Questions on Consent Orders 

Can I get Divorced before I apply for Consent orders?

Yes, you can make a divorce application before you obtain Consent Orders. However, most people look to finalise their property settlement or their children’s arrangements with Consent Orders before filing for divorce, as you need to be separated for twelve months before making a divorce application. Often, people, like to have Consent Orders, made well within this timeframe.

How do you change your Consent Orders?

You can change your Consent Orders with the other person’s consent, which is not a difficult process. However, there are only limited circumstances in which you can change your Consent Orders if you do not have the other person’s consent. You are required to file a fresh Court Application and supporting affidavit. The process can be lengthy, and there are no guarantees of a successful outcome.

What is the process for applying for a Consent Order?

You need to file an Application for Consent Orders which gives the Family Court relevant background to your matter and details of the values of your current assets and liabilities, as well as a Minute of Consent, setting out exactly the Orders you are asking the Court to make. There is also a filing fee.

How long does it take to process Consent Orders in the Family Court?

It depends on the Registry in which you file your documents and the time of year. Still, generally, the courts take around 28 days to process proposed Consent Orders, assuming everything is in Order. All the documents have been filed correctly.

If someone breaches a Consent Order, what happens?

Consent Orders can be enforced in the same way as any other kind of court Order. An application to enforce court Orders is made with the Family Court, and penalties can apply if a breach of the Orders is found.

In Consent Orders, what is a Minute of Consent?

A ‘Minute of Consent’ is the document you submit to the Family Court setting out the Orders you’re asking the Court to make on your behalf. It must set out in detail what each party is required to do and by when and it must be drafted in a legally binding way before the Court will make Orders in accordance with the agreement.

Consent Order and a Court Order – what is the difference?

There is no difference between a Consent Order and a Court Order, and both are legally binding and enforceable in the same way as each other. Suppose the Court is called upon to enforce a Consent Order or to penalise a non-complying party for breaching a Consent Order. In that case, it does so in the same way whether the Order was made by consent or pursuant to a contested hearing.

Consent Orders – what Is the Purpose?

A Consent Order will finalise your property settlement and ensure your former partner does not pursue you for another property settlement at any stage in the future. If you are transferring a property from joint names to one party’s name, you can get a stamp duty exemption if you have a Consent Order.