Consent Forms - what do I do???

My husband and I have agreed amicably on a divorce (after two years), I've filled in the petition and am about ready to submit to court. I've got a solicitor but they're not a lot of help tbh, so I'm doing most of it myself. I want a Clean Break Consent Order, we've settled all of the finances - he is to buy me out of the house with c.£30k, we just need to finalise the exact figure, everything else is already sorted. My sol wants £500 to draw up, and has sent me an ENORMOUS form to fill in, which I'm not sure is necessary. I just want something to go in to say "this is what we're doing, and that's an end to it" - we're not going after each other's savings or pensions etc. Is all this huge form necessary, or can I just fill in a D81 and attach a simple signed document to it? Also, what do I do with the ancillary relief part of the petition? Do I cross everything out or leave it all open?

Help!

Hi there

With the ancillary relief part of the petition, you need to leave all that in so your consent order can take effect. If you cross it out you then have to apply to court for leave to make your consent application and it all bcomes messy (which usually means expensive!).

In terms of your agreement, if you do not want advice on whether it is fair, you can just do a D81 and tell your solicitor you do not want advice in that regard. If you want adivce as to whether the agreement is fair, most solicitors will insist on you completing a form E so they have full details.

To have your agreement drafted into a consent order should not cost very much providing there are not lots of different assets (because that increases the drafting time).

Hope that helps
Amanda

Thanks Amanda, that's really helpful. (I'd crossed out the ancillary relief bit, darn it, guess I'll have to re-write the form now!!! Never mind.) I would like to do my own consent order if I can, I've found an example which is basically stating under the Matrimonial Causes Act that all claims stand dismissed, and that under the inheritance act neither party shall be entitled to anything from the other's estate. I'm wondering if this will suffice, attached to a form D81? I don't want or need the Court to judge on the agreement we have in place, it's already done, I just want insurance against any future problems.

Also, one daft question, because I can't find it written down anywhere - is it ok to submit photocopies of the petition alongside the original?