Clean Break Orders

A clean break order is a court order that ends the financial claims you and your former spouse or civil partner could make against each other. Once it is in place, neither of you can come back later for a share of the other’s income, savings, property or pension, and claims against each other’s estate on death are usually dismissed too.

It is made as part of the financial order on divorce or dissolution, most often by agreement in a consent order that the court approves. It is the most final way to separate your finances, and for many people it is the main reason to see a solicitor at all.

Many people assume that once they are divorced, their finances are separate. They are not. The final order ends the marriage, but financial claims stay open until the court deals with them. A claim can be made years later, against money or property that did not even exist at the time of the divorce, such as an inheritance, a pay rise or a business that has since grown.

The courts have shown how long that door can stay open. In Wyatt v Vince (2015), the Supreme Court allowed a former wife to pursue a financial claim decades after the couple divorced, because no order had ever been made. A clean break order is how you close that door.

The court must consider whether a clean break is appropriate whenever it deals with finances on divorce. It tends to suit couples where:

• both of you can support yourselves, now or after a short period of adjustment;
• the marriage was relatively short, or you have similar earning power;
• there is enough capital, such as equity in the home or savings, to balance things out instead of paying ongoing maintenance;
• you both want certainty and the chance to move on without financial ties.

Where one person needs time to adjust, for example to retrain or return to work, a deferred clean break can provide maintenance for a fixed period, after which all claims end.

A clean break deals with the financial claims between the two of you. It cannot permanently remove a parent’s responsibility to support their children. Child maintenance can be agreed and recorded in the order, but after it has been in place for a year either parent can ask the Child Maintenance Service to calculate it. We explain how that interacts with your settlement so there are no surprises.

The family home and pensions are often the two largest assets. A clean break order can provide for the home to be sold, or transferred to one of you with the other bought out or compensated from other assets. Pensions can be divided with a pension sharing order, or one person can keep more of the pension while the other keeps more of the property. Pensions are often the most valuable asset of all, so we make sure they are valued properly before anything is agreed.

Even when you agree everything, the order only becomes binding once a judge approves it. The court needs a properly drafted consent order and a statement of information summarising both of your finances, and it will want to see that the terms are fair. Full and honest financial disclosure by both of you is essential, and it is sensible for each of you to have independent legal advice. The court can approve the order once the conditional order has been made, and it takes effect when the final order is granted. Approval is usually dealt with on paper, without either of you attending court.

1. 1
   Share the full picture

   You and your former partner each set out your income, property, savings, pensions and debts.

2. 2
   Agree the terms

   We negotiate on your behalf, or you agree terms in mediation, with our advice on whether they are fair.

3. 3
   Draft the consent order

   We prepare the order and the statement of information the court needs to approve it.

4. 4
   Court approval

   A judge reviews the order, usually on paper. It takes effect once the final order is made.

The cost depends mainly on whether you have already agreed the terms. Where you have, the work is checking the agreement, drafting the consent order and statement of information, and dealing with the court, so costs are modest. Where terms still need negotiating, costs depend on how much needs resolving. A court fee is also payable when the consent order is submitted.

We do not offer a fixed fee for financial matters, because they vary so much, but we will give you a cost estimate before we start. See our family law pricing page for our hourly rates.

Family lawyers who deal with financial settlements every day and will make sure your clean break is watertight.

Kiran SarkariaAssociate SolicitorSpecialises in divorce and financial matters after more than a decade in private family law.Tracy TalbotAssociate SolicitorQualified in 2003 and trained in collaborative law, helping couples settle finances without a fight.Adrian CoggonConsultantFamily Mediation Council accredited mediator who helps separating couples agree financial arrangements.

It is still strongly advisable. Without an order, either of you could make a claim in the future against money or property you acquire later, such as an inheritance, a new home or a lottery win. A simple clean break consent order protects you both.

You do not usually need to attend court. If you agree the terms, the consent order is sent to the court and normally approved by a judge on paper. The court does have to approve it, though, for it to be binding.

No. Child maintenance can be agreed and included in the order, but it cannot be permanently ruled out. After a year either parent can ask the Child Maintenance Service to work it out.

Only in limited circumstances, for example where one person hid assets or gave misleading information, or where a completely unforeseen event soon after the order undermines the basis on which it was made. Full and honest disclosure is the best protection.

If you cannot agree, either of you can apply to the court. The judge will decide what is fair and must consider whether a clean break is appropriate. We can advise you on how strong your case for one is.

A clean break order usually includes a provision preventing your former spouse from making a claim against your estate. We check this is included where it should be.

Remarrying can prevent you from making certain financial claims of your own if you have not already started them. If you are planning to remarry, take advice and get your financial order in place, or at least applied for, first.