both of us to save us legal fees but feel that he is obviously going to be biased. Firstly I do agree to our seperation my wife is not intrested in reconciliation and I feel like I should be divorcing her on the grounds of either desertion or unreasonable behaviour. I also feel I am being presurised by my father in law. What can I do ? Im going a little mad.
A.	First of all you need some independent advice as I am afraid your father in law has a conflict of interest regardless of his good inentions to mediate between you. If the marriage is over and there is no hope of a reconciliation it may be possible to agree to issue an unreasonable behaviour petition to allow the divorce to proceed quickly. Youn will then be able to formalise the financial side of your divorce into a binding order called a consent order which is filed after Decree Nisi and prevents any future claims being made. If there is no hope of the marriage working then my advice is to get on with your life and to sort out the divorce as early as possible.
Date: 10 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife and I are divorcing after 16 years. Waiting for nisi to be issued. We are trying to sort financial matters amicably and have agreed split of equity and sum for children aged 14, 10 and 8. We have agreed on a transfer of £70,000 to her but she does not want the money now so would like a charge on the property until she does. I have always made sole payments on the joint mortgage and have continued to do so since we split 2 years ago. If she wants the money paid in say 2 years time, will she be able to ask for more than the £70k due to a rise in value? or would a consent order state a fixed value? I feel that it is only fair the value is fixed as i have always been the sole payer and don't want to put money into an investment that benefits my ex!! Also, under these circumstances, would a mortgage lender accept a charge on the property?
A.	The answer is it is upto the 2 of you as to whether the equity she receives is fixed at today's rate or has some element of index linking to prevent it being worth less in real terms than it would have been if the money had been released now. The usual order is for it to be linked to inflation which as you know is very low at the moment. The other thing you can do is to express it as a fixed price and a percentage on the basis of whichever is greater so that if the property falls in value she receives the fixed sum but if it rises she receives the percentage. Also a lender will accept a second charge as their charge would have preference over it.
Date: 6 Jun 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I’ve separated from my husband and our two young children live with me. I’m thinking of buying my husband out, although I wouldn’t be in a position to until next year. Should the split in any profits be 50/50, bearing in mind it’s the children’s home, or is my husband entitled to a lesser share? My husband currently pays maintenance for the children and half of the mortgage. If he stops paying towards the mortgage before the buy-out would he be entitled to less of a share or would it remain the same? If, however, we decided to sell the house and both buy our own homes, would the split be any different to the above scenario? Many thanks, your help is much appreciated.
A.	There is no magic formula it depends on your repective There is no magic formula it depends on your respective housing needs and contribution to the property. if you both have equal incomes and can independently support yourselves then an equal split would be more likely, however if to buy him out would stretch you then perhaps the court (if disputed) would seek to reduce the amount of equity he would receive to avoid you having to take a large mortgage.
Date: 29 May 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Hi - this is about the consent order and property. Is it necessary to have title deeds on property changed to sole name from joint or will the consent order be sufficient to prove ownership for sale proceeds. I am agreeing to take ownership of a Spanish property and it seems very expensive to get the deed changed, however if I want to sell in the future I want to ensure 100% comes to me as per Consent order and there will be no other claims. Many thanks. Angela.
A.	You will need to get the property transferred by deed in order for ownership to be effected correctly. All the Consent Order does is make the order to have the property transferred, it does not transfer the property.
Date: 14 May 2002 Answered by: David Leadercramer, Solicitor
Q.	My partner separated from his wife in February 2001 and their nisi was pronounced in august 2001. He has an 9 yr old son by his wife and a 16 yr old step-daughter (her's from previous relationship). His ex applied for the divorce on grounds of adultery, which he did not contest (our relationship began after they separated), but she will not apply for the absolute. With regards to the financial settlement/maintenance, my partner took nothing from their joint owned home but his clothes, but she will just not agree to any proposals. Every offer that has been made she's agreed, then reneged when his solicitor has sent the consent order through to hers. She has become very nasty about contact with his son (the girl is not interested in maintaining contact) and has basically admitted she has been taking him for a fool. When he first left, he paid the full mortgage, some additional household bills, took over a £1200 overdraft and other debts (over £1000) and paid £240 maintenance per month. He just could not afford to pay this and contacted a solicitor and since reduced his payments to half the mortgage & £200 per month. We are still awaiting her agreement on the latest financial offer (signing the house over to her & £200 pcm maintenance), but wanted to enquire regarding him applying for the divorce. She has admitted, agreement or no agreement, she will not initiate the decree absolute. 15 months later, my partner is at the end of his tether and wants an end to his marriage by applying for the absolute himself. The time restraints have long past, but he is worried the court would reject his application as the financial matters are still outstanding. We understand there is a fee for his application and a short hearing - is this just a formality or will she have grounds to contest the absolute. When pronouncing the nisi, the judge was satisfied with the arrangements for the children and did not issue a D66. Any help would be most appreciated, we are very frustrated and don't know which way to turn.
A.	I can well understand your frustration. If a consent order has been drafted then it may well be that an agreement has been reached in principal -if that is the case then the court can enforce that agreement even if the other party wont sign the order. Your partners solicitor could issue an application for his wife to show cause why an order should not be made in the terms of the consent order. If an agreement has not been reached then the only course is to press on to a hearing and to pressurise the wife in costs. If your partner is acting reasonably then his wife may well be ordered to pay his costs if he is left with no alternative but to press ahead with litigation. Your partner can apply for the absolute but the court may be reluctant to grant it until finances have been resolved. It may however be a good way of putting pressure on his hopefully soon to be x to negotiate properly on finances
Date: 13 May 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife has recently admitted to committing aldutry with a work collegue and has since moved out to his one bedroom flat. We have been married seventeen years. I am in the RAF living in married quarters with my two childeren 16 and 10. She is happy for me to have custody of the children. I want to leave the air force next year by which time I will have completed 22 years which qualifys me for an immediate pension. Obviously I will then need accomodation for my children. We have come to an agreement that if I carrying on paying the unsecured loans we have in joint names and I let her have 50/50 on house furniture she will not pursue me for any of my pension. Can this be done through a consent order. We have no savings therefore we wish to get divorced without using solicitors.
