Do You Need a Consent Order If You Have No Assets? (Yes — Here's Why)

"We don't have anything. There's no house, no savings, no pensions worth mentioning. Why would we spend money on a consent order?"

It's the most common reason people skip a consent order after divorce — and it's the reason that costs them the most in the long run.

Here's the logic that feels right but is dangerously wrong: if there's nothing to divide, there's nothing to argue about, so there's no need for a court order. You're both walking away with nothing. What's the point?

The point is that a consent order doesn't just divide what you have now. It closes off claims against what you'll have in the future. And without one, those claims — against your future earnings, your pension, your inheritance, your business, everything — remain open. Indefinitely. No time limit. No expiry date.

What "No Assets" Actually Means in Legal Terms

When people say they have "no assets," they usually mean one of several things:

• No jointly owned property (renting, or one party owned the home before the marriage)
• No significant savings (a few hundred pounds in current accounts)
• No pensions worth mentioning (young couple, early career, small workplace pots)
• No debts of significance (or debts are already in one person's name)
• No children (so no child maintenance considerations)

In family law, "no assets" doesn't mean "no financial claims." Under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the court has the power to make financial orders covering income, capital, property, and pensions — regardless of whether those assets exist at the time of divorce. The claims are based on the marriage, not on what the marriage produced.

So even if you're both leaving the marriage with nothing, both of you retain the legal right to come back and claim against the other's future wealth — unless a consent order says otherwise.

The Wyatt v Vince Problem: £0 at Divorce, £500,000 Later

The case that proves this point beyond any doubt is Wyatt v Vince [2015] UKSC 14.

Dale Vince and Kathleen Wyatt divorced in 1992. At the time, neither had any assets. Both were living on benefits. There was genuinely nothing to divide. No financial order was made — because what would be the point?

Over the following two decades, Dale Vince founded Ecotricity and built it into a company worth approximately £57 million. In 2011 — 19 years after the divorce — Kathleen Wyatt applied for a financial settlement from her ex-husband's fortune.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously: she was entitled to pursue the claim. There is no time limit on financial claims after divorce. The case settled for £300,000 plus approximately £200,000 in legal costs.

A consent order at the time of their divorce — when they had nothing — would have cost a few hundred pounds. It would have dismissed all future claims permanently. Instead, the absence of that order cost Dale Vince half a million pounds, plus years of litigation.

You don't need to be the next Dale Vince for this to matter. A modest inheritance, a successful career change, a property purchase, a growing pension — any improvement in your financial circumstances becomes a target if no consent order exists.

What a No-Asset Consent Order Actually Looks Like

A consent order for a couple with no assets is one of the simplest legal documents you can get. There's nothing to divide, transfer, or share — so the order focuses entirely on dismissing future claims.

A properly drafted no-asset clean break consent order will include:

Provision	What It Does
Dismissal of capital claims	Neither party can claim lump sums, savings, or investment assets from the other
Dismissal of property claims	Neither party can claim against property the other buys in the future
Dismissal of spousal maintenance	Neither party can claim ongoing financial support from the other
Dismissal of pension claims	Neither party can claim against pensions the other builds in the future
Section 28(1A) bar	Prevents either party from extending a maintenance order after it ends
Dismissal of Inheritance Act claims	Neither party can claim against the other's estate after death

That's the entire substance of the order. No property transfer clauses, no pension sharing annexes, no lump sum schedules. Just six categories of claims, all permanently dismissed. It's straightforward to draft, straightforward for a judge to approve, and costs less than almost any other type of consent order.

How Much Does a No-Asset Consent Order Cost?

Because there's nothing to divide, a no-asset consent order sits at the lowest price point across every route:

Route	Document Preparation	Court Fee	Total
Automated Platform (e.g. ConsentReady)	From £199	£62	From £261
Online Solicitor Service	£299–£499	£62	£361–£561
Traditional Solicitor	£500–£1,500	£62	£562–£1,562
DIY	£0	£62	£62 (higher rejection risk)

Court fee correct as of 13 July 2026. Solicitor prices exclude VAT.

For context: £261 is roughly the cost of two tanks of petrol, a modest dinner out, or a single hour with a solicitor. It buys you permanent, irreversible protection against financial claims that could otherwise run into tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

But What About Form D81? We Have Nothing to Declare

Every consent order — including a no-asset one — must be accompanied by Form D81 (Statement of Information). This gives the judge a snapshot of both parties' finances so they can assess whether the proposed order is fair.

When you have no assets, the form is quick to complete. Most fields will show zero or N/A. But you still need to fill it in properly — every section, every field. Leaving sections blank is one of the most common reasons judges return consent order applications, even simple ones.

Key points for no-asset Form D81 completion:

• Income: Enter your actual income, even if it's modest. The judge needs to see that neither party is being left destitute.
• Property: Write "Nil" or "£0" — avoid leaving blank or using text like "N/A", as judges prefer explicit numerical figures.
• Pensions: If you have a small workplace pension, include the CETV (which you can request free from your pension provider). Even a £5,000 pension pot should be listed.
• Savings: Include current account balances. "Approximately £300 in current account" is fine.
• Section 10 (Justification): Explain why a clean break is appropriate — for example: "Neither party has significant assets. Both parties are financially independent and capable of meeting their own needs. A clean break is appropriate to provide finality and prevent future claims."

The judge isn't looking for perfection in a no-asset case. They're looking for completeness and honesty. A properly filled Form D81 with modest or zero figures is approved routinely.

