All Consent Orders to be filed online
The Family Court has taken another step towards becoming fully digitised. From 24th August all applications for Consent Orders now have to be submitted online via the My HMCTS portal. Paper applications will still be accepted during a short transition period which ends on 7th September.
A Consent Order is the formal document recording the terms of settlement negotiated and agreed between spouses. It sets out how the marital assets are to be divided between spouses on the breakdown of the marriage. The same document is also used for civil partners who are dividing up their assets as part of the dissolution of their civil partnership.
Consent Orders need to contain a number of technical provisions to ensure the assets of the relationship are divided correctly and that the parties achieve a financial clean break from each other at the appropriate time. This could be immediate or there may need to be a delay on this if maintenance is being paid from one party to the other. Given these technicalities it is important that a solicitor produces the consent order in order to make sure the document is fit for purpose. A solicitor will also be able to make sure the consent order conforms to the standards and industry precedent set by family courts.
If you are experiencing a relationship breakdown and need assistance in negotiating settlement terms and with the production of a consent order please speak to a member of our family team. Call 01473 617 317 for more information.
Amanda Erskine is a solicitor in the Family department at Barker Gotelee Solicitors in Suffolk.
Ipswich Family Solicitors – for more information on our range of legal services, please call the team on 01473 611211 or email [email protected]