A.	Yes absolutley, if you both agree then the only way to make sure there can be no claim on your pension by her is to obtain an order.
Date: 22 Apr 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	A couple of weeks before my husband moved out we had completed a house purchase. I am now living there with our daughter and i am paying the morgage myself. The deposit was from an endowment we had on a previous propert and was about £8000. We have been married for 12 years and I have always been the main earner. My husband is younger than me and so could get another 25 year old mortagage if he chose. I have asked for the house to be put in my name and he has agreed. What legal action do I need to take. We are trying to keep it civilised.
A.	If you are in agreement then you will be able to obtain a consent order from the court ordering the property to be transferred to you from the both of you and for the mortgage to be transferred also. In order to get this you need to begin divorce proceedings as the order can only be made within divorce. If you so not wish to get divorced you may enter into a separation deed which will give you some protection until you start the divorce and get a consent order then. In any event you will need to get the lender to agree to a transfer or find a new lender that will.
Date: 1 Apr 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Once a settlement has been agreed between both parties and is submitted to court, can the court then change what has been agreed?
A.	If the agreement has been drafted as a Consent Order and the order ensures that there can be no futher claims in the future then it will be fully binding and neither party can then make futher applications in the future.
Date: 3 Mar 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I was about to purchase your consent order package but noticed that it cannot be used for matters relating pensions. My wife and I have come to an agreement whereby I pay her a lump sum now and she will not make any further claims against me or my pension. Do you have a form/service that will cover this angle at all?
A.	Our service is fime for what you want, it just does not cover actual pension splitting from the pension funs themselves. If you are paying her a lump sum from other assets then that is fine.
Date: 22 Feb 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have been married for 6.5 years.(we are both mid 30's) During this time I have worked for local govt and paid into a pension. My husband is self employed and has always worked full time. I have paid his small pension contribution for the time we were married (£60.00 a month) as he would not pay it!. When he left I stopped the direct debit and he has made no further contribution to it I understand, although I believe his new employer operates a stakeholder pension scheme. I want to sort out the finances and I want to state in the consent order that as we have both worked full time and earned approximately the same and could both have paid full pernsion contributions neither of us will touch the others pension. If it makes any difference I also have the full time care of our 2 children.Are we likely to be forced to throw our pensions into the ring?
A.	No if you agree that you will not claim against each others pensions then that is what the court will order. They do not intervene where you agree only where there is a dispute and by the very nature of a consent order, it is by agreement.
Date: 15 Feb 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My decree nisi will be issued on 27 Feb 2002. No order has been made for children ages 3 and 5, who live with me and do not spend any nights with their father (his choice). We have no savings etc but have a joint mortgage on a house bought for 67,000 now valued 3 years later at 125,000. All bills, credit cards etc were in my name during marriage as husband will only deal in cash and wouldn't take any responsibility for direct debits etc. He will not now contribute to the repayment of any of these debts as they were in my name only although they were for furniture and the car etc during the marriage. My question is - we need to settle the finances which really is only the house (leaving aside the bills). The surrender value on the endowment is £445.00. My husband wants cash quickly so that he can buy a car and says he wants about £10,000. This would be about 20% of the total equity of the house. I want to move and buy a 3 bed house ( for myself, one boy and one girl)which will cost between 90,000 to 120,000 in this area. I would need about £30,000 of the equity to do so. I have always paid the mortgage and endowments and paid the deposit for the house. If we agree a roughly 20%/80% split bearing in mind I have full residency of the children (365 days a year)are the courts likely to accept this? My solicitor is suggesting that the court may say that this is not in my husbands favour and demand that he has more - if we reach this agreement privately do the courts have to be involved at all?
A.	Your Solicitor may be being too pessimistic, but they know the circumstances of the case. What you are both being is practical. You need to clear the debts and have somewhere to live, he needs some capital to start again. if you are not in dispute about your agreement and file a consent order then the court cannot refuse to make the order. They can call you in to see if that is really what you want to do, but they cannot refuse to make it. We can draft your Consent order and application for you. All you then have to do is file it at court. This costs £80.00
Date: 25 Jan 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	hi, my father is going thrugh his second divorce which is quite a nasty one. The other week his soon-to be ex-wife's solicitor wrote a letter to the garage where y father purchased his car and demanded a copy of the invoice stating the sale. We were thinking that this type of action would be a breech of privacy, would this be the case or is it perfectly legal and above board? Please help. Also, could you please tel me what the average cost for a private detective would be?
A.	This is an interesting question and not one I have had to apply my mind to before. However you are right that the Data Protection Act applies to the garage and they should refuse under the Act to supply this information without a court order. However, the duty of disclosure is upon your father, who has a duty to disclose all material documentation relating to his assets. If he refuses the court can infer material non-disclosure and penalise him by way of costs or in terms of the final financial order.
Date: 8 Jan 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I am about to petition for divorce on the grounds of adultery (un-named) after 7 yrs of marriage. My husband's new relationship is ongoing and he has moved out. We both want our divorce to be as amicable as possible so that we can both get on with our futures and cause as little additional pain as possible. He won't contest the petition. We have agreed our financial arrangements but are not sure whether we have to make anything legally binding. The main point is that I will pay him an amount in Jan 2003 when I can re-mortgage (currently in a fixed-term) and get the house signed over to me as sole owner, but I am unable to give him the lump settlement before then which he understands. He is concerned however, that if the divorce has gone through and I have a sudden change of heart he will not be able to get the payment. I plan to keep my promise but is anything that is legally binding that we can sign as part of the divorce settlement so that he feels less vulnerable. I realise that he's entitled to 50% of all our assets but we've agreed a much lower figure because he doesn't want me to lose my home because the responsibility for the marriage-breakdown is his. I'm afraid that if we have to get solicitors involved at this point they will advise him to ask for a much larger settlement. Any advice on how to proceed will really be appreciated, and are the services of this website relevant for my situation?
A.	What you can do to ensure that your agreement is binding is to have what is called a Consent Order drawn up and filed at court. This order sets out what you have agreed and then goes on to dismiss any future claims between you. The application for the order is filed between Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute in the divorce and usually only takes a few weeks. Divorce-Online can deal with both your divorce and the consent order.
