Consent orders

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Notice of acting

Case number [insert number][In the principal registryORIn the [insert court location] FAMILY court]Sitting at [insert place]Notice of...

Private children—paramountcy of the child's welfare

The paramountcy principleWhen any court determines any question with respect to:•the upbringing of the child, or•the administration of the child's...

The no order principle

This Practice Note explains the no order principle contained in section 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It explains when the principle...

Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedings

Sequestration is a process for dealing with a contempt of court that would be otherwise punishable by a committal under which the assets of the...

Practice notes

Decree absolute—divorce

Online divorceWhere a divorce is proceeding via the online service note that while rules relating to divorce proceedings are generally to be found in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation order

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Grounds for judicial separation

Applications for judicial separation are relatively rare in practice. It may arise where the client has strong religious and or cultural reasons for...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Drafting the terms of a financial consent order

This Practice Note sets out the basic principles to be applied when drafting a financial consent order including the preparation and structure of the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is void

A void marriage is one that will be treated by the court as never having taken place. The grounds on which a marriage will be void are set out in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Undefended divorce proceedings

Online divorceOn 6 May 2018 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched its online divorce service nationwide for the public acting as litigants in person....

9th Nov

Practice notes

Void and voidable marriages

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) sets out the grounds on which a marriage is void or voidable and the bars preventing the grant of a decree...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Working with counsel

Instructing counsel to advocate on a client’s behalf should be a matter of careful thought and preparation. The role of counsel is to provide...

Produced in partnership with Ursula Rice of Family First Solicitors Ltd 12th Jan

Practice notes

Child Arrangements Programme—the procedure for section 8 applications

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

In-house

Practice notes

Statements of truth in family proceedings

This Practice Note is impacted by the exit of the UK from the EU on 31 January 2020. This has implications for practitioners when considering an...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Amended, supplemental and further petitions

The distinction between an amended petition, a supplemental petition and a further petitionWhere it is necessary in some way to amend a petition...

9th Nov

Precedents

Specimen statement of issues for a first appointment—financial remedy application

In the Family Court sitting at [location][Case No]Between1[insert name] ApplicantAnd2[ insert name] RespondentStatement of issues for the First...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is voidable

A decree of nullity granted after 31 July 1971 in respect of a voidable marriage operates to annul the marriage with effect from decree absolute and...

9th Nov

Practice notes

General principles—lump sum orders

This Practice Note sets out the general principles to be applied by the court when considering whether to make a lump sum order within financial...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Declarations of parentage—procedure

The procedure for an application for a declaration of parentage is governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt...

9th Nov

Most recent Consent orders content

Precedents

Standard order 2.1—financial remedy order—omnibus

In the Family CourtSitting at [court name]No: [case number][The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973ORThe Civil Partnership Act 2004ORThe Child Support Act...

27th Jan

Practice notes

Variation of financial orders

By virtue of section 31 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973), and the corresponding provisions in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004),...

12th Jan

Practice notes

General principles of consent orders

This Practice Note sets out the procedural steps to be taken where the parties have reached agreement by consent within financial remedy proceedings,...

12th Jan

Q&As

The parties reached an agreement at a financial dispute resolution hearing and heads of terms of agreement were approved. One party then died before the financial consent order had been agreed and approved by the court. Can the surviving party unilaterally apply for the terms to be made into an order after the death of the other party?

In Amey v Amey, an agreement had been reached between the parties that the husband would pay the wife a lump sum of £120,000 with there being a clean...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

In a financial remedy consent order, can the court order one party to pay a share of future bonuses to the other party or should it be drafted as an undertaking to pay?

In some cases, a party’s bonus can make up a significant part of their income. Although bonuses accrued post-separation may be the result of the...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Does an undertaking in a consent order bind the estate of the party giving it if they die?

This response considers the question of undertakings within the framework of proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973). Different...

Produced in partnership with Christi Scarborough of 42 Bedford Row 8th Jan

Q&As

In financial remedy proceedings, should the consent order record the address of all the properties owned by the parties? Can the court order the transfer of a private tenancy from one party to another (eg the wife to be the landlord in place of the husband as landlord)? Can the court order one party to discharge a mortgage and procure the release of the other party from any liability under the mortgage?

Financial remedy proceedings can be brought to a close either through a consent order reached between the parties at any stage of the proceedings and...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

If a consent order provides for the matrimonial home to be transferred to the wife subject to a charge in favour of the husband for a percentage of the value with the charge exercisable on one of the trigger events provided for, would the husband require leave of the court to enforce the charge in the event of one of the trigger events occurring if the children were in full time education and under 18?

