What is a clean break order?
A clean break order is a type of financial settlement agreed when you divorce which ends the financial ties between you and your ex-spouse, including spousal maintenance and assets. When you put a clean break order in place, neither spouse can make a financial claim against the other.
Clean break orders are a type of consent order that divorcing couples can use to separate their finances.
Without a clean break order or a consent order, your spouse could make a financial claim against you at any time in the future.
What is included in a clean break order?
Both consent orders and clean break orders have the same purpose: to prevent future financial claims on your estate.
What makes a clean break order different is that it does not provide any provisions for ongoing commitments to your ex-spouse. This means that you are not paying them any spousal maintenance or child maintenance, and you do not owe them any money if you sell your assets.
Why do I need a clean break order?
No divorce is complete without at least a consent order.
If you do not get a consent order, there is always the risk that your ex-spouse could make a financial claim against you in the future.
A clean break order goes one step further.
As well as protecting you in the future, a clean break order completely ends any financial obligations to your ex-spouse. This means that you do not need to pay them any maintenance and neither of you are dependent on the other for financial stability.
There are several high-profile examples of people who came to regret not making a clean break order when they got divorced.
Some examples of not having a clean break order
Dale Vince
Dale Vince was a penniless new age traveller when he divorced his wife, Kathleen Wyatt, in 1992.
Little did either of them know at the time that Mr Vince would go on to become a multi-millionaire through his green energy venture, Ecotricity.
Unfortunately, the couple divorced without making a clean break order. This meant that Ms Wyatt was able to make a claim for £1.9 million of Mr Vince’s fortune nearly 20 years after they got divorced.
They ended up settling out of court for £300,000.
Nigel Page
Nigel Page was a property maintenance officer when his wife left him for another man.
As the couple did not have any joint assets, they decided not to get a clean break order.
So, when Mr Page won £56 million in the Euro Lottery a decade later, Mrs Page was able to threaten legal action to claim some of her former husband’s new-found wealth.
Mrs Page ended up receiving £2 million after settling out of court.
These are extreme examples, but they illustrate the importance of making a clean break order, as you never know how your financial circumstances may change in the future.
Is a clean break order necessary?
Getting a clean break order is not a necessary part of the divorce process in the sense that you can still get divorced without one.
In practice, however, clean break orders are necessary if you want to protect yourself against future financial claims against your estate.
As the examples of Dale Vince and Nigel Page show, a former spouse is entitled to make a claim against the other at any time in the future if there is no clean break order in place.
The only way you can prevent this is by getting a clean break order.
Importantly, you cannot base your decision just on your current financial situation. Instead, you need to consider how your financial situation may improve and how it may encourage your ex-partner to make a financial claim against you.
Do not assume that your spouse would only make a claim against you if you became extremely wealthy. Any improvement in your finances, such as receiving an inheritance, starting a successful business, or even just getting a higher-paying job, could encourage your ex-partner to make a claim.
How does a clean break order work?
A clean break order ends all financial ties between a divorcing couple. In essence, you and your spouse both agree not to make any claims against the other in the future.
This means that you will need to find a way of splitting your assets, including property, savings, investments, and pensions, in a fair way.
You will have different options when it comes to sharing the various assets.
For example, instead of sharing a pension 50/50, you can offset the value one spouse is entitled to by giving them the equivalent amount of money through another asset, such as a larger share of any savings.
Does the length of a marriage affect a clean break order?
Clean break orders tend to be more suitable for shorter marriages.
The important thing to remember about clean break orders is that they need to be approved by the court. This means that the court needs to be satisfied that the financial arrangement you come to with your spouse is fair.
However, what is considered fair can depend on the length of the marriage.
For example, the court may decide that a divorcing couple who have not been married for long could have a straightforward clean break where each person leaves with what they brought into the marriage.
However, this probably will not be considered appropriate for longer marriages, as a couple’s financial situation tends to be more complicated.
Couples in longer marriages often have valuable joint assets, such as property and pensions, that require ongoing financial ties to make the financial settlement fair. For example, the house may need to be sold.
So, you are more likely to have a clean break order accepted by a court if your marriage was short and you did not build up many joint assets.
The court will consider each clean break application on a case-by-case basis but, in general, a short marriage is considered one that lasted less than five years, with a limited period of living together beforehand.
Does a clean break order affect child maintenance?
You cannot achieve a fully clean break if you have children with your partner.
Your divorce settlement will need to include child maintenance payments which you will have to pay to your spouse each month. This means that you will have ongoing financial obligations to your spouse.
However, you can make a consent order that separates your finances in all other respects.
For more information about child maintenance payments, read our guide: How much child maintenance should I pay?
How much does a clean break order cost?
There is a one-off court fee of £53 to apply for a clean break order. You will also need to employ a solicitor to draft it for you.
Some solicitors charge fixed fees for their services, while others charge by the hour.
Do I need a solicitor for a clean break order?
Yes, as a clean break order is a consent order that you need to apply to the court for, it is very important that you prepare it with a solicitor. They will help you meet all the legal provisions that protect you against future claims from other parties.
The Law Superstore can connect you with family solicitors across England and Wales. Just type in a few details to compare prices and connect with professionals who will help you separate your finances from your ex-partner.
What happens if you can’t achieve a clean break order?
It is not always possible to get a clean break order approved by the court.
Whether this is because you have complex joint assets, or because you have children, a clean break may not be considered a fair settlement in your situation.
If you are struggling to get a clean break order approved, you should speak to a solicitor to discuss your options. They will be able to help you structure any maintenance payments so that they eventually come to an end.