Date: 16 Dec 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have just received decree absoloute and am now legally divorced from my ex-wife. The marriage lasted appoximately 1 year before she walked out on me. There are no children, no joint properties and no jointly-owned investments/capital/finances. The matrimonial property was rented accomodation where i paid the rent. We both are financially independent with stable jobs. If my ex-wife makes a claim for ancillary relief or pensions, will she be entitled to anything and if so how much? Also, I have received a statement of information form for financial information from her solicitors. Do i have to declare my financial assets information even if we agree for a clean break - if so, why? Lastly, if there is a considerable difference in the value of financial assets between me and my ex-wife, even though there was never any joint contribution from either party to the value of the other's, will a court judge over-rule the consent order for a clean break and give my ex-wife money which was never hers ie. will the court make a more equal division of financial assets? What effect does this have on assets accrued prior to marriage? Thank you Dave Singh
A.	The general rule is you come out with what you went in with in very short marriages, and it sounds as if her Solicitors are dealing with the consent order which does require both parties to give disclosure in the Statement of Financial Information. To get live advice on this matter use our TeleLawyer service.
Date: 10 Dec 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My decree nisi will be granted next week. I have handled matters myself as, although I was married for 13 years, we never had any joint finances and there are no children. Neither of us wishes to claim anything from the other, except that I have been awarded costs (which consist only of the filing fee and which I have already received in cash, informally. If my ex-husband is ordered to pay through the court he will do so and I will give it back to him.) My question is, I have seen numerous mentions of consent orders -- is one relevant in my case?
A.	Yes, it will ensure that there are no potential claims in the future should either circumstances change. The financial claims that can be made are only deleted by court order and this will prevent the possibility of a claim even if the claim is likely to fail.
Date: 4 Dec 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	Hi My question relates to clean break. I got a divorce on a petition I made and got my decree nisi early September 01. I have no lawyer at the moment and the consent order is based on an agreement that my former lawyers reached and there are few assets involved from a marriage of just a year. My former wife and/or her lawyers have since the decree absolute taken their time to resolve the cosent order as I have only seen the minutes of the cosent order and partially filled Form E which needed minor changes. My concern is that I have now found someone to marry and may possibly marry in early 2002. I am not certain if I will have a clean break by then. How would it affect my settlement, as we are merely going for 50:50 on the joint assets which we have agreed to and she is not working ??
A.	If you have agreed the terms of the consent order then that is a binding agreement. In rare circumstances this can be overturned. I would suggest you contact your wife’s solicitors and find out whether the document has been lodged with the Court. If not, when they would imagine filing it as you are concerned about the delay. Bear in mind that if you remarry you may not be able to apply to the Court to have the finances dealt with if the consent order is not filed. I would suggest you seek advice on this point soon as it does depend on what applications have already been lodged for financial relief, if any.
Date: 3 Dec 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Dear Sir/Madam, My wife left the marital home,she was having an affair,This was in october 2001.We have two children from our marriage aged 21 and 18,both still living with me.She has agreed to sign the house and Contents,equity,endowment policy and relinquish any claim if possible to any part of my pensions. In return I would have to agree to pay half of an outstanding balance of £11,000 which is an personal bank loan not secured on property. I intend to file for Divorce using Divorce-online but not just yet due to financial restraints. However if a legally binding document could be drawn up to take effect imediately we both agree this is in both our interests.We both want to come to an mutually satisfatory arrangement which would benefit us both as we are both struggling financially and want to keep involvement of solicitors to the absolute minimum(cost). Though not an amicable break up of our marriage we both realise there is no going back to how we once were,but are eager to sort the financial side of our marriage. If you could advise me on this matter we would be most grateful. I have visited your web site everyday using chat line and reading Diaries etc and this has helped me enormously at this very difficult time and has made me decide what direction I am going to take with my Divorce and using the on-line facilities is the best way to go in my opinion. Thank you for a brilliant site. Yours Faithfully B.RANDALL
A.	We can draft a consent order for you once you have issued the divorce proceedings. This costs £80.00 and gives you a binding Court order which is lodged at court once the Decree nisi has been pronounced. The order is binding and means that it cannot be overturned save for very exceptional circumstances. To get more information on the Divorce and Consent order packages goto: www.divorce-online.co.uk/legalcentre.asp
Date: 2 Dec 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have just this week agreed to a divorce from my partner of four years (married 2 and a bit).we have two children from my wifes ex husband who pays CSA.We have a joint mortgage(I am first named) of £80,000 on a property worth £185,000,which I have had for 2 years.We have agreed that I will sign the house over to her and she will give me a leaving present of £8,000.Am I doing the right thing or will she come back and haunt me in the future for money? Do I have any rights to the equity of the property?
A.	If you agree to take £8k in full and final settlement of all claims between you, then you should have this put into effect in a court order. This is called a consent order and is filed once you have obtained your Decree Nisi of divorce. You will need to get the divorce proceedings underway to do this. She will not be able to make any further claims against you and visa versa once the order is made.
Date: 2 Oct 2001 Answered by: Hilary Bowles, Solicitor, Fullagarbrooks
Q.	I divorced my husband on grounds of unreasonable behaviour this year and have since re-married a wonderful who has restored my faith in men!! My ex and I still have a joint mortgage and mortgage endowment policies. No children involved. I paid the mortgage and endowments for 13 years. I accepted a much lower financial settlement (approx 15%)and agreed to my ex having the house/the endowment policies and ALL contents on the understanding that he took the mortgage on in his sole name.(I was desperate to get rid of him). The Consent Order has been sealed by the court. Despite it being a condition of the consent order, my husband has steadfastly ignored my solicitor's letters over the last 8 months asking him to apply for the mortgage in his sole name and to release me from my covenants! I am trying to give this man legal title to the house/endowements but he doesn't seem to want to do anything about it! And I'm not signing the endowments over to him until he gets my name of the mortgage! My solicitor says we can apply for a court order to force him to sell the house. However, as I am now living abroad it is not as important for me to have my name taken off the mortgage/endowments in the UK. Also I have already incurred a big legal bill (my ex hasnt had any) and don't want to incur any more if I can help it. If they repossess the house at any stage - I dont care! Even if I apply for a court order for the house to be sold, I have no control over the condition of the house when he's showing it to potential buyers. It could take years to sell and I'm sure he will be out to make sure the house is not sought after! Therefore I propose to do nothing more and let my ex realise he is still on dodgy ground by having my name on the house/endowments.At some stage he will have to come to me and I fully intend to be as un-co-operative with my ex as he is with me when the time comes for the endowments to mature as the policies are still in both names and therefore the cheque will be too! IF HE DIES IN THE MEANTIME, WILL I HAVE ANY LEGAL CLAIM ON THE HOUSE/ENDOWMENTS AS THEY HAVE NOT BEEN LEGALLY TRANSFERRED DESPITE MY BEST EFFORTS TO MAKE HIM DO SO?
