The Process Of Applying for a Final Order
&
what to do if you lose your Final Order/decree absolute certificate
WHAT IS A FINAL ORDER?
A final order is a legal document issued by the court which states that you and your ex-partners marriage has ended.
Applying for a final order is the last stage of divorce.
SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR A FINAL ORDER BEFORE OR AFTER THE COURT HAS FORMAISED/APPROVED THE FINANCIAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR EX-PARTNER INTO A LEGALLY BINDING CONSENT ORDER?
If possible before you or your ex-partner apply for a final order, please make sure all financial agreements, court orders, and pension divisions are in place and have been agreed by the court. This is not set is stone but it is advisable because some marital assets such as pension and trust funds are only transferrable to an existing spouse.
Please note that if you or your ex-partner pass away after a final order has been issued and there is no financial settlement in place then neither of you will be entitled to automatic spousal benefits.
Also if you and your ex-partner remain married until a financial settlement has been agreed there may be tax benefits when assets are transferred between you both during the divorce. Married couples can be entitled to some tax exemptions.
My advice is that you should apply for a final order at least 28 days or more after the date the court approves your draft financial consent agreement into a legally binding financial consent order to make sure your ex-partner does not lodge an appeal against the consent order to have it over turned or amended.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A FINAL ORDER
SOLE APPLICANT – If you submitted your initial divorce application form D8 and the conditional order form D84 by yourself as a sole applicant, now you can apply for a final order using application form D36. The court will send you an email stating the date from when you can apply for a final order and whether you should apply for a final order by post or by online. How you can apply (by post or online) will depend upon whether you sent in your initial divorce application form D8 by post or online in the first place. If you intend to apply for a final order you must give your ex-partner (the respondent) 14 days notice and make sure they get a copy of your completed form D36 (this is called serving them). The court will require proof your ex-partner has been given (served) a copy of your form D36. You can send the court a completed certificate of service form FP6.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM FP6
JOINT APPLICANTS – If you and your ex-partner submitted the initial divorce application form D8 and the conditional order form D84 as joint applicants then the court will email you both stating from when you both can apply for a final order and whether you can send your form in by post or online. You both apply for a final order together using the same form D36.
JOINT APPLICANT TURNED SOLE APPLICANT – If you and your ex-partner jointly submitted the initial divorce application form D8 and you both applied for a conditional order BUT NOW one of you is not co-operating with the divorce then either of you can make a sole application for a final order. For this you must use application form D36A. You must send a copy to your ex-partner and give them 14 days notice that you are going to apply. You must prove to the court that you have served your ex-partner a copy of your form D36A by completing and sending in a certificate of service form FP6.
METHOD OF SUBMISSION – Whether you apply for a final order online or by post will depend upon which method you submitted your divorce application form D8 in the first place. If you applied by post then you will submit your form D36 or D36A by post. If you applied online then you will submit your form D36 or D36A online.
This website has a Help Guide for forms D36 and D36A. Once you have read this page, you can click on the links below to access forms D36 and D36A where it will go into detail how to complete them. The topics covered are –
- What are forms D36 and D36A used for?
- Are there any government or our own L.I.P Help Guides or write ups to help you complete forms D36 and D36A?
- What is the fee to send forms D36 and D36A to the court and how to pay for them?
- How to complete forms D36 and D36A and where to send them.
- Where can you find forms D36 and D36A/download these forms?
- When were forms D36 and D36A first published and last updated?
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D36
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D36A
HOW LONG AFTER YOUR CONDITIONAL ORDER HAS BEEN GRANTED CAN YOU APPLY FOR A FINAL ORDER?
Whether you are a sole applicant or a joint applicant you can apply for a final order 43 days (6 weeks and 1 day) after the court has issued your conditional order. The court will email the date from when you can apply for a final order.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR THE PROCESS OF APPLYING FOR A CONDITIONAL ORDER
CAN YOUR EX-PARTNER (THE RESPONDENT) APPLY FOR A FINAL ORDER IF YOU DO NOT?
If you are the sole applicant and you do not apply for a final order, then your ex-partner (the respondent), can apply for a final order 90 days (3 months) after you COULD HAVE applied for a final order. This is 43 days plus 90 days which equals 133 days (3 months + 6 weeks + 1 day) after the court has issued the conditional order.
For the respondent to apply for a final order they will need to complete form D11. A court fee is payable. Please attach a cheque or postal order made payable to HM Courts & Tribunal Service. If you are on certain benefits or on a low income, you can apply to the court to have your fees paid for you. The form you need is called form EX160. You can complete and submit the form online or download a hardcopy from the government website. You will need to attach proof of your benefits, your income, and/or 3 months bank statements. The government website also has the EX160A guidance notes which you can download and read to help you complete form EX160. You can send the completed form EX160 with all attachments along with your completed form D8 for the court to consider. Or you could have sent your completed form EX160 to the court in advance and received a ‘help with fees’ reference number starting with HWF to put on page 7 of your form D11.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM EX160 (Here, you can access both form EX160 & EX160A guidance notes)
LINK TO GOVERNMENT GUIDE EX50 FOR FAMILY COURT FEES
LINK TO L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D11
If your ex-partner (the respondent) is applying for a final order, then a court hearing will take place to establish why your ex-partner is making the application and not you.
CAN YOU DELAY YOUR EX-PARTNER (THE RESPONDENT) FROM MAKING THE APPLICATION FOR A FINAL ORDER IF YOU HAVEN’T MADE ONE ?
As the sole applicant, you can make an application using form D11 to the court to delay your ex-partner (the respondent) from applying for a final order. The main reason for this is if the division of your marital assets, finances and pensions has not been finalised with a court order.
THIS IS IMPORTANT SO PLEASE DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS.
Do not let your ex-partner (the respondent) apply for a final order if many of your marital assets including the pension is solely on their name. You must make sure you are awarded your rightful share of all your marital assets first and this is made legal by a court with a court order.
LINK TO L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D11
WHAT WILL HAPPEN ONCE THE COURT RECEIVES YOUR APPLICATION FORM D36 or D36A?
The court will assess your case and as long as there are no outstanding applications to sort out or any reasons why a final order cannot be granted then they will send you and your ex-partner a D37 final order by post.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU AND/OR YOUR EX-PARTNER APPLY FOR A FINAL ORDER 12 MONTHS AFTER YOUR CONDITONAL ORDER IS GRANTED?
If you and/or your ex-partner apply for a final order more than 12 months after the court issued your conditional order, you or your ex-partner must attach a written statement with your application form D36 explaining the following –
- Why it has taken so long to apply for a final order.
- Whether you or your ex-partner have lived together since the conditional order was granted and you must give the dates.
- Whether any children have been born since the conditional order was issued.
WHAT IF YOU LOSE YOUR FINAL ORDER/DECREE ABSOLUTE CERTIFICATE?
If you ever lose your D37 final order/decree absolute certificate, you can contact the court that issued the original for another one. It will cost £10.00 if you can provide your divorce case number. If you can’t remember your divorce case number then you will pay £45.00. If you cannot remember which court granted your final order/decree absolute certificate, you can contact the central family court who can send a copy of your final order/decree absolute certificate to you for £65.00. You will need to complete form D440. There is a fee to submit form D440. Cheque or postal order must be payable to HM Courts & Tribunals Service.