Financial orders after divorce

Divorce ends your marriage, but it does not end your financial claims against each other. Only a financial order made by the court does that. This guide explains the two routes, by agreement or through the court, and what happens at each step.

Why you need a financial order

Without a court order, you and your former spouse can usually still make financial claims against each other years after the divorce, even if you had agreed everything informally at the time. A financial order records how property, savings, pensions and income are divided and, where appropriate, achieves a clean break: an end to future claims.

Apply for a financial order before you remarry. Remarrying can prevent you from making some claims later.

Step 1: Exchange full financial disclosure

Every settlement starts with an honest and complete picture of both finances. You will each need to disclose, with documents:

• the family home and any other property, in the UK or abroad, with valuations and mortgage statements;
• bank and savings accounts, investments, shares and business interests;
• pensions, with a cash equivalent value (CEV) from each scheme;
• income from all sources, and your reasonable monthly needs;
• debts and liabilities.

In court proceedings, disclosure is made on Form E, a detailed sworn statement. When you negotiate or mediate, the same level of detail is expected. Hiding assets has serious consequences, and an agreement can be set aside later if disclosure was not complete.

Step 2: Try to reach an agreement

Most financial settlements are agreed without a contested hearing: through solicitor negotiation, family mediation, a collaborative process or an arbitration. Since April 2024, the family court expects people to make a genuine attempt at one of these out-of-court options, and can pause proceedings to encourage it.

Step 3: If you agree, a consent order

Once you have agreed, the terms are written up as a consent order, a legal document drafted by a solicitor. It is sent to the court with a statement of information (Form D81) summarising your finances, so that the judge can check the agreement is broadly fair.

The court can only approve a consent order once the conditional order has been made in the divorce. Once the judge approves and seals it, it is legally binding and enforceable.

Step 4: If you cannot agree, Form A and the MIAM

Before you apply to the court with Form A, you must normally attend a MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) with an accredited family mediator. The mediator explains the options and assesses whether mediation is suitable. Exemptions exist, for example where there is evidence of domestic abuse or the matter is urgent.

Form A is then filed with the court and a fee is paid. The court sets a timetable and the date of the first hearing.

Step 5: The court process

1. First Directions Appointment (FDA). Before it, you exchange Forms E and prepare a statement of issues, a chronology and questions about each other's disclosure. At the hearing, the judge decides what further evidence is needed, such as property valuations or a pension report.
2. Financial Dispute Resolution appointment (FDR). A judge reviews the case and gives an indication of the likely outcome to help you settle. What is said at the FDR stays confidential. Many cases settle on the day. Some couples choose a private FDR with a specialist barrister, which is often faster.
3. Final hearing. If there is still no agreement, a different judge hears the evidence and makes a decision, which is binding on both of you.

A contested case often takes twelve to eighteen months, sometimes more, and costs considerably more than an agreed settlement.

How the court decides

The court does not apply a fixed formula. Under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the welfare of any child of the family under 18 comes first, and the judge then considers, among other factors:

• the income, earning capacity, property and other resources of each of you, now and in the foreseeable future;
• your financial needs, obligations and responsibilities;
• the standard of living during the marriage;
• your ages and the length of the marriage;
• the contributions each of you has made, financial and in caring for the home and family;
• conduct, but only in rare and serious cases.

In many cases, meeting both spouses' housing and income needs, and those of the children, takes most of the assets. Where there is more than enough to meet needs, the starting point is usually an equal division of what was built up during the marriage.

What a financial order can include

• a lump sum paid by one spouse to the other;
• a property adjustment: a transfer or sale of the family home;
• a pension sharing order, which splits a pension between you;
• spousal maintenance (periodical payments), for a set term or, more rarely, open-ended;
• a clean break clause, ending future claims.

Child maintenance is usually agreed between parents or calculated by the Child Maintenance Service, rather than set by the court.

Our fixed-fee packages cover the most common routes, from drafting a consent order to representation at an FDR.