A.	You will have on the face of it a legal claim, I imagine his executors will rely on the Order of the Court to confirm that the benefical entitlement to the property and policies has been determined by the Court. Because your husband is being obstructive you should be entitled to recover your legal costs in part from him if you do decide to proceed. Similarly if you obstructive at some time in the future he may be entitled to his legal costs of compelling you to transfer the property as directed by the Court. Frank
Date: 17 Sep 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I am going through an entirely amicable divorce. All assets have been split. We have no children. We are going to get a solicitor to write up a "financial clean break" agreement. I have just received the divorce petition and in the prayer it states that the Petitioner requests maintainence, lump sums, pension benefits from me. I am told that this is standard at this stage, and that a financial clean break can be set up later. Is this right??. can you explain further how we go about this??
A.	Yes, what the prayer does, is to allow the Petitioner to apply for ancillary relief which is the procedure for sorting out the finances, whether contested or by consent. The court cannot make a full financial order until Decree Nisi has been pronounced and at that stage, you file the draft consent order. It then goes before the judge who will grant the order, and it becomes binding on both of you. Divorce-Online can prepare the consent order for you for £60.00.
Date: 14 Sep 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	Hello Can you help me please? I divorced my wife in 1999 on the grounds of her adultery, and a consent order was sealed at the time, covering my monthly payments to our three children (with nothing to her as she has a good job). She got the house, which was mortgaged at the time, and one of her undertakings was 'not to borrow any further money/ or further charge/ or further encumber the said property without the Petitioner's written consent'. I kept my car and my pension and got all the debts of the relationship. We had less than £2k savings each which we kept. We have both since remarried, and I see that she has recently started extending the house. I was curious to know how she was funding this without a remortgage, as my understanding from the order quoted above was that she should seek my "written consent" before remortgaging. So I wrote to the Land Registry and they have sent me a copy of the Register Entries for the property which shows that last month she put the house in the name of her husband as well as herself, and that at the same time a new charge was taken out by a building society - the remortgage I suspected. Do I have any redress in this situation? Is she in breach of the consent order, and if so what can I do? I would like to get something back from her for the debts I had to take on, of which she has admitted to half (£8k). Would I be able to use this apparent breach as a bargaining tool to that end? Again, if she is in breach of the order, does this nullify my consequent agreement to pay her money for our children? They are 19, 17 and 13. My eldest is at uni and the middle one will probably go next autumn. The consent order states that I must pay her until they 'respectively attain the age of 17 or cease full time education, whichever shall be the later'. I have discovered just now by searching your site that full time education is deemed to finish after secondary school and does not include university. I understand that I am entitled to stop payments for my eldest but that my ex could approach the court for an extension. I do not intend to deny money to my children, but could I pay to them what I now pay to my ex - directly to the eldest, into a savings account of some sort for the other two? If she has breached the order, am I at liberty to do this? Thanks for the site, it has been really helpful already!
A.	Normally such a clause regarding re-mortgaging the house is put in a consent order when you retain an interest in the house. That is a situation whereby you retain a charge over the property to realise money in the house at a later date and therefore it would not be right for her to be able to borrow money against the property as this could ultimately affect your interest. If you have no such charge I cannot understand why this clause went into the order. Without seeing the order or any such charge I cannot advise. On the issue of maintenance this is a difficult area. Certainly in the absence of the order defining full time education usually the understanding is secondary education, however there is much litigated on this, your ex-wife may say that her understanding was that it was until the children finished University. Sometimes our advice to clients in this sort of situation is to stop paying and leave it to your wife to litigate the matter. Only in respect of the eldest child as you are still bound to pay for the other tow. It may be as well to pay the eldest direct so that they are provided for by you rather than your wife. What you cannot do is use the maintenance for your children against the other issue. They are entirely separate and the Court would frown upon such action. I suggest you take the original order to a local solicitor who might be able to give you some exact advice and tell you whether your ex wife is in breach of the terms or not.
Date: 17 Jun 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife and I have been separated for just over 2 years, have a signed deed of separation and we have agreed that I will commence divorce proceedings within the next 28 days. I am considering using the DOL pack but am unclear about how the financial terms of our separation agreement are converted into a consent order. Do we have to provide a full financial disclosure to the court or can we simply convert the separation agreement into a consent order? Can I do this easily with the DOL pack or do I need a solicitor to do it?
A.	The divorce and the consent order are two separate packages. Once you have filed the divorce, when you get to Decree Nisi you file the application for the consent order. This will mirror the terms of the separation agreement and you will not have to give full disclosure, only complete a Financial Information Statement which sets out in basic terms, your current capital, income and pension values.
Date: 5 Jun 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My partner has just got his decree nisi and is sorting out the financial side of his divorce.He is 38, his wife is 35 and they were married for 8 years and have one child aged 8. She is getting the house, equity and contents, in return for her not going to the CSA or for his pension. He will be left with almost nothing apart from a small amount of shares. His solicitor has told him that he cannot cohabit for 6-12 months after the divorce has been made final as this could alter the arrangements he makes, and that my income and assets could be taken into account. Firstly, is this the case? Could his wife really come after more money just because we'd be living together? What would happen if she moved in with someone? How could anyone prove that we were actually living together? I will shortly own two properties? Could I for example, rent one of them to him in the short term? Why 6-12 months? Isn't there a hard and fast rule about this? Can the CSA take my earnings into account if she decides to go to them? She earns only a small salary from a part time job but is due for a big promotion - can my partner apply to have his maintenance cut if her income goes up? What would we have to do to ensure that my partner faces his responsibilities for his eight year old daughter - and no more. Does all this have to be sorted out before the Absolute is granted? We just want to get on with our lives, knowing that all this really is over with! Many thanks
A.	Without having the precise details of the settlement we cannot really advise. it would seem that the disclosure of assets is based on him being a single man with no immediate intention to cohabit, and if you did cohabit earlier, the basis of the settlement could be re-visited by his wife. The CSA will not look at your earnings in relation to income but outgoings, so if you did cohabit, his disposable income would be greater as you would be sharing bills. That is the theory anyway.
