Financial disclosure on divorce
- 29 October 2024
When you’re separating it’s really essential that you and your former spouse gather together all the information there is on your joint and individual assets and liabilities.
Your family solicitor or family mediator will usually use the Form E for you to complete. If you want a peek at what that looks like you can find a copy on the GOV.UK website: Financial statement for a financial order (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 / Civil Partnership Act 2004) / for financial relief after an overseas divorce etc: Form E - GOV.UK
A common reaction to seeing the Form E for the first time is: ‘What? It’s asking me so much!’ My answer is ‘it needs to’. You can only work towards a fair settlement on the matrimonial finances if you know what each of you has and the legal professionals need that information in helping you both.
Don’t be put off by the Form E once you get stuck in it’s self-explanatory. Most solicitors and mediators will take you through the Form E before you start completing it suggesting to you what bits are not relevant. For instance, if you don’t have a business then you don’t need to fill out section 2 part 2. Section 5 asking you about which order you are seeking may not need completion as you may want legal advice on what order you should be seeking.
A tip is to get your solicitor or mediator to take you through the Form E before starting it.
Another practical step is to start getting hold of the information about your pension as soon as possible. Some pension providers are very quick in supplying the information needed including the all-important CETV (cash equivalent transfer value) of your pension, others like the Teachers’ Pension Scheme or NHS Pension can take weeks to supply the required information.
Don’t panic over things like filling out your anticipated future income needs, which you’ll see in section 3 part 1. This is essential information but we all appreciate that not everyone can know for certain at this stage what your council tax, electricity, gas etc are going to be. You may need to estimate these future costs, for instance looking at future utility outgoings based on current usage of gas electricity and water.
If you would like help with your matrimonial finances and financial disclosure then please feel free to contact me.
