Finances - The Court Process

What if we can’t agree a financial settlement?

It is not always possible to reach an amicable agreement over who gets what. This is not unusual but does mean you will need a court hearing to help decide the issue.

This will inevitably lead to a significant rise in how much the process will cost you both, so you should make every effort to agree a settlement before this stage. We will advise you on your rights and what is reasonable. If you need to go to Court we will also prepare all the documentation for your case.

This type of case is known as an ancillary case. If it goes all the way to the third stage, detailed below, you should budget around £3,000 to £5,000 to cover the costs involved. With an ancillary case, you will have to attend court on two or three occasions and should appoint a solicitor and occasionally a barrister to handle the case for you.

 

How long does the court process take?

Generally speaking there are 4 main steps in ancillary relief proceedings:-

  1. Exchange of financial statements;
  2. FDA Hearing - when the Judge orders the filing of further documents;
  3. FDR Hearing - when the parties and their lawyers discuss possible settlements in the presence of a Judge;
  4. The Final Hearing - when the Judge makes the final decision.

This process can take up to 18 months and attempts should be made at every stage in the proceedings to reach a settlement to avoid the Judge making a final decision neither of you may be happy with.

First Step

A formal application (Form A) is filed with the court by the Petitioner or the Respondent. This tells the court that you want a Judge to decide how to divide the matrimonial assets. A fee of £210 must be paid to the court at this stage.

The court will then issue a timetable to both parties requiring them to prepare and file certain documents. The most important of these is Form E (Financial Statement). This is a 26-page financial and assets statement, which must be sworn on oath.

Each party has the opportunity to raise queries concerning the contents of the other party’s Financial Statement, for example, if they consider the other party has failed to disclose an asset.

Your solicitor can complete these documents, but you will need to provide all the necessary records, such as payslips and bank account statements.

The First Directions Appointment (first court hearing)

This is a fairly short hearing where the judge will want brief details from both sides as to what the case is about. The Judge will then issue Directions, which tells the parties what they must do next and by what dates.

The judge will, for instance, direct that properties must be valued and that the valuer’s report must be filed at court, or that further bank statements must be obtained and filed.

Eight to ten weeks later is the Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) hearing.

The FDR Hearing

Both parties must attend this informal hearing, and you should set aside a couple of hours as the court will expect you to attempt to reach an agreement at this hearing.

You will not be required to give evidence at this hearing. The judge will hear legal submissions from both party’s lawyers. The judge will then give an indication of the likely order the court will make if the matter proceeds to a final hearing. The parties and their lawyers will then be sent out of the courtroom to try and negotiate a settlement.

If agreement is reached, the lawyers will inform the Judge and provide them with full details of the terms of settlement. The Judge will then draw up and issue an agreed final order. This is known as a Consent Order. It is an official court order and can be enforced if either party defaults.

If no agreement can be reached at the FDR hearing, the judge will order that the case must be listed for a full final hearing.

The Final Hearing

This hearing usually takes a whole day (sometimes two) and is formal. Both parties have to give evidence on oath, and are cross-examined by the other party’s barrister. You will be asked at length about your personal and domestic circumstances, your financial affairs, your earning capacity, why you are not working (if you are not), what qualifications/work experience you have and your household bills. You can also be asked questions about any new partner and their finances.

At the end of the hearing, the judge will make a final order, which is binding upon both parties.

The Judge will make an order they think is fair based on what they have heard. Effectively, they will be imposing a compromise settlement on both of you, and will rarely give either party what they actually want. It is for this reason that we do everything we can to avoid it, and urge clients to try and agree some sort of compromise settlement before, or at, the FDR hearing.

Very few cases reach the final hearing.

To book an appointment call us on 01626 33 33 80 or complete our Request a Call Back form and we will call you back, at a time to suit you, free of charge.