Date: 4 Jun 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have been separated from my wife 6.5 years. The house that we purchased was sold in 1997 and the profits split equally between us. I only took a few agreed items from the joint assets at the time it was clean break. Since then I have in 1999 I approached a solicitor with a view to complete a divorce several letters were sent to my wife's address but no response was gained. Since then I have done nothing but feel it is now time to close this matter. I have been told that I will need a court order to notify a financial clean break? Is this still required past the five-year mark? I have had no further contact with my wife and do not wish to have. What should be my next action to resolve this matter as my current partner and I have a child and would like to get things moving again?
A.	To be absolutley safe, you will need what is known as a consent order drawn up and filed to dismiss all future potential claims. This can be done during the divorce procedure, as the court cannot make an order until the Decree Nisi has been pronounced.
Date: 19 May 2001 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	I am moving into a girlfriend’s home, she has three children (the father is not contributing). We are having a cohabitation deed draw up by a solicitor, which will protect her £70,000 pounds equity in the home. I am taking on the £57,500 mortgage over from her present partner (the father to her children). I am the only wage earner (only I will make the payments), can I protect my capital repayments on the mortgage (I’m taking out a 25yr capital/interest repayment type mortgage), and can this be written into the deed? What can you recommend we have written into the deed about future equity, she agrees on a 50/50 split.
A.	You need to ensure that your contributions will count if everything goes wrong. I suggest that you take the cohabitation agreement to a lawyer for independent advice before you sign it.
Date: 14 May 2001 Answered by: Tracy McCormack, Solicitor
Q.	My mum is getting divorced at the moment. Originally it all looked quite simple. However, 3 years later and still its not finalised. Although, the divorce itself was through quickly the financial side it still dragging on. I have a number of complaints I wish to make about the conduct of the solicitor, but the latest issue is this:- as part of the financial agreement, it was agreed that upon my mums death or sale of the house her ex husband would get an amount of £10,000. This was agreed 2 years ago! No it has come for my mum to sign the court order, it says the £10,000 will increase by 8% pa. This was never previously mentioned to her and she is shocked. Her solicitors tell her this is a legal requirment and must be part of the deal. This was again never explained. Is it correct? Also, 8% pa seems very high? is the figure set? What happens upon the death of her ex, is it likley that it will go to his children and continue to increase? Thank you in anticipation
A.	If the settlement your mother agreed through her solicitor was for a set sum with no interest provision then this is what should be reflected in the agreement that she signs. There is a difference between interest that is payable on an ongoing sum before it becomes liable and interest that is payable on a sum that has become due and not been paid. It may simply be that there is no interest payable on the £10,000 until it becomes payable and thereafter it attracts interest at 8%. You or your mother should check this out. The interest of 8% is the rate currently set by the Lord Chancellors Department, being the rate of interest paid on such things as judgement debts etc. The agreement should reflect what occurs on the death of your mothers ex husband. There should be provision for whether this is before or after your mother has passed a way. Your mother therefore needs to check this matter with her solicitor. What happens to the money once it has actually passed to your mothers ex husband and he has passed away will depend on the terms of his will or if he does not have a will, by the provision of the intestacy legislation. If your mother is not happy with her solicitor she should make a complaint following the procedure of the particular firm, if she is still not happy then I would advise that she consults a new solicitor.
Date: 30 Apr 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	I have been divorced for 2 year now, agreeing to pay a voluntary payment to my ex wife of £335 pcm on gross earnings of £22k. I left her everything; she wanted to keep the car and was prepared to have this payment in lieu of maintenance until the hp was paid off. I have left the job; we were both in the RAF. I now work in the commercial sector on 30k. The solicitor I was using said there was nothing left but chattels. Her legal people agreed and we wanted a rounding up order. She declined to sign and then deny any knowledge. How can I get her to agree, as I cannot move on with my life? For example if I move in with someone to obtain a mortgage will that cohabitee become liable? This is really troubling me as I cannot afford my present solicitor.
A.	You can make an application yourself to the Court for ancillary relief. Basically the order you are applying for is for the Court to reflect what has already gone and for there to be a clean break. You do not say what the maintenance you are paying is for, ie, spouse or child. Child maintenance can only be dealt with by the Courts is there is an agreement between parties. If no agreement the Court cannot direct a figure. Spousal maintenance can be dealt with. The best thing for you to do is to ask your solicitor to explain the procedure to you and then for you to apply to the Court.
Date: 5 Apr 2001 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	My husband and I separated finally in 1999 when we sold the marital home and divided endowments, contents and equity on the home 50/50. We have a 12-year-old son who lives with each of us 50/50. I have now petitioned for divorce on his unreasonable behaviour. One of the assets was a time-share, which upon the separation became mine. I decided to sell the time-share and as it was in joint names, needed my husband to attend the solicitors to sign the selling documents. He only agreed to do this if I put it in writing that I did not intend to go for his pension. I wrote that upon filing the petition I would not enclose the ancillary relief form. I did not say I wouldn't submit it afterwards. Whilst I can manage ok, my husband seems to be coping much better than me having a part time job and a lodger. Would it be easier for me to put up with what I've got and get a consent order written up or would it be in my interest to file a form. If I file nothing and there is no consent order on the file, does the Judge automatically ask for details or does he just ignore it?
A.	I am sorry but your question is not terribly clear. If you want finality in all respects then you need to have an agreement that is approved by the court. If you reached an agreement dealing with matters properly ie giving financial disclosure and having the benefit of legal advice it will be hard for you to move away from the agreement. However if neither of these factors were present then I suggest you see a lawyer and discuss all the issues in order to decide what and if you should take any further steps.
