Coming to an agreement

[annabannan]

What's the point of agreeing the financial split if the court can change it??

If you've agreed it between yourselves then do you really need to go to court?
My ex husband and I didn't.

Apparently my solicitor says you do have to apply to court and they can decide differently.

If you dont apply to court and get the order then whats to stop either of you making a further claim in the future? Protect yourself and get the order.

@annabannan they won't.

They can reject it and ask you to reconsider/send a supporting letter. That's what happened with my ex husband and I.

We replied and said we were both sure, and then it was approved.

They won't waste their own time suggesting anything different it's just a measure in case of financial control.

They can change it if they deem it to be unfair on either party. It could be that one party is only agreeing because they are being coercively controlled by the other, and so agree to an unreasonable split of finances.
If you’re financial agreement is sound, makes sense and if fair to both parties then court will just approve it.

@LaBelleSausage

If you've agreed it between yourselves then do you really need to go to court? My ex husband and I didn't.

Bad advice Without a sealed consent order you have indefinite claim on each other’s financial assets post divorce. Get a consent order sealed by courts- it’s not that expensive if you agree everything . Just for a solicitor to write up your agreement in legal speak and submitt it to the court. Can save a lot of heart ache and hassle in the future

Maymorris - going to court in fdr and fir them to decide split is different to courts signing a couple agreed agreement.

Op if you both had legal advice/ both understand and agree the split/ there are clear reasons in the event on non equal split - just respond with those and it will likely be accepted

As long as the settlement is fair to both parties then it’s highly unlikely that the courts will change the consent order

The court may ask clarification questions if they deem the agreement to not meet their criteria.
There is a list of about 10 criteria the court uses to ensure a financial settlement (application for consent order) is “fair”. The usual 50:50 split does not necessarily apply if these conditions aren’t met. You can find these Criteria on website by Mediate or Advice Now.
You need to submit a D81 with your “draft” consent order (your document in legal speak) to the court. This is what court will use to review your assets and decide if the draft order meets their criteria - only then will they approve (seal) it. The court will not seal the order if they judge the criteria not to have been met. They won’t reject it- just ask for clarification and if they still have concerns ask you to go back to drawing board on a certain aspect. This is their duty of care not to leave one of the parties divorcing in a financially vulnerable position compared to other party. They also have a duty of care to ensure that one party is not being coerced by the other. And finally a legal duty ensure that both parties have made a truthful and full legal declaration of their assets to each other on the D81 form.
One of ways to help give courts assurance that you both know what you are doing is for both individuals to review the draft consent order with a solicitor. Only one of these needs to be paid for drafting the consent order itself, but the other one just pay for 30-45 mins to go through with the e other party to ensure they know what they’re singing up to legally. You can then get the main solicitor to record that both parties have sought legal advice- this helps to reassure the courts you know what you are doing and that someone has not been coerced into agreement

@millymolls

Maymorris - going to court in fdr and fir them to decide split is different to courts signing a couple agreed agreement.

Op if you both had legal advice/ both understand and agree the split/ there are clear reasons in the event on non equal split - just respond with those and it will likely be accepted

Not what I’m saying- missed my point. I’m saying that without a consent agreement being sealed by court (based on couples agreement they’ve made) at point of divorce, a divorced party could years later apply to the court to have financial remedy claim over their ex partner. Doesn’t matter if they both agreed between themselves at the time. Only a legal consent order sealed by court at the time of divorce will stop that

@MayMorris we have the sealed order. Just submitted via the online portal though, very simple and no trouble.
We didn't have a day in court like some people though, so I'm sorry for the confusion as that's what I meant when saying you don't need to actually go to court

[quote LaBelleSausage]@MayMorris we have the sealed order. Just submitted via the online portal though, very simple and no trouble.
We didn't have a day in court like some people though, so I'm sorry for the confusion as that's what I meant when saying you don't need to actually go to court[/quote]
Right. It does go to “court” though to get sealed. But not a “hearing” . The “court” ( one court appointed official ) sits in front of a PC at a desk though for these uncontested applications. The “court” may escalate to judge if they believe it doesn’t meet their duty of care. Even the judge at that stage will sit in his office. The terms is still that it goes to “court” . A bit confusing admittedly

@Footballsundays6777

As long as the settlement is fair to both parties then it’s highly unlikely that the courts will change the consent order

It doesn't even have to be fair, the judge just needs to be satisfied that you both know that the split could be fairer and agree to that.