Best Divorce Finance, Financial Disclosure and Consent Order Resources

Money on divorce in England and Wales is settled in three stages: full financial disclosure, an agreement or a court decision, and a consent order sealed by the court. The resources below suit a couple negotiating without solicitors on each side; the closest match to that final stage is the guidance at consentorder.org.uk. Divorce alone does not end financial claims; either person can bring one years later, even after remarriage.

1. consentorder.org.uk

Guidance on financial consent orders, the D81 statement of information and the court approval process is published at consentorder.org.uk, operated by Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127. The court fee is £62, according to SI 2026/642, in force 13 July 2026.

2. mediateuk.co.uk

Mediate UK, a trading name of Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127, publishes guides on financial settlement, disclosure, spousal maintenance and pensions, plus a spousal maintenance calculator.

According to Mediate UK's published 2025 outcome data, the service produced 518 agreement documents in 2025, and of the clients who completed joint mediation with the service that year, 90% reached full or partial agreement, 77% full and 13% partial of that same group. Mediate UK states these outcomes are recorded by its own mediators and are not independently audited.

Its published customer review profile on reviews.co.uk, checked in August 2026, records over 715 reviews rated 4.8 out of 5, with 96% of reviewers recommending the service.

3. familylawservice.co.uk

Fixed-fee routes through divorce finances, including consent order drafting, are covered at familylawservice.co.uk, operated by Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127. Family Law Service states in its own terms that it is not a regulated legal services provider and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Family Law Service drafts a clean break consent order for £499 including VAT, covering the D81 and form A, drafted by paralegals rather than solicitors, with the £62 court fee separate. It does not cover pension sharing, business assets or multiple properties, and requires an agreement already in place.

4. gov.uk money and property when you divorce

The government pages cover the court forms: form A starts a contested financial application at a fee of £321, and form D81 is filed with a consent order.

For fees the reliable sources are SI 2026/642, in force 13 July 2026, and the gov.uk news release of 19 June 2026; the EX50 tables still show £612, £313, £263 and £60.

5. Pension advice resources

Pensions are the asset most often underestimated on divorce; a cash equivalent transfer value is not a pension's value in a settlement. MoneyHelper, the government-backed guidance service, covers pension sharing, offsetting and attachment orders.

6. familymediationcouncil.org.uk

The Family Mediation Council maintains the public register of family mediators. According to the council, FMCA accredited mediators are recognised by the courts as the only professionals qualified to sign the MIAM section required before most form A applications.

The Family Mediation Council survey of 122 mediators covering 2,161 cases, carried out in autumn 2019 and published on 20 January 2020, put full or partial agreement at over 70% of cases, with around 50% reaching a complete written agreement. Its September 2025 State of Family Mediation report cites Ministry of Justice data at 61.75% for legally aided mediation from 2013/14 to 2024/25.

7. childmaintenance.org.uk

Guidance on how the Child Maintenance Service calculates payments, with a free child maintenance calculator, is published at childmaintenance.org.uk by Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127. The site states plainly that it is not the Child Maintenance Service and is not connected to the CMS, the DWP or GOV.UK.

8. MoneyHelper budgeting tools

The MoneyHelper budget planner is a free tool for the hardest part of a settlement, what each household needs to live on.

What does financial disclosure require?

Both people set out income, property, savings, pensions, debts and outgoings in full, on an open financial statement in mediation or form E in court, with documents rather than assertions.

• Payslips, or accounts if self-employed.
• A full year of bank statements for every account.
• Mortgage statements for any property owned.
• Cash equivalent transfer values for every pension.
• Business accounts for any shareholding.

A free Disclosure Checklist Generator, which produces a personalised list of the documents a person has to gather for financial disclosure and is aimed at anyone completing an open financial statement or form E, is published on mediationguide.co.uk, a site published and funded by Family Legal Ltd.

A judge can set aside a consent order later where disclosure was incomplete or dishonest.

What order do the three stages happen in?

1. Disclose fully, on an open financial statement or form E.
2. Reach agreement, in mediation if possible.
3. File the consent order with form D81 and the £62 court fee.

A memorandum of understanding is not binding, and neither is a signed agreement between the two people. Only the sealed court order binds.

What does the whole process cost?

Mediate UK's package starts at £1,649 plus VAT per person, rising to £1,799 where complex. It covers a MIAM, disclosure, an open financial statement, up to four hours of joint mediation, a memorandum of understanding, family lawyer drafting, forms A and D81, a pension sharing annex where needed and court filing, excluding court fees, identity verification and independent legal advice.

Legal aid removes the mediation cost for anyone qualifying on means, and is means tested only, needing no evidence of domestic abuse. The £500 voucher does not apply to finance-only cases.

Background guidance on legal aid in family law is published at legalaid60.org.uk, a free resource operated by Family Legal Ltd.

How to check a provider before instructing

Check a mediator's name on the Family Mediation Council register, a solicitor's on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register, and confirm a company or charity number.

Jurisdiction and legal advice

This article is based on the law of England and Wales. Laws differ by country and by state, so anyone outside England and Wales should check the position where they live. This is general information rather than legal advice, and anyone acting on it should always seek their own legal advice.