What is a Financial Consent Order?

Why Do I Need a Clean Break Consent Order?

Obtaining a clean break consent order is the only way to completely sever your financial obligations after divorce. This will provide certainty regarding your financial future by ensuring any future claims are dismissed.

If you have agreed to a divorce financial settlement then you need to get a consent order drafted and apply to the court to make it legally binding.

If the financial settlement you’ve reached is only verbally agreed upon it will not be legally binding. Consequently, a family court cannot enforce any part of it should there be any issues or future claims.

A consent order, therefore, is the legal document that confirms your financial agreement to the family court. It sets out how you are going to divide up assets and liabilities such as:

• Savings
• Property
• Pensions
• Mortgage & other debts
• Investments

Can Child Maintenance be Included in a Consent Order?

The court order can include child maintenance arrangements, but the order can only make child maintenance legally binding for 12 months. Thereafter, the CMS (Child Maintenance Service) has the mandate for calculating and enforcing child maintenance payments.

Child maintenance is treated differently under family law than spousal maintenance, though they can be combined into a global maintenance payment.

Some people choose to include these payments in a consent order to demonstrate proof of income if they are planning to apply for a mortgage or rental agreement.

How long does a financial consent order take?

In normal circumstances, it takes approximately 6 to 10 weeks for the court to approve a financial court order. However, timescales for financial applications can depend on the court you file with.

It typically costs from £1,500 to £2,000 for a financial consent order when instructing a high street law firm. This depends on the complexity of your agreement and where you live, but expect to pay more in London!

The Divorce-Online Managed Consent Order Service for £399 handled by our in-house solicitors covers all aspects for a fixed-fee if you prefer a more affordable option.

You can apply to the court to approve your application once the judge has granted your Decree Nisi during the divorce proceedings. The agreement becomes legally binding once the judge grants the Decree Absolute.

Whilst it’s possible to obtain a consent order after the Decree Absolute has been granted, it may affect your entitlement to certain assets. What’s more, you may also be liable for tax on any assets you receive.

Key Facts About Financial Consent Orders

• The type of court order required depends entirely on your situation, a consent order isn’t suitable for all couples
• The alternative to a consent order is a clean break order, which is suitable for couples that don’t have joint assets, such as pensions, property or savings
• If your marriage was relatively short with no joint assets a clean break order allows you both to go separate ways after divorce
• A financial order is necessary when you have on-going commitments and financial ties like property, pensions, child maintenance payments, or even debts & liabilities
• If you fail to obtain a financial order when you divorce your ex-partner can claim against you in the future – even several years after divorce should your financial situation change
• A divorce will end your marriage and enable you to re-marry, however, it does not end your financial commitments as husband and wife
• The term financial disclosure is used to describe being open and honest about your financial situation including; income, savings, investments, and pensions
• The divorce process and obtaining a consent order are two separate legal processes

Difference Between Consent Order & Clean Break Order

If you have been told you need a financial order following a divorce by a friend, colleague, or legal representative, it can be confusing knowing where to start.

People have often heard of the term ‘clean break’ in respect of getting divorced but not necessarily the term ‘financial consent order’.

Whilst a clean break clause can be included within a consent order, they are different orders.

Read our article on the difference between a consent order and clean break order to get clarity on which court order you need following a divorce.

Statement of Information – Form D81

Many people naturally want to know what information a Judge takes into consideration before granting a court order.

The statement of information (D81 Form) is one of the main documents required by the court. It will initially ask how long you were married, along with other questions such as;

• The value of assets and income for each party.
• Details of property ownership.
• Matters relating to children.
• Confirmation of whether either party has remarried or entered a long-term relationship.

Generally, the court will encourage couples to agree on the details themselves. Ultimately though the court must consider whether any agreement is fair for both parties.

The purpose of the statement of information is therefore to provide the court with context when deciding if the proposed consent order is indeed fair and proper.

If the Court judges that the drafted consent order is fair, then it will usually approve it without the need for either party to attend court.

What is Financial Disclosure when getting a Consent Order?

Having full financial disclosure is mandatory when applying for a consent order through the family court. The purpose of financial disclosure is to provide details of your income, pensions, assets & liabilities.

You will be required to fill out a Financial Statement Form E, which will be supported by other documents confirming details disclosed in the form.

Once financial disclosure has been provided, the court judge is able to consider the value of the matrimonial pot, and distribute assets fairly.

It’s possible that either partner may be entitled to a share of the other’s pension, in which case a Pension Sharing Order will outline how the pension pot should be split.

Can you file your own consent order or do I need a solicitor?

A financial consent order is a legal document that should be prepared by a qualified solicitor with the consensus of both divorce parties. This draft sets out what each party has agreed in relation to their matrimonial assets and finances.

Many couples wonder if they can file a consent order themselves, to which the answer is yes, you can.

However, when it comes to the drafting of the court order, a template downloaded from the internet stands little chance of satisfying a court. It would likely result in a refusal and a subsequent loss of court fees.

Failure to Comply with A Consent Order

The court will not be directly involved in carrying out the order unless there is a failure to comply. At this point, an application to enforce the order would have to be made to the court.

What happens if one party doesn’t comply with the agreement that has been approved by the Judge?

In this instance, there are various legal options that can play out and this article addresses what can happen if a spouse doesn’t comply with the consent order.

How To Get a Consent Order Online

If you and your ex-partner have agreed on how your financial assets and liabilities are to be separated you can get a consent order. Furthermore, if you DON’T want to spend £1,500 or more on a high street solicitor, then our online consent order service is the ideal solution.

Here’s what you receive when you get our Consent Order Online Service:

• A family law solicitor drafted financial order for just £399 (fixed-fee & covers both parties)
• Divorce-Online will manage the application process through the courts for you
• Divorce-Online deals with any queries from the Court Judge or opposing solicitors on your behalf
• You provide all the information we need online – No need to visit our offices for legal advice or form filling
• Track your case online from start-to-finish

We appreciate there’s a lot to figure out when considering a consent order, and it can be difficult knowing where to start. Therefore to make the process easier we’ve written about the common mistakes people make and how to avoid them.

Read about the 7 most important things to consider before making a financial application to sever your financial commitments following a divorce.