Date: 8 Mar 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My husband and I have been separated 2 years and are divorcing using the DOL pack.We have agreed all financial arrangements and there are now no assets in joint names.Can we draw up a consent order ourselves or if we have to use a solicitor can we use the same one and ask him to draw up an agreement to our terms.How much is that likely to cost? Thanks
A.	At the present time, you would be advised to have a Solicitor draw this up for you. it should not cost a great deal if you have everything sorted out. It is not something we would recommend you do yourself. You should be able to use just one Solicitor. We will be bringing out a simple clean break order soon.
Date: 6 Mar 2001 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	I had presumed that after decree nisi financial matters would be settled by some form of negotiation. Is it necessary to activate the Form E process by completing form A, or can we just sort things out ourselves. I thought the Form A/E proceedure was for cases where no agreement could be reached. We have already had a full financial disclosure by consent some months ago. Do we need to start going down the Form A/E route to get it formalised? Paul
A.	You are right in that the court route is when couples can't reach an agreement in relation to finances. What the Form A/E route is schedule the case so that you both working towards a fixed timetable which generally helps facilitate an agreement. If you able to reach an agreement between you, then you needn't go the Form A route. When an agreement has been reached though it does need to be formalised through the courts. In that situation disclosure for the purposes of lodging the consent order at court takes place using a Form M1
Date: 24 Feb 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	When I seperated from my wife in 99 we agreed a financial settlement which included all of the equity from the sale of the maritial home, amounting to 160k. My wife has subsequently purchased a new home in her own name.The equity was accepted in lieu of a higher monthly maintenance payment for our 2 children. I pay a maintenance payment of £450/month. In the divorce settlement I am prepared to forgo any claim on the equity in the property if the maintenance payment is agreed at this amount and no future claims are made. Please advise how this can be incorporated into the divorce settlement pack which I have purchased from Divorce-Online. Please note my wife is agreable to this arrangement
A.	You will need to get a Solicitor to draw up what is known as a consent order, setting out the terms of your agreement into a binding order. This is filed after Decree Nisi, as the court can only make an order at this stage of the proceedings. As you have already reached agreement, this should be very straight forward and inexpensive. I suggest you use our LegalAssist service to get a free consultation with a local Solicitor.
Date: 22 Feb 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	My husband (38) and I (34) have divorced literally today after six years of marriage and 18 month’s separation. The grounds were his unreasonable behaviour. Although we continue to have friendly contact, I have started a new relationship (of which he is aware) and he now lives abroad. We had no children. We sold our marital home and split the proceeds exactly 50:50, we also split the house contents on an amicable 50:50 basis. The only other asset of value was the mortgage endowment policy with a surrender value then of £21,000. My former husband wanted to surrender this (a) to stop me enjoying the future benefits and (b) because he needed cash at the time to fund his move abroad, but I instead agreed to raise the 50% of the surrender value necessary to buy him out. He was still not happy with this so I agreed to hand over some jointly held shares (worth about £1500) to him as a compromise rather than waste all of the bonuses and value of the policy. The policy remains in joint names (for tax reasons) although he has formally waived all rights to future benefits. I paid him £5,000 at the time and will pay the remaining £6,000 now the divorce has been finalised. We have both been in full-time employment during the whole period and both have independent pension arrangements. Although we both enquired about legal advice last year we did not pursue a legal financial arrangement because he refused to pay for legal advice and I believed (hoped) that an equitable split would be sufficient. I have been in some denial about this but, having completed the divorce myself with the help of Divorce-Online, I am keen now to ensure there are no loose ends particularly as I am likely to remarry later this year. Do I need to formalise the financial arrangements through a solicitor or could I do it myself? I do not mind paying (reasonable) legal bills for peace of mind. My former husband will still not pay for legal advice but I would pay for it on his behalf if necessary.
A.	You ought to formalise the agreement between you and your Husband, really to protect both of you from future claims. As it would appear that all necessary transfers and documents have been executed the Consent Order would be quite simple to draft. You will need to instruct a solicitor who can prepare the paperwork on a non advice basis and therefore only charge you for drafting. Normally on a fixed fee basis. You must both also file a document know as a statement of information for a consent order. This informs the Court of your assets in order that they can decide if the order is fair and reasonable. Clearly without the information they cannot. On what you have told me I can see no problem with an endorsement. Finally so far as your ex husband is concerned it is a matter for him as to whether he seeks advice or not. Anyone acting for you will send him paperwork to sign and will of course have to advise him to seek independent advice (as we are bound to do) but if he chooses not to then so be it. Good Luck
Date: 19 Jan 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Is it law that a consent order is signed before your divorce is granted. Or can you be divorced without a consent order.
A.	A consent order cannot be granted until after Decree Nisi has been granted. It can be ordered before or after Decree Absolute.
Date: 14 Jan 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	After a Consent Order has been completed by the Court and it includes a sum to be paid immediately: how long must one wait before approaching the Court to have this enforced and exactly what is the procedure and cost involved? Many thanks once again!
A.	It depends what it says in the order. For example, if there is a need to sell something first before the lump sum has to be paid, then you need to make sure the efforts to achieve the sale have been 100%. If there has been delay or deliberate disobeyance then you should apply immediately for a review.
Date: 12 Jan 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Re Consent Order When I was in Court in October and representing myself on that particular day (long and sad story), my husband's solicitor began a question with the Judge that began, "can I test you?" They then spoke about a Case and neither of them could or did say the name, but referred to it as "that foreign name"; I understood this to be about Heads of Agreement. Somehow I have now received a 78 page Application my husband has submitted and it appears to quite malicious (divorce now 3 years 4 months, no children, but abusive husband carrying out original threats very well - sadly enough) as well as looking for costs from me. I apologise, can you help with the name of this case and what bearing it would have on this Application to be heard later this month? Also, if there is an area to find CASE HISTORY, I have not found it yet! Hope you can point me in the right direction for future reference. Thanks, I would not have a clue who else to ask about this: glad you are there.
