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A consent order is a court order that records the financial agreement reached between divorcing spouses and gives that agreement the force of law. Without a consent order, an agreement between separating couples will not be legally binding, and either party can bring a financial claim against the other years, sometimes decades, after the divorce itself (dissolving the marriage) is finalised. The Supreme Court confirmed in Wyatt v Vince [2015] UKSC 14, that there is no time limit for filing financial claims after a divorce if an order was not made. In that case, a former wife was permitted to pursue a financial claim nearly twenty years after the parties had separated. The only reliable way for divorcing couples to draw a line under their financial relationship is a financial consent order approved by the family court.
At Payne Hicks Beach, our Family team is adept at advising clients in relation to consent orders in all circumstances – whether you have reached an agreement directly and wish us to assist in the preparation of the documentation or whether an agreement has arisen through mediation or within contested proceedings. We can assist in every stage of the process, from negotiating the underlying financial agreement through to drafting a formal consent order and submitting it to the court for approval by a judge. We are also able to assist with the implementation and, where appropriate, enforcement of consent orders. We have a diverse client base that includes high net worth individuals, internationally mobile families, business owners, trustees and beneficiaries, and our work regularly involves complex asset structures, pensions, trusts and jurisdictional issues.
This page covers the consent order process in financial remedies arising on divorce in England and Wales.
OUR SERVICES
- FINANCIAL CONSENT ORDERS ON DIVORCE
- CLEAN BREAK CONSENT ORDERS
- COMPLEX ASSET AND PENSION PROVISION
- SETTING ASIDE A CONSENT ORDER
- ENFORCEMENT OF FINANCIAL ORDERS
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Whether you are negotiating the financial terms of your divorce, need a consent order drafted and approved, or wish to challenge or vary a consent order already in place, specialist legal advice is essential. At Payne Hicks Beach, our Family team draws on decades of experience in high value financial remedy work to help clients reach durable, enforceable financial settlements with clarity and discretion.
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Why Choose Payne Hicks Beach?
With top ratings in Chambers UK, Chambers HNW and The Legal 500 UK guides, our Family department is recognised as frequently advising in some of the most complex and sensitive financial remedy matters in the market, including consent orders involving very substantial and internationally held assets. Chambers UK describes the firm as “arguably the strongest family law firm in the country, providing enviable strength and depth in both financial and private children law areas.”
In 2024, Payne Hicks Beach won Family Law Team of the Year at the Chambers HNW Awards. We are also recognised by ePrivateclient (Tier 1), Doyle’s Guide (First Tier) and the Spear’s Family Lawyers Index.
Our Family team has extensive experience drafting and negotiating financial consent orders covering a broad spectrum of cases – from cases involving relatively straightforward conventional assets through to settlements complex international assets including inherited wealth and estates, complex trusts and offshore structures, international businesses and high value balance sheets. In all matters, the drafting of the consent order is the final and most important step and the document itself must be prepared in the correct manner and reflect every nuance of the negotiated outcome in a form that will be approved by a district judge and withstand scrutiny years later. It is important to note that it is not possible to oust the jurisdiction of the court, and a consent order will always remain subject to approval by a judge.
Reaching an agreement that is embodied in a consent order may require input from other legal disciplines. Pension sharing and offsetting arrangements may require actuarial input, and it may be necessary to instruct a Pension on Divorce Expert. Business asset transfers may involve corporate advice and tax considerations. Trust interests and generational wealth may raise questions that require the input of private client lawyers. Orders affecting overseas assets sometimes involve conflict of law considerations and sometimes advice may be required from overseas advisers and there may be a need for ancillary proceedings in other jurisdictions. As a full-service firm, our Family team works alongside PHB’s Private Client, Tax, Trusts, Property Litigation and Immigration specialists to ensure that the order we draft and submit for approval properly accounts for the commercial realities.
When drafting a consent order, it is important to ensure that the parties fully understand the parameters of the agreement that they have reached and that they are doing so against a backdrop of proper disclosure. Without understanding the financial landscape, it is not possible to reach an informed agreement. . The Supreme Court made clear in the joined appeals Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC 60 and Gohil v Gohil [2015] UKSC 61 that a consent order procured by material non-disclosure will, be set aside. We draft consent orders ensuring that agreements are reached against a backdrop of proper disclosure and that the Form D81 (which sets out the financial picture for the judge considering the consent order) provides the necessary information.
