posted 14th August 2023
What Happens After Your Consent Order Is Approved
Getting the consent order approved by the court feels like the end. It is not. It is the point at which both parties have to do what the order says and where things can still go wrong.
The order is an instruction, not a summary
Whatever the order records has to actually happen. The house sold or transferred. The lump sum paid on the date stated. Spousal maintenance paid at the stated amount from the stated month etc.
An order is enforceable. A party who does not comply can be taken back to court by the other and at that point they are explaining themselves to a Judge.
Applying for the final order of divorce too early
This is the most common mistake we see and it is the one people are most determined to make.
Most professionals working in this area advise two things, in this order.
Apply for the final order of divorce after the financial consent order has been made. Once the marriage is legally ended both parties stop being spouses which may have a financial impact.
Where the order includes pension sharing, the general advice is to wait 28 days from the date the order was approved before applying.
Why 28 days
A pension sharing order does not take effect on the day it is approved. It takes effect on the later of two dates: the final order of divorce, or 28 days from the date of the pension sharing order.
So if the final order comes through inside those 28 days there is a window in which the pension share is not yet live but the marriage is already over.
If the pension holder dies during that window, the person due to receive the pension share may not be protected. The order has not taken effect so there may be nothing to enforce. The widow's or widower's benefits under the scheme may also have gone, because the marriage has ended. It is the combination that makes it serious.
Waiting the 28 days avoids the window altogether, which is why it is so widely advised.
Implementing a pension share
Once the order takes effect the pension scheme has four months to implement it. That period runs from the later of the date the order took effect or the date the scheme has everything it needs, including any charge it makes for the work.
The scheme usually needs the approved financial order, the pension sharing annex (order) and the final order of divorce (once it has been made).
Delays at this stage most often come down to the scheme details. A policy number that does not match the provider's records, or a scheme name that has changed since the last statement, can be enough for a provider to send everything back. It is worth checking those details against a recent statement before the annex is prepared rather than afterwards.
Where our role ends
We take both parties from the first discussion through to the consent order approved by the court. After that, dealing with the pension provider and complying with the terms of the order is for the parties themselves.
That is why this stage is worth understanding before you reach it. Once the order is approved nobody is standing between you and a deadline you did not understand.
