Consent orders

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Decree absolute—divorce

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Enforcement of financial orders

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Child Arrangements Programme—the procedure for section 8 applications

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Enforcing children orders (private law)

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20th Oct

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Procedure for an application for a non-molestation order

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16th Oct

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Child arrangements orders—residence

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26th Sep

Practice notes

Leave to remove—external relocation

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

26th Sep

Practice notes

General principles—spousal and civil partner periodical payments

The court’s power to order periodical payments is contained in section 23(1)(a) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) and Schedule 5, Part 1,...

26th Sep

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,...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Eligibility to apply under TOLATA 1996

Cohabitants do not have the same rights to make property claims as married couples or civil partners, and disputes between cohabitants regarding their...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Service of applications for matrimonial and civil partnership orders within the jurisdiction

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

26th Sep

Practice notes

FPR 2010, Part 18 applications—procedure

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26th Sep

COVID-19

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Child arrangements orders—contact

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

26th Sep

Practice notes

The ground for divorce

Bar on petition for divorce within one year of marriageA petition for divorce cannot be presented to the court before the expiration of one year from...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Family law training materials

In addition to signposting on Key aspects of family law practice, the following common areas of family law are introduced in this Practice Note (in...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Issuing financial proceedings in Form A (standard procedure)

The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2018, SI 2018/440, amended the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, primarily introducing new...

25th Sep

COVID-19

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Child arrangements orders

Child arrangements orders Since 22 April 2014, when section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) came into effect, the...

25th Sep

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Case law relating to TOLATA 1996 claims

This Practice Note provides guidance on case law in relation to claims under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996),...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Enforcing an order for sale

By virtue of section 24A of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) (and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 equivalent), the court can make an order...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 25th Sep

Most recent Consent orders content

Q&As

Where the payer of maintenance resides in the UK, and the payee intends to move to the US in due course, is there any advantage for the payer if the maintenance payments are index-linked to the UK consumer price index rather than the US equivalent?

If the child maintenance service (CMS) has jurisdiction in respect of child maintenance then it will calculate maintenance in accordance with the...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

Where an order for costs has already been made on pronouncement of decree nisi, is it still possible to include in the recital to a financial consent order within divorce proceedings that the provisions are intended to be ‘in full and final satisfaction of all claims in respect of legal costs including those of the divorce or dissolution proceedings’ and to include provision in the order that there should be no order as to costs?

In financial remedies proceedings, it is usually the case that a court will order that the parties bear their own costs of the proceedings. This is...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

An order for sale has been made by consent, with the net proceeds to be divided in accordance with the terms of the order. At the time the order was made, party A did not think they could remortgage the property in order to pay a lump sum to party B. They have now been approved for a remortgage, and will be able to pay the same amount to party B as under the terms of the order. Can party A make an application under section 24A(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to vary the terms of the order for sale, so that the property is sold to them instead of a third party? The parties have received an offer on the property and party B wishes to proceed with the sale to a third party. So long as party A can show that they have a mortgage offer, and that they can complete quickly, is there any reason why the court would reject their application?

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) provides the court with wide-ranging powers to make orders relating to matrimonial property on the...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

What steps can a party to financial proceedings take when they have signed a consent order (which has not yet been approved by the court), and it then transpires that they cannot comply with part of the order such as the payment of a lump sum?

In Sharland v Sharland at para [29], the Supreme Court noted that ‘The court cannot make a consent order without the valid consent of the parties’.A...

Produced in partnership with Nicholas Starks of St Ives Chambers 28th Sep

Q&As

Where a consent order was made providing, inter alia, for the sale of property A and division of net sale proceeds between husband and wife, and the transfer to the wife of properties B and C, and the parties subsequently agree that properties A, B and C will all be transferred to the wife and she will raise the lump sum due to the husband by re-mortgage, can the original order be varied so that the clean break still operates even though the parties have not followed the terms of the original consent order? If so, what is the procedure for doing so?

It is sometimes the case that following on from an order in financial remedy proceedings, whether by consent or imposed by the court, the parties will...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

Where a property is to be transferred to one spouse, but they are unable to secure the release of the other spouse from the mortgage, and it has been agreed that if they cannot secure the other party’s release by the time the youngest child is 18 that the property is to be sold, can a clean break on capital be achieved? If so, what is the authority for this?

While it is desirable for a party to be released from a mortgage in relation to a property that is to be transferred, that is not always possible....

28th Sep

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 28th Sep

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 28th Sep

Q&As

Do the Family Procedure Rules 2010 require a mortgagee to be served with a copy of the applicant’s financial application in Form A where an agreement is reached regarding the transfer of a property?

Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 9.13(3) provides that:‘Where an application for a financial remedy includes an application...

28th Sep

Q&As

Where a final order has been made in financial remedy proceedings some time ago, and it subsequently transpires that the children of the family may not be the husband's biological children, would this amount to a Barder event?

Applications to set aside a final order made within financial remedy proceedings should be made in accordance with the Family Procedure Rules (FPR...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

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 28th Sep

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 28th Sep

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 28th Sep

Q&As

Where a financial consent order is submitted to the court and includes provision for a lump sum payment to be paid within 14 working days of the date of the order, but the lump sum is then paid a few days after the signed order was lodged at court ie before the order is sealed and decree absolute granted, will this affect the consent order or the parties’ statement of information in Form D81 in any way?

Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 9.26(1)(b) provides for both parties to file with the court, and serve on the other party, a...

28th Sep

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 28th Sep

Q&As

When does a financial order become enforceable? Where both parties have been advised that the judge has approved a consent order but one month later the sealed version from the court is still awaited, what are the consequences for the payer of a lump sum in terms of interest payable to the payee?

The difference between a judgment and a sealed order has mainly been considered in case law in the context of appeals. In Stewart v Engel at 524, Sir...

28th Sep

Q&As

On divorce, where the parties own the family home, how would a financial consent order be drafted so that a third party buys out one spouse's interest in the family home rather than the other spouse?

The parties to divorce proceedings are the petitioner and respondent, and therefore only they will be bound by a financial order made by the court in...

28th Sep

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 28th Sep

Q&As

Where a Form A has been issued, Forms E filed and heads of agreement reached at a financial dispute resolution appointment (FDR), is it necessary to file a statement of information when the draft consent order is lodged with the court? Does it matter if the draft consent order differs slightly from the heads of agreement reached at the FDR (eg where finer details have been worked out between the parties in negotiation since the FDR and both parties have had independent legal advice)?

The rules for proceeding by means of a consent order in financial remedies proceedings are contained within Family Procedure Rules 2010 index (rule...

Produced in partnership with Christi Scarborough of 42 Bedford Row 28th Sep

Q&As

What is the procedure for making a Barder application to set aside a financial order?

The Family Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2016, SI 2016/901 inserted a new regulation 9.9A under the Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955 (FPR...

28th Sep