When you are considering how to divide your assets following a separation or divorce, in addition to the question of what is a fair division of assets, it is important to understand how much does a consent order cost in your situation. The total consent order cost will depend on filing fees, legal fees and how complex your agreement is, which can make it hard to know what is reasonable. In the article below, we answer the question of ‘how much does a consent order cost?’ in common scenarios and what drives those costs up or down. We also cover areas you may be able to save or lower the cost, so that the question of ‘how much does a consent order cost?’ does not stop you from finalising your separation or divorce.
How Much Does a Consent Order Cost: Stages For Filing a Consent Order
Before we can understand ‘How much does a consent order cost?’ we must first understand the different stages of filing for a consent order. This is because consent order cost varies greatly based on your specific situation at each stage of the process.
1. The Negotiation
Separations can be a very difficult period in people’s lives. When couples separate, they not only have to deal with the emotional hurt that comes with any break up – often they also have to deal with the added financial stress of dividing assets. This process can become very expensive especially if there is no agreement. That is why finding out who much a consent order costs is vital.
If you and your ex don’t have an agreement about the division of assets after a break up, the cost could be tens of thousands of dollars to sort it out.
If you and your ex do have an agreement about the division of assets after a break up, you can both save yourselves thousands of dollars. Where an agreement is reached, the Family Court allows separated couples to enter into “Consent Orders”. That’s the fancy term for making my agreement into a court order.
How much does a consent order cost varies on a few factors such as:
a. The time it takes to negotiate the agreement with your ex and whether you had the help of a lawyer to reach an agreement;
b. The complexity of your agreement;
c. The complexity of your asset structure.
How Much Does a Consent Order Cost If You Have an Agreement?
Consent order cost can be as low as $2,000 if you have an agreement already and you want to pay a lawyer to draw up the agreement so that it can be filed in the Family Court and made into binding court orders.
How Much Does a Consent Order Cost If You Need Help Negotiating an Agreement?
Consent order cost can range from anywhere between $2,000 to $15,000 if you don’t already have an agreement and a lawyer helps you to successfully negotiate an agreement about a financial split with your ex.
There is no consent order cost if there is no agreement.
Most lawyers across Australia have an hourly charge out rate. This could be a few hundred dollars per hour to one thousand dollars per hour depending on how senior and specialised the lawyer is.
The consent order cost is, in essence, the time spent for a lawyer to draw up your agreement multiplied by the lawyer’s hourly rate.
A consent order cost that is as low as $2,000 may reflect 4 hours of work if the lawyer’s charge out rate is $500 an hour. That is so expensive! That is why it makes sense to try and negotiate a property settlement that you and your ex can live with and without recourse to litigation.
The first stage for filing a consent order is to get an agreement. If you already have an agreement, then the next stage is to prepare the Consent Order Application.
2. The Consent Order Application
By the time you have reached an agreement with your ex about the division of assets and who gets what, you may have already spent thousands of dollars (or close to nothing) in legal fees.
The cost to reach an agreement depends on how long it takes to get there.
Once an agreement is reached, the next step is to turn your agreement into a binding court order, by submitting an Application for Consent Orders to the Family Court.
With or without a lawyer, the form to submit at the Family Court is the same. It is an “Application for Consent Orders”.
You need to use the court’s e-court portal to submit the paperwork and there is also a filing fee payable to the court when you lodge the application.
Once the application is lodged at the Family Court, it will usually take the court a few weeks to review your application and let you know the outcome. The outcome could be a requisition or the outcome could be an approval of your agreement by the court.
How Much Does a Consent Order Cost When Submitting Your Application to the Court?
The filing fee to lodge your application for consent order may vary from each State so it is best to check the filing fees on the court’s website.
The cost of a lawyer to prepare the paperwork to turn your agreement into a binding court order is anywhere between $2,000 and $5,000 and sometimes more.
It’s important to know that the consent order cost should include, at least in part, some lawyer fees because people should always enter a negotiation knowing what they are entitled to and a lawyer can help you work that out.
Key Factors that Affect ‘How Much Does A Consent Order Cost’
How much does a consent order cost can vary widely if your assets are complex or if your agreement is complicated.
A consent order cost is going to be less for a situation where you and your ex have separated and are dividing one home, one mortgage, two cars and some superannuation between the two of you.
A consent order cost is going to be more for a situation where you and your ex have separated and your assets include a business, a family trust, companies and various investments.
The more complicated the asset structure, the more complicated the agreement and the more time it may take for a lawyer to draw up your agreement.
It’s a stressful period when you go through a separation. Legal Aspirations is dedicated to information sharing and helping to educate the public about the process and cost for a Consent Order Application.
Don’t Let the Consent Order Cost Stop You From Finalising Your Separation
As part of our mission, Legal Aspirations has created a Do-It-Yourself platform that helps you navigate the process of obtaining a Consent Order and reduce the consent order cost by providing examples of agreements that can be used in the Family Court.
The DIY option for property settlement means that you can cut out the lawyer fees and save yourself thousands of dollars.
Our templates offer a variety of Minute of Consent Order examples for simple to more complex asset structures. Consent Order examples are available from our Cart. If you want a more personalised example Minute of Consent Orders to be generated for you, try our DIY Consent Order questionnaire!