The drafting of a consent order requires knowledge not just of family law and procedure, but of trusts, land law and potentially many other areas of...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Where the decree absolute has been granted and the petitioner did not tick the boxes regarding financial orders in the petition, can the parties translate an agreement as to finances into a consent order for approval by the court?

The process of divorce involves the granting of a decree of divorce nisi, which can subsequently be made absolute. Upon the making of decree absolute,...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Can a financial consent order, or a final order made by the court, include provision for both parties to each pay lump sums to the other party, ie for there to be two lump sums with different payers and payees in the order?

The court can make a lump sum order (payable either in one sum or by instalments), a series of lump sum orders or a deferred lump sum order. That...

Produced in partnership with Paul Infield of The 36 Group 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a financial consent order has been signed by both parties, what would happen if one party then changed their mind and withdrew their agreement to the order before it was sealed by the court? If the court returns the consent order to ask questions of the parties before approving it, can a party change their mind/withdraw their agreement at that stage?

This Q&A deals with two separate scenarios. In either instance, one party is free to change their mind: the issue is whether they will be bound by the...

Produced in partnership with Matthew Haynes of St Ives Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

Can a clause be included in a clean break consent order for a party to pay the other parties' costs of divorce if a costs order has already been made at decree nisi?

The court fee for an application for divorce is £550, and this fee must accompany the application form, copies for service on all other parties, the...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

In divorce proceedings, the petitioner agreed to apply for decree absolute at the earliest opportunity and this was recorded as a recital in a financial remedy order. The petitioner has failed to apply for decree absolute and has failed to make a lump sum payment to the respondent pursuant to the order. The respondent is not able to apply for decree absolute for another three months. Can the recital be enforced and can the respondent apply to expedite pronouncement of decree absolute?

In the absence of any undertaking, the recital of an agreement will be incapable of enforcement in family proceedings if the court would not have had...

Produced in partnership with Max Turnell of 1 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

A party gave an undertaking within a financial consent order to pay life insurance premiums, but subsequently stated that the undertaking was included by mistake and that the premiums were part of the provision for spousal maintenance. If the other party will not agree to the removal of the undertaking, how may this be rectified?

An undertaking may not be varied by a court, but the person making it may, on application, be released from its performance, often having offered an...

Produced in partnership with Paul Infield of The 36 Group 8th Jan

Q&As

Financial remedy proceedings were settled, and the decree absolute obtained prior to 1 December 2000. Could a pension sharing order now be made by consent? Or is there an alternative way in which a pension share may be effected by the transferor transferring 100% of a pension fund to the recipient?

A pension sharing order is an order made under section 24B of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) (or civil partnership equivalent) requiring a...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a financial order contains provision for the parties to have joint conduct of the sale of a property, does the conveyancer need permission from both parties to distribute the proceeds of sale, where there is provision in the order for the proceeds to be distributed?

It is a common feature of financial remedy orders that a property (often the matrimonial home) will be sold, whether immediately or on the happening...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

In proceedings in England and Wales, financial settlement terms have been agreed between the parties, including provision for a property in Scotland to be transferred from joint names to one party, subject to the mortgage, and for the property to be sold if the party who is to retain the property cannot release the other party from the mortgage. Are there any special considerations in relation to the consent order and will the Scottish courts enforce an order in relation to the transfer/sale of the property if required?

A property transfer order is an order in personam, ie it is not an order in relation to the property itself but directs the spouse concerned to take...

Produced in partnership with Marisa Allman of The 36 Group 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a party in financial proceedings has completed a statement of information for a consent order in Form D81, and then discovers that they are to receive an inheritance, are they under a duty to update the Form D81? What are the implications if they are unsure of the amount they will inherit?

The ‘duty of ongoing disclosure’ continues until the court has made its order and is fundamental to the process of financial remedy proceedings. In NG...

Produced in partnership with Nicholas Starks of St Ives Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

Is it acceptable for a draft order in family proceedings, that is to be made by consent, to be electronically signed by the parties?

The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 do not address the issue of electronic signatures directly, although CPR are clear on the...

Produced in partnership with Richard Colbey of Lamb Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a divorce petition has been issued at a Divorce Centre, can both the application for decree nisi and the approval of a financial consent order be expedited where a party will otherwise be disadvantaged by the expiry of a mortgage offer?

The procedure for making an application for a decree nisi is set out in Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 7. Where the case is...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan