If you are going through a divorce, protecting yourself financially is just as important as ending the marriage itself, yet the two are easy to conflate. A consent order, often combined with a clean break, is the tool that secures your financial position once the relationship is over. In this article we explain what these orders are, why going without one can leave you exposed for years, and how to obtain one.
Does Divorce End Financial Claims?
No, and this is where many people are caught out. A divorce changes only your legal status, confirming that the marriage has ended. It says nothing about who keeps the house, how a pension is split, or whether any maintenance is paid. Those questions are handled through an entirely separate legal process, and until they are settled by a court order they stay live. In practical terms that means your ex-partner can bring a financial claim against you long after the divorce is finalised, because the right to make one does not expire when the marriage does. An informal understanding between you, however amicable, carries no legal weight and will not prevent it.
What is A Consent Order
A consent order is a legal document that records what you and your ex-partner have agreed about your finances and, once approved by a judge, makes that agreement legally binding. It can cover how your income, capital, property and pensions are to be divided, so that everything is dealt with in one place. Reaching an agreement between yourselves is an important first step, but an informal agreement, even one in writing, is not binding on its own.
It is only when the agreement is embodied in a consent order and approved by the court that it becomes enforceable. The judge will check that the terms are broadly fair before approving it, which is part of what gives a consent order its weight.
What Is A Clean Break Order
A clean break is an arrangement that ends all financial obligations between you and your ex-partner, so that neither of you can bring a claim against the other in the future. It can be built into a consent order, and where it is appropriate it is usually well worth having.
A clean break gives both parties certainty and allows each of you to move on independently, knowing the financial chapter is genuinely closed. Importantly, a clean break is worth obtaining even where there are few or no assets to divide. Without one, you could remain exposed to a future claim, and that risk does not go away simply because there was little to share at the time of the divorce.
What Happens If You Do Not Get An Order
If no court order is in place, your financial claims against each other stay open indefinitely. This is the part that catches people out. A claim can be brought years after the divorce, potentially over assets you have built up entirely on your own since the marriage ended, and in some cases even after one or both of you have remarried. The risk is not merely theoretical. In the well-known case of Wyatt v Vince, the Supreme Court allowed a financial claim to proceed almost two decades after the couple had divorced, precisely because no financial order had ever been made to dismiss it. It is a striking illustration of a simple point. The only reliable way to protect what you have and prevent a future claim is to have a properly drafted order approved by the court.
How to Get a Consent Order
The process begins with reaching an agreement about how your finances should be divided. Once you have, that agreement needs to be drafted into a consent order in the correct form and lodged with the court for a judge to approve. In practice, this is usually done once the divorce has reached the Conditional Order stage.
There is a court fee to apply, currently sixty-two pounds, though it is worth checking the up-to-date figure at the time you apply. The judge will consider whether the terms are fair before approving the order, and can raise queries if anything looks unreasonable. Even where you and your ex-partner have agreed everything amicably between yourselves, it is important to take legal advice, because an order will only be binding and watertight if it is drafted properly and covers everything it needs to.
How we can help
If you are divorcing and want to protect your position for the future, our family law team can guide you through obtaining a consent order and, where appropriate, a clean break. We will make sure any agreement is drafted properly and dealt with correctly by the court, so you have real certainty rather than an informal understanding that could unravel later.
To talk through your options, take a look at how we can help with your financial settlement, or get in touch with our Oldham or Uppermill office and a member of the team will be glad to help.