A.	The case that they were probably referring to was Xydhias v Xydhias 13-Jan-1999 Court of Appeal which deals with whether an agreement reached between the parties is enforceable and whether costs are payable if one party has reneged. Or they could be referring to an earlier case called Gojivic-V-Gojivic (spelling may be wrong) which preceded the above case and again deals with whether an agreement reached is enforceable or not and costs implications. If you have reached an agreement in writing with legal advice pending a consent order being asked for and subsequently you have changed your mind then under the above cases you could be liable for costs if the judge enforces the terms of the draft consent order. For more information about case law try http://www.swarb.co.uk/ where there is a searchable database of all family cases from 1992 onwards
Date: 4 Jan 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	I have heard about "clean break orders" and am wondering if they would be suitable in my situation: I am currently in the process of divorcing my husband; there are neither children nor common assets. At what stage could I apply for one? What type of information would have to be disclosed? How much does it cost? Many thanks.
A.	All assets have to be disclosed to the Court on a document known as a statement of information for a consent order. This then enables the Judge to decide whether to endorse the order, as they are not just rubber-stamped by he or she. They can only do that if they have the full facts and figures. Check out the site for more info.
Date: 22 Nov 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I am in the process of divorcing my wife, have been granted NISI and am trying to arrange a clean break settlement for the marital home contents and other assets. My solicitor seems unable to explain the benefits of court order vs open correspondence for final resolution of the settlement. Could you please explain the benefits/risks involved. My preference is open correspondence since I wish to co-habit with my new partner asap and this seems the quickest and cheapest option. However I am concerned that my ex-wife will attempt to claim additional moneys at a later date especially if I manage to sell our former matrimonial home at a figure higher than valued (I have applied to have the mortgage and deeds transferred into my sole name). We have no children, were married for two and a half years during which time I have paid all domestic bills and mortgage. my wife and I both work full-time.
A.	A court order will always be preferable to an agreement in open correspondence as the court will always retain discretion whether to follow the terms or make fresh orders in variance to the agreement, whereas a Court order will achieve finality for you.
Date: 7 Nov 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	My wife and I have almost come to an agreement on maintenance payments for my children. She is asking for £475 a month Index Linked. If the payments are to be index linked does this mean they will increase with the basic rate of inflation annually and if so do the payments need to be readjusted annually on the anniversary of our agreement?
A.	Yes. Any order you agree should have it clearly defined as to when the review date is. It is then up to you and your wife to calculate the figure. The Court will only become involved in the future if there is a dispute between you and wife as you cannot agree.
Date: 2 Nov 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Please can you advise the legal definition of co-habiting. My husband wishes to build in opt out clauses into our divorce settlement in the event that I co-habit at a point in the future. However, we cannot agree on the definition of co-habiting in such circumstances.
A.	Normally Solicitors will define cohabiting for an order as living with someone for a period of 6 months in any one year. The DSS definition is staying over at a partner's property for three nights or more. In reality it means that both parties exclusively share the same household and do not have any other properties at which they reside.
Date: 4 Oct 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	After 13 years of marriage, my wife and I have separated and plan to apply for a divorce (using the DOL pack) once our assets have been divided. So far, things have been amicable and we have come to an agreement of how our assets should be divided. I have been advised (by friends) that the arrangement should be formalised by a solicitor. I subsequently called a solicitor who said I would also need to have a "deed of separation" prepared which sounded like a costly excercise. Can you please advice the best course of action? Do we need a "deed of separation"? How much should the formal financial agreement cost? Thank you in advance. Bobby Suleman
A.	If you are getting divorced in the near future then it would be a waste of money to pay for a deed of separation. A deed of separation is entered into when it is not intended for the parties to be divorced for some time. The best thing for you is to have the arrangement you and your wife have agreed endorsed into a Consent Order within the divorce proceedings. This will be an order of the Court which is in full and final settlement of all claims you and she will have against each other. If you instruct a solicitor to negotiate the terms of the Order for you then costs are difficult to estimate. It is broadly 'how long is a piece of string'. A solicitor cannot say how long it will take as sometimes these agreements can take months to negotiate. However if you just want a solicitor to embody terms that you and your wife have agreed into an order then most will do this for a fixed fee. However bear in mind because they have not negotiated the settlement then will not advise you on the terms as to whether it is beneficial they will merely put the documents in order for you. Likely cost - £300 - £350, depending on the order and terms.
Date: 25 Sep 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I've been separated from ex husband for 4 years, and divorced on 14/7/99. Finances have yet to be sorted due to the Judge rejecting the consent order as the figure ex offered was "outside the normal parameters for settlement". What is the percentage i should be looking to receive? Equity in jointly owned house and endowments are approx £48,000 - not taking into account furniture/electrical etc? thank you
A.	If you have no children and made equal contribution then you should be looking at 50%. However if your ex-husband has paid the mortgage for the 4 years then he may be entitled to some offset for these payments. Without having had conduct of the case it is difficult to say and we can only give you general principles. Our partner site at www.lawsolutions.co.uk can provide you with a detailed Barristers oppinion for free.
Date: 20 Sep 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife left me allmost 2 years ago after 17 years of marriage. I am still in the house and we share care of our 3 children. She admitted adultery and does not want any share from the house.We are still amicable and would like to get divorced as chaply as possible. Could we both use the same solicitor if we both want the same outcome and agree on everything?
A.	You can use one Solicitor to draw up a financial order and you could do the divorce yourself. The financial order is filed upon the granting of decree nisi and should be simple for them to do and cheap. Our divorce service should suit you both as you can proceed on the basis of two years consent.
Date: 17 Sep 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My ex-wife and I have been divorced since April 1999. There was no order or application made with regard to ancillary relief. We had our own separate written agreement dealing with our financial issues. Solicitors were not involved. I am now remarried and my ex-wife lives with someone. We stated in the agreement that no further claims would be made on each others income eg on my pension. I am very concerned that in 20 years time when I retire (or sooner) she may go back on our agreement and want to claim my pension even though I think we had a fair split at the time of divorce (i.e. the only asset I came out with was my future pension rights. I should be grateful for your opinion. Mike
A.	You are at risk of a claim as although the terms of a separation will weigh heavily with a Court, there are limited circumstances where a claim could succeed that is at variance with the separation agreement. I would personally ask that a consent order be filed within the divorce proceedings, setting out the terms of the agreement and dismissing any further claims. If your ex-wife agrees a Solcitor will be able to do this for you quite cheaply. You can obtain a quote from our partners www.lawjunction.com
Date: 26 Aug 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife and I have been married 9 years, and have a four year old daughter. The judge has now set a date for the decree nisi for 2 months time. I want to use this time to conclude arrangements in terms of a clean break via the consent order.Child maintanace has been settled, the house sold and profits split 2 thirds for her and remainder myself. I want to be able to move fowards now however without the worry of any other futher claims on myself, or possible new partner, i.e.maintanance, or anything else. What will be in this order, and will it dispell my fears?
