Consent Orders for a Friendly Separation

What is the final status of consent orders?

Consent Orders are final, in simple terms.  According to the legislation, the court has an obligation to terminate financial relationships between parties when they are involved in financial matters. In order to ensure that all assets and liabilities of both parties are covered by Consent Orders, a good solicitor will draft them in a way that ensures there are no financial ties between the parties after all Orders have been implemented.

In similar fashion, parenting Consent Orders cover all of the important issues that are important to the parties and to the children of the relationship, and so there is no reason why it would need to be revisited or the Consent Orders made final.

A court’s job is to avoid any situation where either party has to bring the matter back before the court, whether it is a parenting matter or a property settlement. You should therefore keep in mind that Consent Orders are designed to finalize matters between yourself and your former partner when reviewing and considering signing them. Aside from making sure that everything of concern to you is covered, you should also make sure that all liabilities and assets are referenced.

Is it legal to sign consent orders?

Consent Orders are as effective as orders made by judges after contested court hearings. In other words, if one party doesn’t follow a court order, you may apply to the court for its enforcement.  Consent Orders can relate to property settlements, or parenting orders.  So for example, if you have a parenting Consent Order that has been made by Consent that says the children are to be returned to you at a certain time on a certain day and that doesn’t happen, you can apply to the court to have the Consent Order enforced.  If your former partner is supposed to transfer a lump sum of money to you by a certain day and doesn’t, you can apply to the court to have that Order enforced.

As a result, both parties typically comply with court orders that are legally binding since neither party wants to go to court to enforce an Order against them. Also, Consent Orders arise from an agreement being reached between the parties, and so because they’ve actually agreed to the Orders being put into place, they’re usually quite happy to comply with them.

A court order made by consent or one based on a contested hearing is, in essence, the same. The only difference is that Consent Orders are not made in open court and the court makes them in chambers, not in court.

If you require assistance with Consent Orders, please contact Kate Austin Family Lawyers Brisbane They are accredited specialists in Family Law and can assist in all areas of amicable agreements and divorce applications.