If you’ve already started getting divorced or ending your civil partnership

You can ask your solicitor to turn your separation agreement into a ‘consent order’ as soon as you’ve started the process of getting divorced or ending your civil partnership.

If your consent order is approved by a judge, it becomes legally binding after your divorce is finalised or your civil partnership ends.

You’ll have to pay a court fee of ?53 for a consent order, as well as fees to your solicitor.

If you can’t agree on financial support

You’ll need to apply to court for a financial order. This asks a judge to decide how much maintenance you should get.

You can apply for a financial remedy order without the help of a solicitor, but some of the forms are quite complicated. You’ll also need to find lots of evidence like bank statements and payslips.

It’s best to talk to a solicitor, just to make sure you’ve got everything you need for the court hearing.

You can apply for a financial order at any time after you’ve you’ve filed an application to end your marriage or civil partnership – as long as you’ve been to a meditation information and assessment meeting (MIAM) first. (more…)