A.	If you have decided upon a clean break, then the order will ensure that on the basis of the agreed settlement there will be no futher claims between you form the date of the order or upon execution of the terms of the settlement. However, there can be no clean break for children and your spouse may be able to claim capital lump sums for the children in the future.
Date: 20 Jul 2000 Answered by: Gilliane Williams, Welfare Benefits Expert
Q.	My Partner has recently entered into a maintenance agreement, bound by the court in the sum of £1,050 each month to his ex wife and £200 pounds per child of which there are three. We have recently bought a house together and we were doing fine until the profits in our company dropped and we are now beginning to struggle. I have been making the payments to my partners ex wife leaving me with little money for food shopping and no money for things like clothes. It costs us £783 per month for the house and £200 per month for the endowments to add to the problem my partners father is suing him for £18,000 for an outstanding loan on the old Matrimonal house which we believe should be split equally between my partners ex wife and my partner. WE desperately need to cut down the maintenance but are worried that the judge may make us sell our assests or refuse, we can't carry on like this anymore. What is the process to go back to court (we don't want to use solictors as we can;t afford one)and what is the likelyhood of being able to reduced his ex wife's maintenance. Please help Regards.
A.	This is a rather complex situation and it would be wise to seek legal representation,particularly if there is a property dispute involved. However I can offer some assistance. You can apply to the court to have the maintenance order varied due to a change in circumstances (ie a significant drop in income. This can be done without a solicitor by obtaining an application form from you local magistrates court office and completing it yourself, if you explain what you need then they will provide you with the correct form. You will also need to draft an affidavid (a statement) explaining why the order should be varied and provide evidence to support it ie your income and expenditures. If there is a significant change of circumstances then it is possible that the maintenance order can be varied. Again, I must stress that this situation could get complicated, especially in the event that the application to vary is contested.
Date: 20 Jul 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife and I have spent a fraught few weeks reaching agreement between us about maintenance and custody for our 11 year old daughter. We have also agreed who will pay/receive what by way of joint possessions, savings and outstanding debts and have agreed to sell our jointly-owned property and share the proceeds equally. She will have principal custody of our daughter but will allow me access for 2 days a week and other occasions (such as holidays) by mutual consent. Both my wife and myself have always worked full-time during our marriage and have made and equal contribution to the household. Although we have continued to live in the marital home during all of this she has now asked me to leave as she feels that that would make it easier for her to cope with the final arrangements. I've agreed to this in principle but would appreciate your views on a couple of questions before I commit myself entirely: 1. How do I now formalise the various agreements we have jointly agreed and would it be preferable to complete this before I leave home? 2. If I do leave home how might this affect each of the aspects of the agreement we have reached? For information, my wife and I both earn more than £20,000 p.a. (with her earning approximately £4000 p.a. more than me).
A.	It would be advisable for you to put the terms of your agreement into writing, sign it and have it witnessed and dated before you leave. Although not legally binding it will clearly set out both your intentions in case either of you renege. Unfortunately the court is not bound by such agreements but would take them very heavily into account if court action arose. It would also be advisable to turn the agreement into a formal separation agreement by a Solicitor prior to divorce proceeding being issued. You are not adversly affecting your legal position by leaving or staying but making an informed decision on what is best for your daughter. I hope that assists.
Date: 18 Jul 2000 Answered by: Gilliane Williams, Welfare Benefits Expert
Q.	Under the terms of a consent order I was required to pay maintenance for both children until they attained the age of 17 or finished full time education, whichever was the latter. One child has finished all full time education wef 30/6/2000 The other attended University and will be 21 in August. However he stopped University at the beginning of June last year and in September 1999 took a one year contract with a large engineering company. It is not a placement with expenses paid, it is under contract with full employment rights, pension rights etc. I have not paid any maintenance since June 1999 but he intends to return to University at the end of September for a final year and will expect me to provide maintenance. I am of the opinion that he ceased full time education in June, 1999 and no further maintenance should be payable. Any advice please would be welcomed especially reference to any precedents or reported cases. Many thanks
A.	It is right that generally if there is a break in education for longer than 6 months then maintenance will cease if paid work is embarked upon. However, students are at liberty to take a year out or to embark on an employment scheme which has some bearing on the particular course. This does not mean that education has ceased. Therefore although you may not have been obliged to pay maintenance for the year out period if your son had an income, your sons' education has not in fact ceased. You may of course apply to the court to have the order varied or discharged at any time, however bear in mind that your son is likely to be deemed to be still in full-time education. Please do not hesitate to contact divorce-online if we can be of any further assistance.
Date: 18 Jul 2000 Answered by: Gilliane Williams, Welfare Benefits Expert
Q.	My wife and I are separated. Our children are over 21. We have agreed how our liquid assets should be split and how the various pensions will be split. I have two question One Do we need to formalise this agreement - i.e. do we need a legal document that we both sign - the emphasis here is a document recognised in law. Two Part of this agreement is to be able to transfer a currently frozen personal pension in my name to her when the pension laws change. We would like to know when the law is likely to change and are we correct in assuming an entire pension fund will be able to be transferred. Thanking you in anticipation
A.	Firstly, It is always advisable to formalise any agreements in order to avoid any disputes in the future . A solicitor will do this for you, if the issues are previously agreed then it will not prove too costly. Secondly, the new pension laws are due to be in force very soon although I cannot give you an exact date. You are correct in assuming that it will be possible to transfer an entire pension fund if that is acceptable to both parties. I hope this is of assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact divorce-online in the future.
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