If you and your ex-partner have reached an agreement in relation to the finances and do not record this in a consent order or a separation agreement, there is no guarantee that your ex-partner will honor your agreement. We would therefore advise for parties to enter into a Consent Order which would record all the agreements made between you and your ex-partner and also advise for you both to have a clean break should this be suitable. A clean break would simply mean that you both were enabled to make claims against each other in future. If young children are involved, an immediate clean break may not be ordered by the court.
If divorce proceedings are not being issued but you wish to record your agreement, you may wish to consider a separation agreement. Even though a separation agreement in not legally binding, if it has been correctly drafted, it is more likely that a Judge will uphold it in Court should one party refuse to keep to the terms agreed.