Separating couples can use Consent Orders to formalise their agreements regarding the division of their assets or the future care of their children without going to court.
Consent Orders are written agreements that establish the division of assets and liabilities in a property settlement. As an example, if one person is going to buy the interest of another in their house, the agreement specifies when it will happen, the refinancing of any mortgage, and any payment to be made. Consent Orders set out the living arrangements for the child or children in matters concerning parenting. Depending on the arrangements, they might live with each parent week round, or they might be primarily cared for by one party and see the other parent during the week and on weekends. Other details are set out in the Agreement as well.
If the court makes Orders according to your agreement, they become legally binding, just as if a court made Orders after a contested hearing. They are therefore just as enforceable. You do not have to appear in court for your Consent Orders. As long as you submit your agreement in a format that the Court accepts, it will issue Orders in the same format that you submitted your agreement.
Settlement Consent Orders can also be used to close bank accounts, split superannuation or deal with more complex issues such as dividing family trusts and transferring interests in companies. In this way, everything owned and owed is included, so there is no dispute later on. Parents’ consent orders cover everything from where the child or children will live to how much time they will spend with each parent during holidays and special occasions like Christmas and birthdays, and where they will go to school.
It’s a great way to formalize what you’ve discussed informally, and gives both parties peace of mind and clarity to move forward with their lives.
What financial matters can and cannot be handled by a Consent Order?
From transferring a property from one joint name to another, to dividing superannuation, consent orders can deal with a wide range of financial matters. Bank accounts can be closed or balances transferred between parties with consent orders. One party can be required to pay the other within a set timeframe, or to transfer motor vehicles from joint names, or from one party’s name to the other’s. Consent Orders can also deal with more complex matters such as the transfer or winding up of family trusts and the transfer of companies and/ or their assets. In essence, any assets and any liabilities owned by the parties can be dealt with in (financial) Consent Orders. Consent Orders can also be sought which bind companies and trusts owned or operated by the parties and can require the parties to do or not do things on behalf of the company or the trust. Assets can even come out of a trust or company and go to an individual.
Financial Consent Orders cannot however deal with matters that are in the nature of child support. So if you want to have an agreement in relation to the payment of child support for a child or children of the relationship that cannot be dealt with in your Consent Orders. Child support matters generally fall within the jurisdiction of the child support agency. The parties can also have their own private and formalised child support agreement if they want to however this is a separate document, known as a Binding Child Support Agreement and again is different to Consent Orders made by the court by way of property settlement.
