Form-E question

[todaystoday]

We are divorcing and hope to avoid mediators/court and have minimal input with solicitors. We are fairly amicable, however I am agreeing to take a substantially smaller portion of our equity/finances.

(I have a better paying job and am the person who instigated the split as he does not want to split.)

Would you suggest we complete the Form-E ?

I want to minimise the pain I put my other half through. Will a Form-E cause a lot of stress and upset between us?

If you are agreeing round the table you do t need to complete it

if both are open to discussing all assets and splits and you know what these are it’s not needed really

I would complete one as it is a useful thing to show a judge. Assets aren’t opinions. They are facts and it’s what you are agreeing to split up. You might as well make a true record about what they are. Then nothing can be disputed in the future.

It’s ok to say keep your savings if you assume there is about £5 in the pot. But what if there is £50k.

If you are both confident you understand each other’s financial positions and you are on amicable terms, as some others have said, I would say you don’t need it.

The court likes to see you’ve both had legal advice when agreeing on a financial remedy order. They also much prefer couples to settle their financial affairs between themselves and if your case went to court, they would encourage you to do so at every stage/hearing.

Based on my own experience, my advice would be to start early by each getting CETVs for your pensions. That can be the biggest unknown when deciding how to split the combined pot of marital assets. I would also advise you each engage a solicitor. They cost ££, but it can save you a heck of a lot of time and ££ in the long run. If things stay amicable, when you come to submit your draft consent for the judge to consider and approve, you are asked how the agreement was reached and they like to see each party has had access to legal advice to reassure themselves you both understand the agreement you are entering into.

We are using the D81 form and a solicitor just to draft the financial consent order. We don't have loads of complicated assets so haven't used Form E

Re getting all the assets on the table and making sure you know what they are worth eg pensions

To know what a fair split of assets is and to reach a financial settlement divorcing parties need to know what the assets of the marriage are, and what each asset is worth.

Look at a Form E - required. A long document in which each party sets out their assets, income, and financial needs. You can see in it the assets that are taken into consideration upon divorce and financial settlement, for example property (the former marital home), pensions, stocks and shares etc. It also lists the documents needed that show the value of assets for example CETVs (cash equivalent transfer values of pensions - which can be requested from pension providers).

To find out what some assets are worth an independent expert can be used. Property can be valued by an expert - estate agents, pensions by CETV and / or a pension on divorce expert (PODE) report and so on. It is important to decide what needs a valuation by an independent expert and factor in the costs of these.

Pensions can be very valuable – equivalent or more than the value of the former martial home in some cases. Divorcing parties might hold different types of pensions (not like-for-like, so difficult to compare without an expert). Circumstances might be complex for example an age difference or pensions in payment. One party may have stayed at home to look after children.

@AnnaMagnani and @silentpool made some useful comment on this in this thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/divorce_separation/4664756-what-do-i-need-to-do-about-our-pensions?reply=121093079
When splitting the assets of a marriage…
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/18/section/25 applies
images.ctfassets.net/o8luwa28k6k2/2cpp2mEMwBJWJLuzTiTruB/b5397e7459154fad8927826a2c99acdd/section-25-expert-guide.pdf

The income, earning capacity, property, and other financial resource which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future is taken into account. As I understand it, first consideration is given to the welfare (while a minor) of any child of the family who has not yet attained the age of eighteen.

The needs of each divorcing party are taken into account and as I understand it 50 / 50 is the starting point – so unequal shares based on circumstances and needs is possible, for example 60 / 40.

Full and frank financial disclosure is required and usually provided when Form E is exchanged. If after Form E there is missing information / evidence Questionnaires may be exchanged to retrieve it and if still missing after that Deficiencies are exchanged. A solicitor’s letter can be sent to retrieve financial information evidence. A Court Order can also be applied for to gain financial information / evidence / valuations that is missing / essential. Reluctance to disclose an asset, provide a valuation, or give full and frank disclosure may indicate "where the money is".

These offer a free advice session about pensions on divorce and separation www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/divorce-and-separation/divorce-or-dissolution-how-we-can-help-with-your-pension

Free advice line (busy so keep trying) rightsofwomen.org.uk
Guides on divorce and financial settlement
www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-apply-financial-order-without-help-lawyer

Pensions on divorce
www.sharingpensions.co.uk/penaudit3.htm
www.mediateuk.co.uk/the-ultimate-guide-to-pensions-on-divorce/
www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/new-good-practice-guide-addresses-shortfall-in-understanding-of-how-to-treat-pensions-on-divorce

Valuation of pensions – pensions on divorce expert report
www.collinspensionactuaries.co.uk no relation – useful website
www.collinspensionactuaries.co.uk/pension-data-collection/ templates for information required

Legal advice should be sought.
This link gives you an indication of hourly rate for solicitors
www.gov.uk/guidance/solicitors-guideline-hourly-rates
Some organisations offer free advice from solicitors and barristers rightsofwomen.org.uk/get-advice/ On their FAQs page…”Our Legal Officers and Volunteer legal advisors are all solicitors and barristers”.
Some family solicitors offer an in initial free consultation and some a fixed fee rather than hourly.
Some barristers can be directly instructed e.g., via Clerksroom Direct
Mumsnet suggest www.advicenow.org.uk/tags/separation-divorce-and-dissolution-civil-partnerships

Would you say it's necessary to get legal advice if the financial order is a complete split down the middle with each party walking out with the same amount? We earn a similar amount, there's only a couple of thousand between us. We have split the house straight down the middle, and I've paid him his half by using my share from the private pension pot and getting a mortgage. I've done the Transfer of Equity through solicitors and had his name taken off the deeds. He is buying another house himself. So we are both walking away with the same, and there's no spousal or child maintenance. So in that case, will the court accept the order without legal advice do you think? We are trying to keeps costs down as low as possible and the solicitor I did see for a premlinary advice meeting did say to try and do as much as possible by ourselves to save costs.