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Financial Consent Orders on Divorce
A financial consent order is the document in which the financial settlement reached between divorcing spouses is translated into a court order and becomes legally enforceable. It should deal with all financial aspects of the separation: the family home and any other properties, cash and investments, pensions, business interests, debts and liabilities, and will determine whether there should be a clean break (terminating financial ties between a couple) or whether there will be a need for ongoing support for one party by way of spousal maintenance. The parties must reach agreement on the substance of the settlement first and this may be achieved by a number of means including direct negotiations, negotiations between solicitors or by employing various methods of Non-Court Dispute Resolution. Once the agreement is reached the order must be drafted with care to ensure it encompasses all relevant matters and that it deals with the dismissal of the parties’ claims against each other. It is important to take the step to obtain a final order, even if you agree what will happen – without an order the parties claims against each other remain live.
Once a consent order has been prepared it will be submitted to the court alongside a form setting out the parties’ financial position (a Form D81). A judge will then consider the papers and, if satisfied that the agreement is fair, will approve and seal the order.
Clean Break Consent Orders
Depending on the circumstances, a consent order may provide for a “clean break” – an order that dismisses each party’s future financial claims against the other, so that neither can come back to court for further financial provision from the other (save in respect of child maintenance). A clean break will not be appropriate in all cases, but it can be advantageous. A clean break severs the financial ties between the parties which enables the parties to move on and take responsibility for their own finances. It means that they can move on in confidence that their ex-spouse is not going to be able to make further claims against them in the future and it provides clarity.
Not every case is suitable for a clean break. Where ongoing maintenance is required, the order may provide for periodical payments to terminate at a particular point in time and for there to be a clean break at the end of that period. The period may be extendable. We advise clients on whether a clean break is appropriate in their circumstances and draft orders that reflect that analysis.
Complex Assets and Pension Provision
Consent orders in high value cases routinely involve assets that require specialist understanding. In order to make provision foreseen sharing orders and pension attachment orders we often require actuarial valuations (CETV) and frequently instruct a Pension on Divorce Expert report. Business interests may need to be transferred, bought out or valued in place, with tax and shareholder implications. Trust interests and family money raise questions about whether assets are matrimonial or non-matrimonial and how they should be treated in the overall division. International elements, including overseas property, non-UK domicile, and foreign pensions or structures, can affect the order’s enforceability and may require mirror orders elsewhere.
We advise on the full range of these issues and work with specialist counsel, forensic accountants, PODEs and overseas lawyers as required to understand the financial landscape. The consent orders that we draft are able to reflect the complexity of the underlying assets and is designed to be implemented smoothly once approved.
Setting Aside a Consent Order
A consent order is designed to provide the parties with finality. There are limited circumstances in which a consent order (or any other order) can be set aside. The principal grounds are material non-disclosure (where one party failed to make full and frank disclosure of their financial position before the order was made), fraud or misrepresentation, duress or undue influence, lack of mental capacity at the time of agreement, or a Barder event (a new and unforeseen event that invalidates the fundamental basis of the order, arising within a relatively short time after it was made). An application to set aside an order has a high hurdle to cross and such applications require careful consideration of the likely prospects of success.
We act for clients seeking to set aside a consent order and for clients defending such applications. Setting aside a consent order is different from varying a consent order, which relates to varying the terms of ongoing provision and may be necessary where circumstances have changed.
Enforcement of Financial Orders
A consent order is a court order and can be enforced in a number of ways. Where a party fails to comply, the court has an arsenal of orders that it can employ to ensure compliance including making an attachment of earnings order, a charging order over property, a third party debt order against bank accounts, and in serious cases can commit the defaulting party to prison for contempt of court in cases where assets are held overseas, enforcement may require mirror orders and reciprocal enforcement procedures in the relevant jurisdiction and will require the expertise of foreign lawyers.
Depending on the circumstances, we are able to advise client’s regarding their options to pursue enforcement of orders.
