What if the Court rejects Consent Orders?
If the Court rejects your Consent Orders, then you will be given an opportunity to resubmit them. This is known as a 'requisition'. Generally, you will receive an email from the Court shortly after lodging the Application for Consent Orders to notify you of the problem.
The Court may reject your Consent Orders because the documents have not been completed correctly or because you have not included enough information. If the Court rejects your Consent Orders, then you should review the Requisition Letter from the Registrar, which outlines why the orders were not approved and what needs to be fixed. Some common reasons that the Court rejects Consent Orders are the following:
Unclear, vague, or legally ineffective wording in your Minute of Consent Orders, then you must redraft them to be precise and enforceable.
All the necessary information is not recorded correctly in the Application for Consent Orders, or the Minute of Consent Orders are poorly worded, inadequate or do not end the financial relationship between you and your former partner.
The overall percentage division is not just and equitable. This means that the the agreement you reached with your former partner is too favorable to you or to them.
The overall percentage division provided for in the Minute of Consent Orders is not the same as the percentage stated in the Application for Consent Orders.
If you resubmit an updated Application for Consent Orders, then you will be required to strikeout the old parts of the agreement and write below each strikeout the new information. This can end up looking like a dog's breakfast and be more work than starting from scratch.
Therefore, it may be more simple to void your rejected Application for Consent Orders, request a refund of the Court Filing fee that you paid upon lodging the Application, and then submit a new Application for Consent Orders with the updated agreement and correctly completed documents.
If you do not wish to renegotiate the property settlement agreement reached with your former partner, then you should void your Application for Consent Orders, and instead, enter into a Financial Agreement to end the financial relationship with your partner.
A Financial Agreement is not reviewed by the Court, and you do not need to satisfy a Registrar that your agreement is just and equitable. Instead, there is a legal requirement that you and your former partner receive independent legal advice about the good and the bad of the Financial Agreement before you sign it.
