Separation Agreements and Consent Orders

Separation Agreements

If you are unmarried or not ready to divorce, you may wish to enter into a Separation Agreement. A Separation Agreement will set out the terms of your settlement and can cover issues of property, money and maintenance.

Both of you will need to be legally advised separately. You will also have to disclose fully all your financial affairs to each other. Details of the assets will usually be scheduled as part of the agreement.

Separation Agreements freely entered into with advice and full disclosure are usually binding. Even though the Court retains an overriding jurisdiction it will be very reluctant to interfere with such an agreement even if one of you later changes their mind.

Minute of Agreement and Consent Order

If you are divorcing then the terms of your financial settlement should be incorporated into a Minute of Agreement and Consent Order. This document will be drawn up by your solicitor and will incorporate all the terms of your settlement.

Once this has the Court’s approval it is completely binding unless there is something fundamentally wrong with it (such as one of you hid the existence of a major asset). It may subsequently be varied with regard to levels of maintenance when circumstances change in the future but the provisions with regard to property and lump sums may not be revisited.

A clean break in such an order is final and irrevocable. (A clean break is the point at which the parties become financially independent. Please see our ‘maintenance and periodical payments’ fact sheet for information about clean breaks.)

Summary of outcome from mediation

Mediation is where a couple negotiates their own private arrangements with the assistance of a family mediator. A summary of outcome from mediation is not same as a Separation Agreement or Consent Order.

A summary of outcome is not legally binding. You are supposed to take legal advice and have it converted into a Separation Agreement or Consent Order so that it can become binding.

Usually if all issues have been addressed at mediation then it should be relatively easy to have your proposals converted into a binding legal document. That is one of the main advantages of mediation

This information is designed to be neutral and will be given to everyone to whom it is relevant. It is not designed to replace detailed legal advice tailored to your particular circumstances. It is intended to help you identify some options which may be open to you. It is not for reproduction and may not be used in any other context.