Best DIY Divorce Financial Tools in the UK (2026 Comparison)

You've Agreed on Everything. Now You Need the Right Tool to Make It Legal.

If you and your ex have already agreed on how to divide your finances, you're past the hard part. The negotiation is done. What you need now is a way to turn that agreement into a court-approved, legally binding Consent Order — without spending £1,500–£3,500 on a high street solicitor.

That's where DIY divorce financial tools come in. But "DIY" covers a huge range — from free templates that leave you on your own, to solicitor-drafted fixed-fee services, to automated platforms that generate court-ready documents from your financial details.

The differences between them matter. The wrong choice can cost you weeks of delay, hundreds in wasted fees, or — worst case — a Consent Order that doesn't actually protect you because it's missing critical clauses.

This guide compares the main options available in the UK in 2026, so you can choose the route that fits your situation, your budget, and your risk tolerance.

What You're Actually Looking For

Before comparing tools, let's be clear about what the court requires. To make your financial agreement legally binding, you need two documents:

1. A Draft Consent Order — the legal document setting out exactly how assets, property, pensions, and debts are divided, with proper recitals, enforceable clauses, and dismissal provisions
2. Form D81 — a Statement of Information summarising both parties' financial positions so the judge can assess fairness

Both documents must meet specific legal and formatting standards. The judge reviews them on paper — no hearing — and either approves, raises queries, or rejects. The quality of the drafting directly determines whether your order gets sealed first time or bounced back.

So the real question isn't "which tool is cheapest?" It's "which tool produces documents the court will actually approve?"

Your Five Options Compared

Option 1: Write It Yourself (DIY from Scratch)

Cost: £0 + £62 court fee

You draft the Consent Order and Form D81 yourself, using publicly available guidance and whatever templates you can find online. You handle everything — legal language, dismissal clauses, pension provisions, property clauses — and submit directly to the court.

This is the cheapest option on paper, but it carries the highest risk. DIY Consent Orders are rejected at a significantly higher rate than professionally drafted ones, because they typically contain imprecise legal language, missing dismissal clauses, or incomplete financial disclosure. A rejection means weeks of delay and potential re-drafting costs — which often end up costing more than using a service in the first place.

Best for: People with genuine legal drafting experience. Not recommended for most people.

Option 2: Free or Paid Templates

Cost: £0–£50 + £62 court fee

Various websites offer Consent Order templates — some free, some behind a paywall. They provide a generic structure with placeholder text you fill in with your own details.

The problem is that every financial settlement is different. A template can't account for whether your property is jointly owned or in one name, whether pensions need sharing or dismissing, or which specific dismissal clauses your situation requires. Judges regularly reject template-based orders because they don't meet the court's technical requirements or miss critical provisions.

Best for: Getting a sense of what a Consent Order looks like. Not reliable as a submission-ready document.

Option 3: Fixed-Fee Online Solicitor Services

Cost: £159–£599 + £62 court fee

Several established providers offer solicitor-drafted Consent Orders for a fixed fee. You fill in a questionnaire about your financial agreement, and a solicitor drafts the documents. Some services include court submission and follow-up with queries.

The main providers in this space include Divorce-Online (from £159 for a basic clean break with no assets to divide, £269 for a standard consent order with asset division, £599 for complex cases with legal advice included), Consent Orders Online, and Easy Online Divorce. These are SRA-regulated firms with experienced family law solicitors.

It's worth noting the price differences carefully: the £159 entry-level services cover only the simplest scenario — no property, no pensions, no assets to divide, just a clean break dismissing future claims. Once you add property transfers, pension provisions, or any meaningful asset division, the cost at these services rises to £269–£599 — which is where the comparison with other options becomes more meaningful.

The trade-off is turnaround time (typically 14–21 working days) and limited personalisation — you're filling in a form and waiting for a solicitor to process it, rather than having an interactive conversation about your specific situation.

Best for: Couples who want solicitor assurance and don't mind waiting 2–3 weeks for documents.

Option 4: Mediation Services with Consent Order Add-On

Cost: £500–£3,450+ per couple + £62 court fee

If you haven't fully agreed on your financial split yet, mediation services like Amicable and Mediate UK offer packages that combine negotiation support with Consent Order drafting. A trained mediator helps you reach agreement, and the service then handles the legal documentation.

This is a strong option if you're close to agreement but need help with the final details — particularly around pensions, property, or maintenance. However, if you've already agreed on everything, you're paying for mediation you don't need.

Best for: Couples who are mostly agreed but need help negotiating the final points. Overkill if you've already settled everything.

Option 5: Automated Document Generation Platforms

Cost: From £199 + £62 court fee

A newer category: platforms where you enter your financial details into a guided step-by-step process, and the system generates a court-ready Consent Order and Form D81 using correct legal language, proper dismissal clauses, and compliant formatting — all tailored to your specific financial data.

