Divorce financial agreement

Informal agreement

• Quick, free and private
• Can be written down as a separation agreement to show what you intended
• Not usually enforceable if one of you changes their mind
• Does not stop a future financial claim after the divorce

Consent order

• Same agreement, but approved by a judge and legally binding
• Can include a clean break, ending future claims
• Requires a separate court application and court fee
• Sensible whenever there is property, a pension or meaningful savings

Two separate processes

It helps to keep two things apart. Ending your marriage is a court process that follows a fixed timetable and does not look at your finances. Sorting your finances is about who keeps what: the home, savings, pensions and debts. You can run them side by side, but one does not automatically decide the other.

• Ending your marriage: the divorce application, conditional order and final order
• Sorting your finances: an agreement between you, and usually a financial court order to make it binding
• CalmSplit's £159 fee covers the divorce itself, not a financial settlement

When to get advice

Consider independent legal or financial advice where there are pensions of real value, a business, complex property, significant debts, or where you are unsure whether what you have agreed is reasonable. CalmSplit can refer you to an independent solicitor. That does not change your £159 CalmSplit fee, and we do not take a fee for the referral.