Credentials & Accreditations
- Chambers HNW 2025: Band 1, Leading Firm for Family Law
- Chambers UK 2026: Band 1, Leading Firm for Family Law
- Legal 500 UK 2025 and 2026: Top Tier, Leading Firm, Family Law
- ePrivateclient 2025: Tier 1 Ranking, Top Family Law Firms
- Doyle’s Guide 2025 and 2026: First Tier, Leading Family and Divorce Law (London)
- Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2025: Featured for top family lawyers
- Chambers HNW Awards 2024: Winner, Family Law Team of the Year
Meet The Team
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Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia LVO
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Simon Beccle
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Ben Parry-Smith
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Victoria Hingston
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Matthew Booth
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Harriet Errington
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Katie Parkes
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Charlotte Skea-Strachan
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Frequently Asked Questions
A consent order in a UK divorce is a court order that records the financial agreement reached between divorcing spouses and gives that agreement legal effect. It can deal with property, capital, pensions, debts, spousal maintenance and the dismissal of future claims Although the parties reach agreement on the substance of the settlement, the order must be carefully drafted in a specific form, accompanied by a Statement of Information (Form D81), and approved by a district judge who considers whether the order is fair before sealing it.
Yes. Even where a divorce is entirely amicable, a consent order is the only way to make the financial agreement legally binding and prevent future claims. In Wyatt v Vince [2015] UKSC 14, the Supreme Court allowed a former wife to bring a financial claim against her former husband nearly twenty years after the parties had separated, on the basis that they had obtained a divorce but had never dealt with her financial claims. Divorce ends the marriage; it does not end financial claims between former spouses. Only a sealed consent order provides that protection.
Once the draft consent order and supporting documents are filed at the family court the case will be put before a judge to consideration. How long it takes can vary – sometimes it can be a matter of days but typically it will be 4-6 weeks. The judge considers the order on paper, without a hearing, and may raise written queries of the parties if anything in the Statement of Information or the order itself is unclear. The parties do not normally need to attend court for a consent order to be made.
There are two cost elements: (i) a court fee payable to HMCTS on filing the application, and (ii)solicitor fees for drafting, negotiating and finalising the order. The court fee is set by the Ministry of Justice and is periodically revised, so current figures should be checked on the GOV.UK fees page at the time of filing. Solicitor fees depend on the complexity of the case: a straightforward agreement with limited assets will cost considerably less than a consent order involving high value property, pensions, trusts, business interests or international assets. We provide detailed fee estimates at the outset of any engagement.
The court cannot make a financial remedies order (by consent or in proceedings) until a Conditional Order of divorce has been made. The court’s powers to make financial provision and property adjustment orders can only be exercised on making a matrimonial order. Orders are therefore expressed to be subject to the Final Order being made or to take effect on the Final Order being granted.
A clean break consent order is a consent order that dismisses both parties’ future financial claims against each other, so that neither can come back to court for further provision during their lifetime, and also dismisses claims against each other’s estate on death under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. For most divorcing couples, a clean break is the preferred outcome because it draws a definitive line under the financial relationship. A clean break may be immediate or deferred; where ongoing spousal maintenance is being paid, a deferred clean break takes effect when the maintenance ends.
The capital provisions of a consent order (such as property transfers and lump sums) are final in substance. However, a consent order can be set aside in limited circumstances: material non-disclosure (following Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC 60 and Gohil v Gohil [2015] UKSC 61), fraud or misrepresentation, duress or undue influence, lack of capacity, or a supervening Barder event that invalidates the fundamental basis of the order (Barder v Caluori [1987] UKHL 18). Ongoing provisions such as periodical payments can be varied under section 31 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 where circumstances change, without setting aside the original order.
Without a consent order, any financial agreement reached between former spouses is not legally binding and either party can bring a financial claim against the other at any time, even many years after the divorce. The court will look at the financial position as it is at the point that the parties are before the court and therefore significant assets may have been built up post separation. The court will take into account the date of separation but may have to look to those assets if the other party has unmet needs. A sealed consent order is the only reliable way to eliminate that risk.
A consent order typically contains three main parts: recitals (background statements setting out what has been agreed, including the parties’ intentions and any relevant factual context), undertakings (promises to the court, for example to transfer a property or to take out a life policy), and the operative orders themselves (the paragraphs that order transfers of property, payment of lump sums, pension sharing or attachment, periodical payments, and the dismissal of future claims). The order is filed with a Statement of Information (Form D81) that gives the judge a summary of the parties’ finances.
No. If you have reached an agreement, then the usual requirement to consider non court dispute resolution will not apply and you can submit your application to the court for the consent order to be made without attending a MIAM.
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If you are negotiating the financial aspects of your divorce, need a consent order drafted and approved, or wish to challenge or enforce an existing order, our Family team is here to help. We understand that decisions about money, property and pensions on divorce are rarely purely legal: they are practical, commercial and often deeply personal. We are happy to discuss your circumstances, explain your options and set out a clear path forward.
