Just filed for divorce and he has acknowledged and is not contesting it. We have drawn up an agreement for a clean break consent order and are both happy with it because it is fair to both of us,considering the circumstances.
There is very little to split. Just the house & no money. Pensions are not worth sharing so will each keep own & plod on. We dont want a sol. Can a court officer approve it for us free? ALSO - Am I right in thinking that if we get this approved, It is INSTEAD of an application for ancillary relief? We dont need all the faffing with form E, etc. We just want to get it done and move on.

Hello

You can aviod form E and agrea the consent order as you are but (theres always a but) to make sure the order cant be challenged at a later date it must be

Fair to both of you

Full finacail disclosure must be given (d81)

Legal advice must be sort so you both understand what you are agreaing to

Best to get a solicitor to write it for you its not that expensive and well worth the peace of mind it will give you both.

Dukey is right, I'm afraid. Not to use a solicitor could be a mistake you could later regret.

OK, so you only have a house to deal with. Supposing that
your Aunt Jemima dies and leaves you a considerable sum of money. Supposing your wife finds out about this and makes a claim for a share in it.

Or let's suppose that three years down the line you land a well paid job and your wife is down on her uppers, and wants to claim maintenance from you.

It may surprise you to know that she could, unless the order is drafted in such a way as to exclude the possibility of the kind of claims to which I have referred.

No, the Court won't approve a consent order for you. The point I am making is that the order must be watertight and must be drafted in such a way that your
wife cannot come back at you later for a second bite at the cherry ( and neither can YOU, if she wins the lottery ! ) and I would have thought that not to use a solicitor would be a false economy. It looks a simple document and would not cost you all that much.

Sorry.

Mike

I just read that you make sure its water tight you have to do full financial disclosure? Is that really right?

it is yes form d81 statement of arrangements for a consent order its not as long or complex as form E if that helps

ahh D81 isn't as bad as full full full disclosure!
thanks!

The Statement of Information required in support of an application for a consent order is a very simple and straightforward document and only requires a potted summary of the parties' finances. You certainly don't need a Form E.

Nevertheless, in theory, it would be possible for a consent order to be upset if one spouse could demonstrate, for example, that the other had not told the truth about his or her financial situation, with the result that the consent order had been obtained on the basis of inaccurate information.

Mike