What Is a Consent Order?

What is a financial consent order?

A financial consent order is a legal document that sets out how you and your spouse have agreed to divide your money, property and other assets when you divorce. It is called a consent order because both of you consent to its terms.

An agreement on its own is not legally binding. It becomes binding when a judge reviews the draft order, is satisfied that it is reasonable based on the financial information you have both provided, and approves it. The court then seals the order, and its terms can be enforced if either of you does not keep to them.

Why a consent order matters

A consent order makes your financial agreement legally binding and can protect you from future financial claims. All our consent orders include clean break provisions designed to bring financial claims between you to an end, subject to the terms of the agreement and court approval. Without one, either of you may still be able to make a financial claim against the other after the divorce, including against money or property acquired years later, such as an inheritance, a pay rise or a new home.

A Final Order does not end your financial ties. The Final Order legally ends the marriage, but it does not deal with your finances. Financial claims between you remain open until the court makes an order dealing with them. A consent order can include "clean break" terms, which dismiss future claims so that you can both move on independently.

What a consent order can cover

A consent order can deal with most of the finances you share or own individually, including:

• Property: Whether the family home or other property is sold, transferred to one of you, or kept until a later date, and how any proceeds are divided.
• Savings and investments: How bank accounts, savings, shares and other investments are divided.
• Pensions: Pension sharing, where a percentage of one pension is transferred to the other person, or other pension arrangements.
• Debts: Who is responsible for mortgages, loans and credit cards, usually recorded as commitments between you.
• Lump sums: A one-off payment from one of you to the other, either immediately or by a set date.
• Maintenance: Whether either of you will pay ongoing spousal maintenance, or whether there will be a clean break.

Where ongoing spousal maintenance is agreed, a complete clean break may not take effect immediately, although other financial claims can still be dismissed.

When to apply

Divorce in England and Wales has two main court stages: the Conditional Order and the Final Order. The timing of your consent order application depends on these stages.

• Before the Conditional Order: You can reach your agreement and prepare your documents, but the court cannot approve a consent order yet.
• After the Conditional Order: You can submit your consent order to the court. If it is approved before the Final Order, it takes effect when the Final Order is made.
• Before applying for the Final Order: Many people wait until their consent order is approved before applying for the Final Order. This is particularly important where pensions are involved, because some rights that depend on being married, such as certain pension death benefits, can be lost when the marriage ends.

You can still apply for a consent order after the Final Order has been made.

Why both of you need to agree

A consent order records an agreement you have reached together, so both of you must agree to its terms and sign the documents. Both of you also need to give honest and complete information about your finances, as the judge relies on that information to decide whether the agreement is reasonable.

If you cannot agree, a consent order is not suitable. Options include mediation, or applying to the court to decide how your finances should be divided, which is a separate and usually longer process.

Documents you will need

A consent order application usually includes:

• The draft consent order: The legal document setting out the terms you have agreed.
• Form D81 (Statement of Information for a Consent Order): A summary of your financial circumstances, which the judge uses to check that the agreement is reasonable.
• Form A: The form used to start the financial application with the court.
• Pension Sharing Annex: Required where the order includes pension sharing. It gives the pension provider the information needed to carry out the split.

Our £279 service includes the draft consent order, a fully completed D81, a completed Form A and, where required, the Pension Sharing Annex.

How much a consent order costs

• £279 drafting service: A fixed fee for preparing your consent order and supporting forms. It includes pension sharing at no extra cost and covers up to three properties. Clean break provisions are included as standard, at no additional drafting charge. Business assets are supported, subject to our service criteria.
• £129 optional Fully Managed upgrade: We submit the application to the court and handle routine court queries, correspondence and straightforward amendments. Without the upgrade, you submit the application and deal with the court yourselves.
• £62 court fee: The court charges a fee of £62 for considering a consent order application. It is set by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), is payable separately and is not included in our prices.

How to get a consent order

1. 1Step 1: Agree how you will divide your finances.
2. 2Step 2: Tell us about your agreement and your financial circumstances.
3. 3Step 3: We prepare your consent order and supporting forms. Our standard drafting time is six weeks.
4. 4Step 4: You both review and sign the documents.
5. 5Step 5: The application is submitted to the court, by you or by us with the Fully Managed upgrade.
6. 6Step 6: A judge reviews the application and, if satisfied, approves and seals the order.

See How It Works for an overview of our service.

Frequently asked questions