Consent orders

General principles of consent orders

The courts encourage parties to settle their matrimonial disputes amicably and accordingly, it is open to the parties to compromise their claims for financial provision. However, the court will not simply rubber stamp any agreement that is reached as it retains a discretionary role under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) and the corresponding provisions of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004). The court will therefore consider whether the agreement represents fair and proper financial provision for the parties in all the circumstances of the case and must be given specified information to enable it to exercise its discretion under MCA 1973, s 25 by making an order in accordance with the terms agreed by the parties. The court cannot exercise its powers without full details of both parties' circumstances.

See Practice Notes: Index of family standard orders and General principles of consent orders and Financial consent orders—checklist. The following Precedent letters may be sent by practitioners to their clients: Financial applications to the court—client guide and Financial disclosure and Form E—client guide.

Drafting