Form E

[Mylifestartstoday]

STBXH has submitted his form E, and it’s a work of fiction. What is the best way to challenge it?

He claims he’s living somewhere he’s not, so he doesn’t have to put his live in partners finances on the form. How can prove he isn’t living with his family as he claims?
He has also used the form E to make allegations about my ability to parent. Will this be looked at by the judge in a negative way? It’s all lies, he’s abused me for years and continues to do so via this form. I’m on the freedom programme currently.

The firm e is finances only so claims of abuse On that won’t be considered
It’s v difficult to get info about partners - he could say they are separate to his and he doesn’t know hers. In any case highly unlikely she’d be compelled to give hers either
If he wasn’t there he’d be having to pay rent elsewhere anyway

We haven't listed me on dp's form e because a. He is not responsible for paying for me and b. Exw would loose out! Solicitor is pressurising him to pay less support than he offered and me being here (unemployed due to covid) would make it worse, solicitor reckons court will think he's too generous

@minnieok. And I get that. I also understand that her finances are nothing to do with me, but it does ask for this information on the forms and in his case, he’s trying not to give me anything. He is asking for a bigger slice than me, even though our children don’t want to see him and he hasn’t made any effort to see them. He needs a 3 bedroom house but I only need a 2 bedroom?! It’s not really about him listing her or not.....it’s the complete and utter character assignation on financial forms and the utter lies he’s written about his finances and needs

Don't worry about they allegations - thats not what the Form E is for and it will be ignored.

When you've got 2 or 3 hours to spare get yourself a cup of tea, sit down and go through the Form E bank statements with a fine tooth comb. What you are looking for in particular are payments into or out of his account that came from another account. You can ask for evidence of whose accounts they are and if they are his he also needs to be providing 12 months statements for those accounts.

Has he provided 12 months statements for every account - it's these you need to look at closely.

As others have said, his partner’s finances are largely irrelevant. Most people just say they don’t know. There’d have to be a very good reason to even attempt to get info on her finances (I.e. she was a millionaire or something).

And anything other than finances are irrelevant - so whatever he’s saying about your character is irrelevant.

Has he provided all the attachments needed? Bank statements, payslips, P60, pension statements etc? Has he declared anything he has of high value? Is he self-employed, or do you suspect he is? You can check companies house to see if he’s a director etc.

You just need to go through it all forensically. For example, on my ex-husbands, I noticed regular payments going to an account he hadn’t declared. Make a note of any income or outgoings that seem odd. And then start to put together your questionnaire. That needs to be factual and fair - if he doesn’t answer it voluntarily the judge will decide if it’s worth answering (ie if it adds anything to the case). If you think he’s living somewhere else, you can ask for proof of his address. If he’s declared debt (credit card etc), you can ask for up to date statements of that debt.

Remember the first thing in any financial settlement is to make sure any children are provided for adequately. If you have residency of them (& it sounds like you do), their housing needs will take priority.

Thank you.
As I say, I’m not bothered where he lives nor his partners finances, it’s just the fact he’s lied throughout.
Yes, both children live with me full time. They don’t want to see him, don’t want to stay over at any house he may wish to buy. He hasn’t seen them in 6 months, prior to that he saw them for a couple of hours a week maximum. He didn’t want to arrange anything permanent, it was always just when he could fit them in really. I get a threat every few months about wanting custody, but at 15 and 17, they’re allowed to make their own decisions, so it’s never materialised into him actually doing anything, more a way to try and control me.
I can’t as yet open all the attachments, but my plan is to tick off what he’s given against his form E (making sure they cover 12 months), and then look through bank statements to check salary looks correct and for any payments in and out. I already know of a few things he hasn’t listed which amount to a substantial amount (to me anyway).

He hasn’t provided all bank statements. No CETV statements, just his own figures. All I’ve got is statements for 1 bank account. His solicitor has said they will be completed more if we can’t agree before court. Surely the whole idea of exchanging is to have a full picture? How can I come to an agreement if he hasn’t filled the forms in correctly, and his solicitor knows this?
It’s just another way to abuse me financially, but he seems to have his solicitor onboard

I totally sympathise with you.
I had same issue. Bare bones on his form e and yet i provided everything with bells on! The questionnaire you put together can ask him for specific documentation that you feel is missing. Its frustrating i know, as this is time consuming and expensive. Im not sure why they think its one rule for them! Hope you get it sorted

Thank you. I have an appointment with my solicitor on Monday. It’s just so frustrating. He has no interest in the fact this is costing money that could be spent on our children, he’s just blinkered to the fact he doesn’t want to ‘give’ me anything, like it’s all his!