Financial Procedure in London

This is summary of the divorce procedure and how a claim for money is handled.

After the Petition is filed and served, the Court issues a Decree Nisi typically after about two months.  The only financial matter that can be dealt with before then is for interim maintenance, that is month-by-month payment while the whole thing is sorted out.

Either spouse files a Form A which starts the process.  The Court then lays down a timetable to sign a written statement called a Form E, prepare a chronology, statement of issues between the parties and so on.

Completing a Form E is a very tedious job, involving getting together bank statements, pension details, credit card statements and valuations of properties, but there is no way around it as this applies to all cases.  Form E’s are exchanged.

Attempts are then made to settle the case, or should be.  Each party can write to the other making an offer.

If the case does not settle out of court, there can be up to three court appointments.

The Court Rules say that parties must attend.  The flowchart at the end attached may be helpful.

The First Appointment

This is explore what progress has been made on agreeing matters.  For example if the parties cannot agree on a valuation of a property, the Court will lay down a mechanism for fixing the valuation. Typically one party gives the other three names of valuers, and the other picks one.  That becomes a binding valuation for the purpose of the litigation.

Prior to the first appointment each party can send questionnaires and requests for further information to the other side.  If the other side have not answered them or declines to answer them, because they are too wide or onerous, the Judge will decide at the first appointment which questions can be answered and which need not be answered.  For example, a party might ask for details of expenditure over £200 in a bank statement, whereas the Judge might say that is too low and fix the figure at over £1,000.

At the first appointment the parties are asked whether they think a financial dispute resolution hearing (FDR) would be helpful. It usually is.

Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing (FDR)

This is a very important hearing and in effect can act as a free Counsel’s Opinion.  At this second appointment, when the parties must attend at least an hour before the hearing, efforts are made to settle the case.

The Judge reads all the affidavits and documents.  He is never involved in the case again other than occasionally on the fringes, and he gives indications.  In essence he says, “I am not the final Judge in this case and will not be involved again, but if I were the Judge this is the sort of award and decision I would make”.

Naturally one pays great attention to what the Judge says at that FDR hearing, because it is pretty likely that another Judge is going to be pretty close to what he decides.

The Final Hearing

If there is still no settlement then the Court fixes at the first appointment or FDR as the case may be, a final Court hearing.  This can last from anything from two hours to several days depending upon the complexity of the case and the number of witnesses and so on.  At this hearing before the Court is the evidence namely the financial affidavits (Form E) the questions and replies to the valuations and all the information the Judge needs to reach a decision.  At that hearing the parties will want to expand on their affidavits, by giving oral evidence on oath in the witness box, and indeed must submit to oral cross-examination in the witness box.

The Judge then reaches his final decision.

While all this is going on (that is after Decree Nisi) the divorce itself can take place.  Six weeks after Decree Nisi the Petitioner can seek to have it made absolute, which is a straightforward process involving completing a form without an actual court hearing.  This is sometime delayed for good reason.  For example if a wife is seeking to receive part of the husband’s pension then the Decree Absolute has to wait until that is dealt with.  Apart from that however the Decree Nisi can happen quite smoothly.  If the Respondent wants to get finally divorced (for example to get re-married) then he or she can apply three months after the six-week period I have mentioned.

The Judge can award a lump sum, can transfer a property from one name to another, can order its sale and the division of proceeds and can order one party to pay the other maintenance.

Many couples (not just husbands) want a “clean break”.  This is capitalizing maintenance.  That means that if a party (typically the wife) is entitled to maintenance then a capital figure can be put on it.  For example a wife in her 40s might have a capitalization figure of perhaps 12.  It is rather like the yield/ multiplier on an industrial building !  If therefore her maintenance entitlement was £10,000 per annum the Judge could award her £120,000 but after that she has no right to claim maintenance at all.

When there is a settlement or a Court decision, it covers all these situations including a claim on death.

Here is a flowchart which I hope will help.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

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