Financial Consent Orders: Why 'We Agreed It Ourselves' Isn't Legally Enough

One of the most common and costly mistakes in an amicable divorce is assuming that a friendly, informal agreement about money is enough on its own. Without a court-approved financial consent order, either party can potentially make a financial claim against the other years - sometimes decades - later.

What a financial consent order actually is

A financial consent order is a legally binding court order that formalises an agreed financial settlement between divorcing spouses - however that settlement was reached, whether through mediation, solicitor negotiation, or court proceedings (see our dedicated comparison of those routes) - covering property, savings, investments, pensions, and maintenance. Once approved by a judge, it’s enforceable in the same way as any other court order.

Why an informal agreement isn’t enough

Getting divorced (reaching the Final Order) legally ends the marriage, but doesn’t automatically resolve financial claims between you. Without a consent order, either ex-spouse can, in principle, bring a financial claim against the other at any point in the future - including against a future inheritance, business success, or significant pay rise - regardless of how long ago the divorce was finalised or how amicably things were originally agreed.

A well-known cautionary example

This isn’t a theoretical risk: in Wyatt v Vince [2015] UKSC 14, the Supreme Court allowed an ex-wife to pursue a financial claim around two decades after a 1992 divorce, after her former husband had built a fortune through his green energy business, because no financial order had been obtained at the time (the case later settled with a £300,000 payment). Cases like this, while relatively unusual, illustrate exactly why family law solicitors consistently advise against skipping this step.

The cost of getting a consent order

The court fee for approving a consent order is £62 (it rose from £60 in July 2026) - genuinely inexpensive relative to the protection it provides. The main cost is typically the solicitor’s fee for drafting the order correctly (commonly £500-£1,500 plus VAT for a straightforward agreement, more for complex assets), which is still considerably cheaper than the potential cost of a future claim decades later.

What the court actually checks before approving it

A judge doesn’t simply rubber-stamp whatever the parties have agreed - the court checks the proposed settlement is broadly fair, based on full and honest financial disclosure from both parties (see below). If the court considers a proposed agreement clearly unfair or based on inadequate disclosure, it can decline to approve it, even if both parties are in complete agreement.

Why full financial disclosure matters so much

Both parties are required to provide full and honest disclosure of their finances (summarised for the court on Form D81, the statement of information, often after exchanging fuller details such as Form E) before a consent order is approved. If it later emerges that one party concealed assets or gave misleading information, the consent order can potentially be set aside (reopened) - meaning honesty at this stage protects the finality of the settlement, while dishonesty undermines the very ‘clean break’ the order is meant to provide.

‘Clean break’ clauses

Most consent orders include a specific clean break clause, formally dismissing each party’s ability to bring future capital and income (spousal maintenance) claims against the other - this is what actually delivers the finality most divorcing couples want, and its absence (sometimes because ongoing maintenance is genuinely needed) is a meaningful, deliberate difference worth understanding rather than assuming every consent order includes it automatically.

When to get the consent order relative to the divorce itself

A consent order can be approved once the Conditional Order stage has been reached (see our dedicated no-fault divorce timeline article), and many solicitors advise finalising the financial settlement before applying for the Final Order - since remarrying before finances are settled can, in some circumstances, restrict certain future claims and complicate matters.

The bottom line

However amicable a divorce, a financial consent order is the only way to achieve genuine legal finality over money - an informal agreement, however sincerely meant at the time, leaves both parties exposed to a future financial claim. At a £62 court fee plus modest solicitor drafting costs, it’s one of the highest-value, lowest-cost steps in the entire divorce process.