How are consent orders applied in the Family Court?

The Court requires you to file two documents: an application for Consent Orders and a minute of Order. The Application for Consent Orders sets out a lot of background and historical information as well as your current assets and liabilities. It didn’t sit out who will retain water in a column format. The minute of Order must set out precisely the Orders that you are asking the Court to make on your behalf. The Court will not draft Consent Orders for you, and it is for this reason that most people have a family law solicitor to draft the documents on their behalf. The Application for Consent Orders sets out a lot of background and historical information as well as your current assets and liabilities. It then sets out who will retain what in a column format. The minute of the Order must sit out precisely the Orders that you are asking the Court to make on your behalf.

What is the principle of a Consent Order?

Essentially a Consent Order works the same way as any Court Order. If properly drafted, it sets out precisely the obligations that are imposed on each party with her in relation to the finalisation of the property settlement for the future care arrangements for the children. They require careful drafting because if one party does not comply with the Consent Orders, the non-defaulting party needs to be able to apply back to the Court and ask for the Consent Order to be enforced. Court Orders are very specific and make it very clear what each parties obligations. They then intern make it very clear to the Court are looking to enforce an Order.

What is the Processing time for Consent orders in the Family Court?

The timeframe between you filing your documents and the Court making Orders in accordance with your agreement can vary. Typically, however, the Court will take around four weeks to make the Orders assuming that all of your documentation is in Order. The time of year can affect this timeframe, as we can see in the Registry in which the documents are filed.

What happens when Consent orders are breached?

If the family court finds that you have breached a parenting Order, then typically, the defaulting party is Ordered to attend a post-separation parenting program. The Court does, however, have a range of penalties that it can impose, and the penalty imposed generally depends on the seriousness of the bridge and how many times the Consent Orders have been breached. The Court has the power to impose a fine and, in fact, has the power to imprison devoting parties, although this would be extremely rare.

In Consent Orders, what are the ‘Minute of Consent’?

A minute of consent is essentially the document that you submit to the “which sits out all of the Orders that you’re asking the Court to make on your behalf. It is required to be signed on each and every page by both parties and is supported by an application for Consent Orders which sets out relevant background information. Once the Court makes Orders in accordance with your minute of Order, you will receive a sealed copy of your Consent Orders which are then legally binding and enforceable. Your Minute of Order is not legally binding and enforceable until Consent Orders have been made by the Family Court.

If you need assistance with an amicable family law settlement, please use Consent Orders as a first option.