Consent Order: Finances

About Financial Consent Orders

A Financial Consent Order is a legal document that formalises an agreement you and your ex-partner have made to agree how you will divide and allocate your finances following a family separation.  It explains how you’re going to divide up assets like:

1. pensions
   
2. property
   
3. savings
   
4. investments
   
5. It can also include arrangements for maintenance payments, including child maintenance.

If you cannot agree then you could seek support from a mediator in reaching agreement:

You can find your local family mediator using the search form on the Family Mediation Council Website - make sure you tick the box that says 'qualified to sign court forms':  https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/find-local-mediator/

If you still can't agree following mediation then you will need to apply to the court to decide.

Making your agreement legally binding

To make your agreement legally binding you need to draft a consent order and ask a court to approve it.  If your agreement is not legally binding, a court cannot enforce it if there are any issues later.

You can ask the court to approve your consent order if you’ve started the paperwork to divorce or end your civil partnership.  It is usually more straightforward to divide money and property before you apply for the final legal document to end the relationship.

The final legal document is the:

1. decree absolute if you’re divorcing
   
2. final order if you’re ending a civil partnership
   

You can also divide money and property after your divorce is finalised or civil partnership has ended, however this may change what you’re entitled to get and you may have to pay tax on it.

How to ask the court for approval

You and your ex-partner have to:

1. draft a consent order
   
2. sign the draft consent order - you also need 2 photocopies of the signed original
   
3. fill in a statement of information form
   
4. One of you also needs to fill in a notice of an application for a financial order.
   
5. Send the signed forms and copies with the £50 fee to the court dealing with your paperwork to divorce or end your civil partnership. Keep your own copies.
   

You may be able to get help with court fees if you’re on benefits or a low income.

There’s usually no court hearing. A judge will approve your consent order to make it legally binding if they think it’s fair.  If they do not think it’s fair, they can ask you to change it.

How much it costs

The court fee is £50 and payable to the court as per the above information.

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