Split your finances with your former-spouse and legally protect yourself from any future claims
With a Solicitor Prepared, Court Approved Consent Order
A common misunderstanding is that divorce also deals with the division of marital assets, such as houses, but this is not the case. The divorce process only deals with your marriage, not your finances. Years after a divorce, your former spouse can claim like the lottery winner who had to pay his ex-wife £2 million.
The only way you can make your financial agreements legally binding and protect your finances in the future is by getting a consent order.
A consent order is a legal document describing the financial agreement between you and your former spouse. Once the court approves the consent order, it becomes legally binding, preventing either party from changing their mind and trying to claim more.
A consent order will cover one or more of the following:
- Lump sum payments and property transfers
- Selling the former marital home and sharing the proceeds
- Splitting savings and investments
- Who will pay any debts
- Maintenance payments
As well as making your financial agreement legally binding, a consent order gives clean break protection. Without this, either of you could claim against the other in the future, putting pensions, inheritances and even a home bought with a new partner at risk.
A consent order is for couples who’ve agreed on how they will share their assets (or who have children under 18) that now want a legally binding order to ensure that neither party can change their minds over the agreement or make a financial claim against the other in the future. If you need to split pensions, you will need our pension sharing consent order.
Order your consent here
Financial Consent Order
If you have assets to split- Make your financial agreement legally binding and protect yourself against future financial claims
- No complicated forms to complete
- Drafted and filed by an experienced and qualified solicitor who will process it through the court for you
- Save £££'s compared to traditional solicitors
One Week Fast Track Service
If you urgently need your consent order- We prepare your consent order within seven days of receiving your completed questionnaire
- Makes your financial agreement legally binding and protects against future claims
- Essential if you are close to your final order date and don't want to delay your divorce
- Fastest service available in the UK
Key Features
- An experienced and qualified solicitor will draft your consent order.
- We will also complete the court’s 23-page Statement of Information.
- Our solicitors will file the consent order for you and process it through the court.
- No court appearance is necessary; we will deal with any objections or refusals should they arise.
- We keep you fully updated throughout the process.
No hidden hourly costs, just one fixed fee of £499 - Very fast service, your consent order will be ready to file with the court within four weeks of receiving your application. A faster one-week priority service is also available.
What is included with this service
- The sale or transfer of property.
- Lump sum payments.
- Child and spousal maintenance.
- Splitting savings and debt.
- Clean break agreement – protecting you from future financial claims.
- This is a fully managed service, our solicitors file the consent order with the courts for you to secure quick approval.
What is not included with this service
- Help to negotiate your financial agreement.
- Sharing or transferring pensions, business assets or commercial investments (you need our premium consent service for this).
- Amendments to the order by either party in the event of the case becoming disputed.
The court fee for filing a financial order is currently £53.00. You may be exempt from paying court fees if you are on a low income or receive certain benefits.
What happens after I order the consent order?
Once you’ve ordered your consent order, we will send you an online questionnaire to complete. We will ask for your and your spouse’s current financial positions and the agreement you have reached. We use this information to complete the statement of information and the consent order.
Once complete, we email the documents to you both to sign digitally on your phone or computer before sending the signed copies to the court for approval.
You can only ask the court to approve a consent order if you have started divorce proceedings and the court has agreed that you can get divorced. This is known as being granted a conditional order (or a decree nisi under the old law). The court takes around four weeks to approve a consent order, and it comes into effect once it grants the final order (or decree absolute under the old law), which is a minimum of six weeks after the conditional order.
The ideal situation is to have your consent order ready for signing once you have your conditional order or decree nisi so that your finances and divorce conclude in the same timeframe.
Next Steps
Read enough and want to get started? Just click on the button below to add to basket. Once you have purchased the service, you will receive an email from us with the questionnaire. Fill this in, and we will take care of the rest.
Consent Order – Frequently Asked Questions
Do I get a consent order automatically with my divorce?
