What is a Financial Consent Order?
In this blog, our Family Law Solicitors explain what a financial consent order is and how and when to apply for one.
Online and London Family Law Solicitors
For family law legal advice call the expert London family lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.
What is a financial consent order?
A financial consent order is an order of the family court that has been requested jointly by a divorcing or divorced husband and wife after they have reached an agreement over how to split their assets and on whether spousal maintenance is payable and for how long.
A financial court order is an order made by a judge after a contested hearing as a husband and wife have not been able to reach a financial settlement and need a judge to decide how their assets are split.
Who needs a financial consent order?
Anyone who is getting divorced needs a financial consent order if they have been able to reach a financial agreement over the division of their assets. Without an order, you risk your husband or wife trying to claim more at a later date or you risk having problems enforcing your agreement. For example:
- If you have agreed to a deferred sale of the family home your ex-husband or ex-wife may then refuse to leave the property or refuse to put it on the market
- If you have agreed to a pension being shared you cannot get your share of your spouse’s pension without a pension sharing order from the court. That’s because the pension administrators are not allowed to implement your agreement without a financial consent order and a final order of divorce
- Your spouse agreed to pay spousal maintenance at the rate of £750 per month for three years but they keep being late with the payments or not paying and you need to enforce the agreement
- Your mortgage lender wants a financial court order showing what spousal maintenance you are getting before they will give you your mortgage offer so you can rehouse yourself
- Your spouse is at risk of being made bankrupt or they have had financial problems in the past and you don’t trust them to not get into another financial mess in the future
There are many other reasons why you may need a financial consent order. Our Family Law Solicitors can advise you on your financial settlement options and can convert your agreement into a financial consent order.
Do you need a financial consent order if you have a memorandum of understanding?
If you reached an agreement in family mediation and have a memorandum of understanding you still need a financial consent order. The process to get the order is the same whether you reached your agreement through solicitor negotiations or in mediation.
Do you need a financial consent order if you signed a separation agreement?
If you signed a separation agreement you still need to get a financial consent order. The financial consent order is necessary in case you need to enforce your agreement or in case your former spouse later says that they don’t think they should be bound by what they agreed to at the time of the separation agreement.
When can you apply for a financial consent order?
You may have reached a financial agreement at the time of your separation but you cannot submit the financial consent order application until your conditional order of divorce has been pronounced. The financial consent order will not be enforceable until the divorce proceedings are finished and the final order of divorce is made.
How do you apply for a financial consent order?
Family Law Solicitors will negotiate the wording of your order and prepare all the paperwork. The following documents are then sent to court after your conditional order of divorce has been made:
- The signed financial consent order
- Pension sharing annex - if your order includes pension sharing
- The financial statement of information form
- The court fee
A district judge will review the order and documents and may either ask questions about the terms or wording of the order. Alternatively, the judge may approve the order and make the order as requested.
Your Family Law Solicitors will then help you implement the court order. For example, if you are selling the family home your conveyancing solicitor needs a copy of the order.
The court must get a signed financial statement of information in all applications for a financial consent order. This is because the judge needs a summary of your financial and personal circumstances to know whether what you have agreed is a fair financial settlement. The judge will not query the vast majority of financial agreements sent to them for approval. Queries are normally limited to agreements that seem unusual. For example, after a 30-year marriage, the husband is getting 10% of the assets and does not appear to have the means to rehouse himself.
When a judge raises questions about the proposed order your Family Law Solicitors can answer their questions. In most cases, you will get your agreed financial consent order without the need for anyone to attend a court hearing.
If financial court proceedings have been started, can you get a financial consent order?
It is common to start financial proceedings and then reach a financial settlement. Starting a court application is sometimes necessary to show a spouse that you are not prepared to walk away with nothing or less than you are entitled to. At any stage in the financial court process, you can tell the court you have reached an agreement and ask a family law judge to convert your agreement into a binding financial consent order.
If you need help with negotiating a financial settlement, need legal advice to understand if what your spouse is offering is reasonable, or want a financial consent order from the court then our specialist Family Law Solicitors can help.
Online and London Family Law Solicitors
For family law legal advice call the expert London family lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.
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