Hitting the divorce button before consent order has been signed off

[notmypeasnotmyallotment]

Can anyone advise on whether you should hit the final divorce button before the consent order has been signed off by a judge please? what are the pro's and con's?

We both submitted the draft consent form together, including a pension sharing order. We have agreed pretty much 50/50 so hoping the judge won't bounce it back as its very fair to both of us but we will happily change anything to get it to go through.

So my question is should I hit the divorce button now anyway, its advised not too but its all completely amicable and I really want to get divorced and move on and not wait another 8 weeks or so. Unfortunately still having to live together for now as we need to sell the house but its not completely unbearable.

I wouldn’t if I were you. I was advised by my solicitor to wait for the consent before finalising the divorce. If you’ve not sold the house yet either, I’d definitely hang on. Personally I wouldn’t be able to move on until every aspect was sorted out, but we may have different thoughts as to what you mean by moving on. Is another couple of months a huge issue in the grand scheme of things? Out of curiosity, what is it that you want to do now and can’t wait 8 weeks?

Just to add, although amicable now, it could turn at any point and money has a tendency to cause people to turn into monsters sometimes!

If I recall, your pension sharing order will not be valid if the final order (decree absolute) is granted first. A pension cannot be shared after divorce. But better check with solicitor.

Thanks for the replies.

It wasn't amicable but I've worked hard to rectify that and we are in complete agreement with all the finances, mainly as they are slightly in his favour. Not enough to be bounced back but enough for everything to go smoothly.

That's a good point about the pension sharing order, I will deffo hold off.

Its a lovely feeling knowing I can hit the button if I want though, its been a long time coming :)

https://www.stephens-scown.co.uk/family/divorce-and-separation/pension-sharing-orders-waiting-28-days-for-decree-absolute/

this explains it better. Wait 28 days after approval before applying for final order.

Hi.

If it's pretty much fair to you both, then you "should" be OK but most solicitors will advise you wait. I didn't wait and ended up in court 2 mo ths after the divorce as I didn't put a claim against my existing pension. We both had to attend and it was stressful.

I'm confused and now slightly worried.
I paid 500 odd end of January via the gov website to begin a divorce. Ghen have to wait 6 months. Next month I can apply got the conditional order.
We have a consent order drafted but not sent yet as we can't until the conditional order .
So have I pushed the dovorce button without sorting rhe finances yet??

@superplumb i think what is meant by the divorce button is you get an email with a "button" to get the decree absolute and within 24hrs you get the divorce paper. It's done.
You can get to that point and wait until the financial consent order is sorted.

@notmypeasnotmyallotment are you selling the home or one buying the other out? I only ask as my ex bought me out and once the financial consent order is granted my solicitor told me that my ex had a set number of days to pay me my share of the house and then it becomes his. Timing the financial Order, me buying a house and the decree absolute is painful as they essentially expect you to do it all at the same time.

Conditional order = decree nisi
Final order = decree absolute

Apply for the divorce, wait out the cooling off period of 20 weeks (use this time to get financials together), you will get another email from the court asking if you want to continue with a conditional order, press yes. Then get your finances signed off by a judge, then hit the button for the final order. Then celebrate 🍾

@Freeflight No we are selling the house and splitting 50/50.

I'm deffo holding off of hitting that final button until everything is stamped off and the pension order is all in writing and has gone through, especially now the Ex is saying to press it anyway, don't trust that slimy cheat. What's another 3 months anyway, I just have to be patient. I do like logging in and just looking at it though haha

It's a lovely feeling knowing I'm nearing the end now 😊

Thanks thqt makes sense.
Whqt happens tboihh if I do the conditional order..how long do I have to submit my consent order to get the financial sorted out?

I hope I get them signed off by the jidge.
We're both talking the judge we have had legal advice but my offer is low. Ex accepts this. Can't help thinking he had money stashed away somewhere. But anyway, we've both agreed to x amount. Just hope the judge agrees.

Little update, consent order agreed by court now. 33days wait, not too shabby at all. Super happy today!