Five Scenarios Where "No Assets" Becomes Very Expensive

Here's why the "we have nothing" argument falls apart over time:

Scenario 1: You inherit money. Your parent dies and leaves you £150,000. Without a consent order, your ex-spouse has a legitimate legal basis to claim a share of that inheritance — particularly if they can argue that their own needs have increased since the divorce.

Scenario 2: Your career takes off. Five years after divorce, you're earning three times what you earned during the marriage. Your ex, whose circumstances haven't improved, applies for spousal maintenance — a claim that remains open without a consent order dismissing it.

Scenario 3: You buy a house. You save for years and buy your first property. Your ex-spouse, who contributed nothing to the purchase, applies for a share of the property under a property adjustment order. Without a consent order, the claim is legally valid.

Scenario 4: Your pension grows. Over 20 years, your workplace pension grows from £5,000 to £200,000. Your ex applies for a pension sharing order. Without a consent order dismissing pension claims, the court can consider this application.

Scenario 5: You win the lottery. It sounds extreme, but lottery wins, redundancy payouts, and business windfalls have all been the subject of financial claims by former spouses. Without a clean break, any windfall is potentially claimable.

None of these scenarios require your ex-spouse to be vindictive. People's circumstances change. Relationships sour. New partners have opinions. Financial pressure creates motivation. The law doesn't ask why someone is making a claim — only whether they have the legal right to do so. Without a consent order, they do.

The Process: How to Get a No-Asset Consent Order

The process is identical to any other consent order — just simpler and faster because there's nothing complex to draft:

1. Agree with your ex-spouse that a clean break is appropriate and that neither party will make future financial claims.
2. Prepare the documents: Draft Consent Order (containing clean break dismissal provisions) and Form D81 (both parties' financial information).
3. Both parties sign the Draft Consent Order and Form D81.
4. Submit to the Family Court with the £62 court fee, along with Form A (Notice of Intention).
5. Wait for judicial approval — typically 8–12 weeks. The judge reviews on paper; no hearing needed.
6. Receive the sealed order. Your clean break is legally complete. All future claims are permanently dismissed.

For a full walkthrough of each step, see our guide: How to Get a Consent Order in England & Wales (Step-by-Step Guide).

What If My Ex Won't Agree?

A consent order requires both parties' agreement — it's in the name. If your ex-spouse refuses to engage, you have two options:

Mediation. A neutral mediator helps you both discuss the financial position and (hopefully) reach agreement. For a no-asset case, mediation is often very quick — there's nothing to negotiate beyond confirming that both parties want a clean break. Courts in England and Wales expect you to attempt mediation before contested proceedings.

Contested financial remedy application (Form A). If mediation fails, you can apply to the court for a financial order to be imposed. However, this costs £321 in court fees alone, plus significant solicitor fees — which makes it disproportionately expensive for a no-asset case. In practice, most ex-spouses agree to a clean break consent order once they understand that it protects them equally — neither party can claim against the other.

Can I Get a No-Asset Consent Order If I Divorced Years Ago?

Yes. There is no time limit on applying for a consent order after divorce — provided neither party has remarried.

If you divorced 5, 10, or 15 years ago without a consent order, you can still apply for one now. The process and cost are the same. And the longer you've been divorced without one, the more urgent it becomes — because every year without a consent order is a year your ex-spouse's claims against your growing assets remain alive.

For more on why timing matters, see our guide: Can Your Ex Claim Against You Years After Divorce?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it a waste of money to get a consent order when we have nothing?

No — it's one of the best-value investments you can make. A no-asset clean break order costs from £261 total and permanently closes off financial claims that could otherwise cost thousands or hundreds of thousands of pounds in the future. The less you have now, the more you stand to lose later.

Will a judge approve a consent order when there are no assets?

Yes. Judges approve no-asset clean break orders routinely. As long as the Form D81 is properly completed, both parties have signed, and the arrangement appears fair (which a mutual clean break inherently is), there's no reason for a judge to refuse. In fact, judges generally welcome clean break orders because they provide finality and reduce future litigation.

Do I still need pension CETVs if my pensions are tiny?

You should include any pension you have on Form D81, even if the CETV is very small. Request the CETV from your pension provider (it's free) and list it. A pension worth £3,000 doesn't need a PODE report or pension sharing annex — but it should be recorded on the form and explicitly dismissed in the consent order. Leaving it out could be grounds for the judge to query the application.

What if we agreed informally — is that enough?

No. An informal agreement — whether verbal, by text, email, or even a solicitor-witnessed letter — is not a court order and cannot be enforced. It does not prevent either party from applying for a financial order in the future. Only a court-sealed consent order provides legally binding, permanent protection.

My ex has remarried — do I still need a consent order?

If your ex has remarried, they've lost the right to bring most financial claims against you (lump sum, property adjustment, pension sharing). However, some claims may still be possible in limited circumstances, and — crucially — your claims against them also remain open until a consent order is made or you also remarry. For complete certainty in both directions, a consent order is still the cleanest solution.

Can I do this myself or do I need a solicitor?

You don't need a solicitor if your financial terms are agreed. A no-asset clean break is the most straightforward consent order to prepare. Automated platforms generate the exact same standard court forms (Draft Consent Order and Form D81) that solicitors produce, formatted to strict Family Court standards, but at a fraction of the cost. Solicitors are essential for complex or disputed assets — but for agreed no-asset cases, the court documents are identical regardless of who drafts them.

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This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. ConsentReady is an automated legal document generation platform, not a regulated law firm. Court fees are correct as of 13 July 2026. The case of Wyatt v Vince [2015] UKSC 14 is cited for educational purposes. For advice specific to your situation, consider consulting a family solicitor.