No, you need to make a separate application for a consent order. It is possible to get a divorce without a consent order, though this isn’t recommended because it leaves your finances without legally defined ownership.
Unless you buy a specific package that includes a divorce with a consent order, a consent order is never included in a fixed fee divorce, it is a separate service.
Our divorce is really amicable, and we have agreed on how we’ll split our assets. Do we even need a consent order?
Yes, you do. Even if you both have remained the best of friends, you should still get a consent order. It’s a wise and practical thing to do as a consent order legally defines the ownership of your assets. Anything can happen in the future, and a consent order will give you lifetime protection and peace of mind that your agreement today will remain in place.
Can I get a consent order without being divorced?
No, you can’t. To get a consent order, you must have at least been given permission to divorce. This is known as a conditional order or a decree nisi under the old law. To get permission to divorce, you must have started divorce proceedings.
When should I apply for a consent order?
You can only apply to the court to approve a consent order once you have started the divorce and reached the conditional order stage. Financial disclosure from you and your former spouse is needed to start the consent order process. It takes three to four weeks to draft your consent order for submission to the court. Ideally, you want to start the consent order process at least six weeks before your conditional order date to ensure that all documents are ready for signing so they can be submitted to the court when you receive your conditional order.
Do we have to provide financial disclosure of assets that we aren’t splitting?
Yes, you do. A document known as a D81 Statement of Information must be completed and submitted to the court. This document shows your current financial position, and the court uses this information to decide if a consent order is fair.
The information needed is:
- Total equity held in properties
- Total savings and investments
- Total liabilities (not mortgage debt)
- The total value of pensions
- Monthly income broken down into income from employment, benefits, child maintenance payments, pension or other sources.
The court will not approve a consent order without this information.
You don’t need to provide evidence like bank statements or property valuations, but if the court found that a party had deliberately withheld information, the consent order could be voided, and the perpetrator could face prosecution for fraud.
Can I get a consent order without my ex’s agreement?
No, you can’t. You must both agree, and your spouse must provide their financial information. We cannot apply for a consent order if your spouse is unwilling to provide financial disclosure or if they disagree with the financial settlement proposed.
How long does it take for a consent order to be approved?
Once you’ve both signed the statement of information and consent order and you have your conditional order, we can submit the consent order to the court for approval. An Easy Online Divorce drafted and submitted consent order typically takes around four weeks to approve.
How much does a consent order cost?
The court fee for submitting a consent order is £53. However, you will need a solicitor to draft your order, and the cost of this will depend on whether you use Easy Online Divorce or a high street solicitor.
If you’ve called some local solicitors in your area, you’ll know that their costs can vary wildly from £1,500 for a simple consent order to £6,000, which can only be described (politely) as daylight robbery.
The good news is that Easy Online Divorce has transparent fixed prices. Our standard consent order, which includes a clean break, the sale or transfer of property, lump-sum payments, child and spousal maintenance and splitting savings and debt, is £499 including VAT.
Can I get a consent order after we have divorced?
Yes, you can get a consent order after a divorce. Although, the best practice is to finalise your financial arrangements before your final order or decree absolute. Just remember that ownership of any assets can be disputed at any point after the divorce unless you have a court-approved consent order in place. Some couples part on good terms, with agreements in place, only to find themselves in a very different situation when one of them meets a new partner.
What is the difference between a financial consent order and a separation agreement?
A financial consent order is a legally binding agreement approved by a judge. If your former spouse doesn’t meet their obligations as agreed in your consent order, the courts have the power to enforce it.
A separation agreement, on the other hand, is drafted by a solicitor and signed by both parties but is not legally binding. To enforce it, you would have to go to court and apply for a contested financial order (which costs thousands), so a separation agreement from a legal point of view isn’t worth the paper (or rather the solicitor costs) it’s written on.
