Form E.....can he lie?

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I am due to attend a joint mediation appointment very soon with my STBXH and my stomach is in knots at the thought of it.

We have been very up and down, fairly amicable but recently he has become so aggressive and bitter I have gone completely nc with him.

We have both been given Form E booklets which we need to complete before our appointment. I know these are supposed to be completed frankly but I’m wondering if he will get away with being dishonest on his as I suspect he will.

Would he get away with it? (He is self employed)

He will be expected to show evidence, like bank statements, but ultimately yes he can lie. Whether he gets away with it or not will depend on how good your solicitor is.

What about you, are you being honest on your form?

The advice I’ve read is you must put everything or it will count against you.

Yes, I am being honest on my form, wouldn’t think not to be! Yes, I suppose I’ll just have to hope he is.

It’s painful, isn’t it, getting details of your pensions and life savings so they can be cut in half. And having to show your bank statements so someone can query the £20 you spent at M&S or whatever. Or is this just me? Does nobody else have a problem with this?

He can be dishonest, but he’ll likely get caught as you have to attach (from memory) 12 months worth of back, credit card statements (so he would have had to squirrel the money away before then).

My OH’s EW lied in her form E and was caught. She had a very unfavourable outcome decided by a judge because of this.

IMO honestly is the best policy.

It’s bad enough that we can’t communicate anymore but the not knowing what’s coming next is just as stressful.

Out of my hands I suppose, just wasn’t sure if it was something that would go unoticed.

To OP

Form E is meant to help the Courts identify assets and earnings so they can decide how to split assets and make any maintenance orders. In General the section where people are to outline their future requirements is the one that is over exaggerated (usually by the ex wife according to Judge Mostyn).

Who is the Applicant and Respondent can make a difference as if the Applicant thinks the Respondent has lied on their Form E it will be up to the Applicant to provide evidence to that effect. Courts will not base orders on what people think, but what they can prove.

To OP

DP's ex lied on her Form E but she was caught out as the figures didn't add up. The courts won't sign anything off financially unless they are satisfied they have enough evidence.

Yes he can. And he’ll most likely get away with it too. My experience is the court wont care and the onus is on you to prove it.

Stbex hasn’t worked since late January. I can’t figure out his he’s managing to survive, he’s on his second 10 day holiday next week. I’m fairly certain he’s now working, self employed but he isn’t going to declare it on his statement and I won’t officially know about it until the proceedings are over.

Yes he can. And he’ll most likely get away with it too. My experience is the court wont care and the onus is on you to prove it.

This is my experience too, but it was ok in my case as we managed to cut an okay deal (ex did hide some stuff, I just hope it wasn’t a huge amount). It seems to be all about the deal rather than complete honesty.

@recluse I’m of a similar mindset. In my case stbx has contested every stage therefore our costs have been huge. In the grand scheme of things, as long you’re adequately housed everything else is not that important.

I just want to be able to afford to live somewhere as I’m privately renting at the minute (he wouldn’t and won’t leave family home). I’m not interested in fleecing him, just want what’s fair.

It’s hard to sit back when you know full well what’s sitting in their bank account.

We’ve been asked to bring bank statements to our appointment that go back 12 months so I know he can’t worm out if those but I’m still sure it isn’t going to be an easy ride......

My ex was the applicant for the Financial Order. Hence they were first in the witness box at final hearing. First question from my Barrister was:

"why have you not provided the banks statements as instructed by the Courts 9 months ago"

Ex did not answer and was cautioned by the Judge. Still did not answer. After that it was over as Judge had already concluded who the liar was. Judge used my bank statements that showed transfers to ex's bank account when adding up their assets.

When I was in box ex's barrister challenged if I had provided full disclosure. Judge jumped in immediately and reminded that I was the Respondent as opposed to Applicant and had no obligation to disprove accusations made by the Applicant.

Basically the more ex lied the worse it became. Still amazed that ex legal people were prepared to put their name to statements without supporting documents.