Is Form E Compulsory in divorce? Not sure about solicitor....

[smoothieooo]

Quick background: STHex and I separated 3 years ago and I initiated divorce proceedings at the end of April. We have 2 teenage DS and he has paid the full mortgage in lieu of child support since he left.

It took over a month from the initial meeting, but my sol sent me the paperwork including the dreaded Form E.

STBex and I have had a discussion whereby we have loosely agreed that we will sell the house when DS2 is 18 (he's 15 currently) and split the equity 60:40 in my favour (partly because I'll need to buy somewhere for the DC and I and also because I'm 8 years older) and in the meantime, we will split the mortgage and he will pay child support.

I asked my sol via email whether instead of Form E we could have a Consent Order drawn up with what we had agreed. 2.5 weeks later, she has come back to me to request that I DO complete the form and we could discuss it at a meeting. But STBex's sol has told him that we could proceed with the divorce and complete a 3-page Form D81 with the financials. I'm feeling bit emotional and fragile (and therefore probably a bit paranoid at the mo) but am not sure whether STBex has a bit of an agenda where finances are concerned or whether my sol is just trying to get her money's worth.

I'd be so grateful for a bit of advice... it's such a hideous business!

babybarrister - is the risk that he could have a secret source of income or potential inheritance? He will stand to inherit something but this won't be a huge amount as his siblings would contest an unequal division even though they all have assets & pensions and he is living in his parent's spare room with little prospect of being able to afford to move out.

Or is there other risks I haven't considered?

are there risks I should have said

Xh brought no assets to our short marriage and didn't contribute anything financially to our outgoings. He is offering a clean break and not making any claim on my pension or on my house (everything is in my name only). He is useless with money and has very little pension provision, lots of debt and a job that doesn't pay well. He pays a contribution to dd which isn't too far off what it should be going by the government calculator

I can't see much risk in that scenario of the Form E revealing much. Particularly as it was a short marriage. BUT you do have a child to consider and the impact that will have on your ability to earn/build up a pension.

I think any solicitor is going to advise he fills it in but if you are confident that is the position, I agree that there is probably little point. But if you do discover that he had some Swiss bank accounts down the line, you won't be able to do anything about it!

My ex dh won't answer any questions on his form e for months now and is holding up everything, insisting my sol and I just believe him and go along with his proposal of settlement, which his sol says is dependent on me agreeing to his access to the DC as and when. This seems so wrong, he is bartering with the DC.

I have also found that his debts which are huge and in his name only and I didn't know he had, are actually considered to be my debts too and I might end up having to give him money. So my being frugal and prudent was a waste of time.

smoothieooo, I presume that your solicitor is onto this, but have you obtained details about his pension? Do you have a decent pension yourself? It seems to me that this is a potentially valuable asset that has been missed off, particularly if, for e.g. he is in the police/public sector/final salary scheme. Apologies if this has already been covered.

Hi Bells - my ex hasn't been paying into a pension for very long (he's 8 years younger than me) and my pension has a fairly good cash-in value so I stand to lose more on that front. I would be very surprised to find that he had hidden assets and it has to be said that he's been pretty good regarding money for the last 3 years and very good about seeing the DC often, and I do trust him (to a certain extent)!