Financial order or Consent order? 31 March 2020 at 8:54PM in Marriage, relationships & families 14 replies 411 views

dutchcloggie

Hello,
I have filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery and my  wife and I have agreed we don't want any claims on anything the other owns (pensions, future earnings, I have bought her out of our house etc).

I am confused about what forms we need to submit to make this happen quickly and easily. Form A for a financial order or D81 for a consent order.  Both forms seem to ask for a lot of detail about finances, when all we we want is to say: we keep what we have right now and we will not ever claim anything from the other. 
We are both keen to avoid solicitors because they cost money and we don't disagree on what we want. 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

pphillips

To get a consent order you both need to complete the D81, you'll also need a completed Form A, the court fee and the agreed consent order signed by you, your wife, your solicitor and your wife's solicitor.
If the judge is happy with the terms of the order then you usually won't need to attend court.

dutchcloggie

Ah. So you DO need a solicitor for a consent order, even if you both agree that there is nothing to divide up?

But we could complete the forms ourselves and just have them checked by a solicitor, thus reducing costs?

Do you have to have a consent or financial order for a divorce? Or only if there is negotiation?  I mean, I thought I had to have one but if just the divorce itself is enough because we don't want anything from each other, then it would save money, right? I mean, although this is not entirely amicable, I fully trust my wife with regards to her promise on financial matters, based on behaviour so far, and she trusts me.

unholyangel

dutchcloggie said:

Ah. So you DO need a solicitor for a consent order, even if you both agree that there is nothing to divide up?

But we could complete the forms ourselves and just have them checked by a solicitor, thus reducing costs?

Do you have to have a consent or financial order for a divorce? Or only if there is negotiation?  I mean, I thought I had to have one but if just the divorce itself is enough because we don't want anything from each other, then it would save money, right? I mean, although this is not entirely amicable, I fully trust my wife with regards to her promise on financial matters, based on behaviour so far, and she trusts me.

As I advised on your other thread, there are 2 parts to a divroce and if you do not get a financial order then your financial commitments to your ex-spouse will remain long after your marriage is over. 

You may have nothing to divide up now, but what about in the future? Would you be quite happy to hand over money you accumulated after the divorce was finalised? 

Don't think it can't happen - it can. Even in scotland (where financial separation is mandatory), there have been situations where after separating but before divorce people have come into money and suddenly the ex changes their tune on how finances should be split. 

dutchcloggie

Ok. That's clear. 
Does it legally require a solicitor though? Can't we just fill out the forms and send them off? 

MovingForwards

Have you had a look on wikivorce it gives step by step guides as to what you need to do etc.

dutchcloggie

Ah, thanks for that. It appears we MUST go through mediation, even if there is nothing to negotiate? That is annoying and time consuming, let alone a waste of money.

pphillips

dutchcloggie said:

Ah, thanks for that. It appears we MUST go through mediation, even if there is nothing to negotiate? That is annoying and time consuming, let alone a waste of money.

To be clear:
You can't get a consent order without involving solicitors.
You don't need to go through mediation to get a consent order.

dutchcloggie

pphillips said:

To be clear:
You can't get a consent order without involving solicitors.
You don't need to go through mediation to get a consent order.

Well that's a shame :-(  Seems to me that is a bit unfair. .Surely if they make the forms clear enough, people can complete them themselves and then let the judge decide on it being reasonable or not?
Oh well, that's my questions answered for now. 

Oh, one more, I bought my wife out of our joint property and I have paid her the sum we agreed for this. Please tell me the property now does not become part of the assets we will need to split again?

pphillips

dutchcloggie said:

pphillips said:

To be clear:
You can't get a consent order without involving solicitors.
You don't need to go through mediation to get a consent order.

Well that's a shame :-(  Seems to me that is a bit unfair. .Surely if they make the forms clear enough, people can complete them themselves and then let the judge decide on it being reasonable or not?
Oh well, that's my questions answered for now. 

Oh, one more, I bought my wife out of our joint property and I have paid her the sum we agreed for this. Please tell me the property now does not become part of the assets we will need to split again?

The only alternative is to have the court decide what is fair and that means mediation, then Form A and then attendance at court. However the potential good news is that there is a ban on financial claims after remarriage.

If the property is now in your name and she has a lump sum then perhaps you will have achieved equality in how the assets are split.

dutchcloggie

Yes. We don't want anything doing. Just a document confirming that what we currently have will never be claimed by the other. 

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I was getting confused about advice on how to do this without a solicitor but it makes more sense now that I know there are parts that MUST be done by a solicitor.