Applying to Court When You Reach Agreement
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If you and your ex reach an agreement then you can ask the court to turn your agreement into court order. Because this is made with the consent of you and your ex, this is known as a 'consent order'.
You will need to have the agreement drafted in the style of a court order. There are template parts of orders you can use online, but the reality is that writing a court order is a skilled job and you are unlikely to be able to do it yourself.
Why you need to send it to a judge
You can then post it to a judge for their approval and for making into an order.
This is important for two reasons:
It is the order not the agreement that is enforceable if your ex tries to breach it.
Only a court order can permanently end your claims against one another (a clean break). Getting the final order of your divorce does not do this.
As we saw in our page on What the Law Says, the agreement has to be fair. If it is fair, the judge will turn it into an order. If it's not fair, the judge will refuse to do this. However, the fact that you have reached agreement influences the court towards accepting your agreement, because it indicates that you think it's fair.
What to send to court
You will need to send to court:
Your draft court order signed by you and your ex
A form D81 statement of information for a consent order. This is a crib sheet on your financial position and that of your ex
A form A for dismissal purposes for you
A form A for dismissal purposes for your ex
The court fee. The fee for a consent application is significantly lower than the fee for contested proceedings.
Where to send these
Send your papers to
HMCTS Financial Remedy, PO Box 12746, Harlow, CM20 9QZ
Remember to use your cover sheet with your case number on it (your divorce case number).
The Form A for dismissal
The forms A are your applications against each other for the order to be made and the other potential claims you have dismissed. The form A for dismissal is completed in the same way as for a contested application to court. Follow our instructions on our page x) with four differences:
Tick all boxes for the types you are applying for. This is because the form A launches your claims for the court order to dismiss them. You will be the applicant on the one you write, and your ex will be the applicant on the one they write.
)
At the bottom of the second page, it says “Are you applying for an order by consent in terms of written agreement (a consent order)?” Tick yes to this.
If child maintenance is not being addressed in your consent order then leave the child maintenance section blank.
Ignore the parts of the form relating to the MIAM. Just leave those blank. There’s no requirement of a MIAM for a consent application.
Completing a D81
Lots of clients find the D81 difficult. I’ve found it’s easiest done printed and handwritten first. That way you’re not scrolling up and down the screen trying to copy over bits of information.
The D81 is a shared document. That is, it’s filled in by both you and your ex jointly. While you can fill in separate forms, you have to explain to the court why. This is because the court wants to make sure you’ve seen the information in the D81 about your ex’s financial position. You should therefore complete the form, send it to your ex, and they should send you their completed form back so both of you have a set of every document.