A separation agreement can be helpful for some couples, especially those who want help to set boundaries in the early days of separation. If you feel like you need a separation agreement, you might find it more helpful to go to mediation which will be much more cost-effective.
How do we reach an agreement on our financial consent order?
You can agree on the details of your consent order between yourselves through mediation or solicitor-led negotiation. If you can’t agree, you can ask the court to decide for you.
Deciding between yourselves is the least expensive option, but it does require openness and a willingness to cooperate. Meditation is a very effective way to reach an agreement for couples having difficulties. Although mediation is likely to cost somewhere in the region of £500, it is still less expensive than using a solicitor or going to court.
In some situations, a solicitor or court is needed. However, be aware that a court will expect you to have at least tried mediation. Solicitors are very useful in some situations but be mindful that their business model is to charge by the minute, usually in 15-minute blocks – this means there is a natural conflict of interest between making money for the firm and resolving issues quickly.
If you do have to go down a solicitor route, make sure that you are clear on what you want your outcome to be. If that is to resolve your divorce and finances quickly and as smoothly as possible, be cautious if your solicitor displays an overly aggressive approach to negotiation.
Does who was to blame for the divorce impact our financial agreement?
Except in rare circumstances, such as murder or gambling addiction, who was to blame for its breakdown does not affect the division of assets. Divorce and financial orders are two separate cases. And now, with the new no-fault divorce law, neither party has to blame the other. Instead, a statement is made that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
Is Child Maintenance included in a financial consent order?
Many spouses want to include child maintenance in a financial consent order to demonstrate proof of income to help them get a mortgage or a rental agreement.
Child maintenance can be included in a financial consent order, but it is only legally binding for 12 months. After this time, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has jurisdiction over enforcing child maintenance, including calculating the amount due. Decisions by the CMS override any agreement that you previously made between you.
I’m divorced/I’m divorcing under the old law – under which law should I get a consent order?
Fundamentally, the law regarding consent orders hasn’t changed. What has changed is the trigger to allow you to submit your consent order to the court. To send your consent order to the court for approval, you must have at least been permitted to divorce. This is known as a conditional order under the new no-fault divorce system (decree nisi under the old law). You can ask the court to approve your consent order as soon as you have either of these.
What is a Form A and Form A1?
One of the most confusing parts of the new no-fault divorce process is the page after being asked if you want a financial order. Titled ‘How to apply for a financial order’, it says you need to complete another form (Form A or Form A1) and pay the additional fee. This is misleading. A Form A (notice of intention to proceed with an application for a financial order) is for a couple in agreement, but if you are using an online service such as Easy Online Divorce that files directly into the court department’s systems, you don’t need to complete a Form A.
Similarly, if you have a contested financial agreement, you need to complete a Form A1 (notice of intention to proceed with an application for a financial remedy), but again, if you have to go down this route, you will need a solicitor to help you, and they will complete the form A1 for you.
Will the court always agree with our financial consent order?
No, the court doesn’t blindly approve consent orders, and they can question the fairness of your agreement. The consent order process is voluntary between a couple, so the court won’t force you to do something if they disagree with your order. But they will ask questions or ask you to consider certain agreements to ensure that a person in a weaker position is fully aware of the implications of the order.
We hope our FAQ has answered all your questions about consent orders. If you have a question we haven’t covered or need further clarity, please email us or book a call back here.
If you are ready to proceed, you can order your consent order by clicking the button below.
Order your consent here
Financial Consent Order
If you have assets to split- Make your financial agreement legally binding and protect yourself against future financial claims
- No complicated forms to complete
- Drafted and filed by an experienced and qualified solicitor who will process it through the court for you
- Save £££'s compared to traditional solicitors
One Week Fast Track Service
If you urgently need your consent order- We prepare your consent order within seven days of receiving your completed questionnaire
- Makes your financial agreement legally binding and protects against future claims
- Essential if you are close to your final order date and don't want to delay your divorce
- Fastest service available in the UK