Unlike templates, these aren't generic fill-in-the-blank documents. The output is generated from your actual financial details — property values, pension CETVs, income figures, debt allocations — and includes the specific clauses your situation requires (clean break provisions, property transfer orders, pension sharing annexes where applicable).

Unlike solicitor services, there's no 2–3 week wait. Documents are generated in minutes, and you can download them immediately in PDF and DOCX formats for review before submission.

Best for: Couples who've already agreed on everything and want court-ready documents quickly, without the solicitor price tag or the DIY risk.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Option	Cost	Turnaround	Court-Ready?	Risk Level
DIY from Scratch	£0 + £62	Varies	Unlikely	High — frequent rejections, missing clauses
Templates	£0–£50 + £62	Varies	Unlikely	High — generic, not tailored to your situation
Fixed-Fee Solicitor	£159–£599 + £62*	14–21 working days	Yes	Low — SRA-regulated, professionally drafted
Mediation + Consent Order	£500–£3,450+ + £62	Several weeks	Yes	Low — but expensive if already agreed
Automated Platform	From £199 + £62	15 minutes	Yes	Low — tailored to your data, proper legal clauses (for agreed, straightforward cases)

* £159 applies only to basic clean break orders with no assets to divide. Standard consent orders with property/pension division start at £269–£599.

What to Look for in Any Service

Regardless of which route you choose, make sure the output includes these essential elements:

• Proper recitals — the introductory clauses confirming both parties consent to the order
• Comprehensive dismissal clauses — permanently barring future claims for capital, income, pension, and estate/inheritance. Without these, your settlement doesn't actually protect you.
• Specific property provisions — not vague references to "the house" but precise addresses, transfer mechanisms, timeframes, and mortgage indemnity clauses
• Pension provisions — either a Pension Sharing Annex with correct CETV values and percentages, or explicit dismissal of pension claims
• Complete Form D81 — covering income, property, savings, pensions, debts, and housing needs for both parties
• Correct legal terminology — the court expects language aligned with the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and Family Procedure Rules

If a service produces documents missing any of these elements, you're paying for something the court will send back.

The Real Cost of Choosing Wrong

The cheapest option isn't always the most affordable. Consider what happens when things go wrong:

• Rejected Consent Order: 4–12 weeks wasted, plus the time and cost of re-drafting and resubmitting
• Missing dismissal clauses: Your ex can make financial claims against you years later — potentially costing tens of thousands
• Incorrect pension provisions: A badly formatted Pension Sharing Annex gets rejected, delaying your entire settlement
• Hiring a solicitor to fix a DIY attempt: You pay full solicitor fees anyway, plus the wasted time

The difference between the cheapest option (£0) and a reliable one (£199–£269) is trivial compared to the cost of getting it wrong. For most people, spending a few hundred pounds on court-ready documents is the best investment they'll make in the entire divorce process.

Which Option Is Right for You?

The answer depends on where you are in the process:

• You've agreed on everything and want it done fast: An automated platform or fixed-fee solicitor service gets you court-ready documents without delay.
• You've mostly agreed but need help with the final details: Mediation can help you close the gaps, then the mediator or a separate service handles the Consent Order.
• You have complex finances (businesses, multiple properties, high-value pensions): A full solicitor service with legal advice (£599+) or a traditional family solicitor is worth the investment.
• You have no assets and just want a clean break: A basic clean break order from a fixed-fee service (from £159) or an automated platform is sufficient.

Whatever you choose, don't skip the Consent Order entirely. An informal agreement — no matter how detailed — has no legal force. The only thing that protects you is a court-approved order with proper dismissal clauses.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a solicitor to get a Consent Order?

No. There's no legal requirement to use a solicitor. You can draft your own Consent Order, use a fixed-fee online service, or use an automated document generation platform. However, the court does require the documents to meet specific legal and formatting standards — so the question isn't whether you need a solicitor, but whether your chosen method produces court-ready output.

What's the cheapest way to get a Consent Order in 2026?

The court fee is £62 regardless of method. Beyond that, a basic clean break order from an online service starts at around £159, and automated platforms offer court-ready Consent Orders from around £199. Writing your own is free but carries a high rejection risk that can make it more expensive in the long run.

How do I know if my Consent Order will be accepted by the court?

The judge checks three things: fairness (does the split make sense given both parties' finances?), disclosure (have both parties provided complete financial information on Form D81?), and drafting quality (does the order use correct legal language with proper dismissal clauses?). Services that produce tailored, legally formatted documents significantly reduce the risk of rejection.

Can I use an online service if we have property or pensions to divide?

Yes — most fixed-fee and automated services handle property transfers and pension provisions. For straightforward cases (one property, workplace pensions, standard clean break), an online service or automated platform is usually sufficient. For complex cases involving multiple properties, business interests, or very high-value pensions, consider a solicitor service with legal advice included.

What's the difference between a template and an automated platform?

A template gives you a generic document with blank spaces to fill in. An automated platform generates documents from your specific financial data — your property values, pension CETVs, income figures, and proposed split — producing tailored output with the correct clauses for your situation. The court sees the difference.