Consent order/financial order/financial disclosure question

[User63847439572]

STBX and I have had first session of mediation.
it’s all very tricky but I’m still hoping we can reach agreement in mediation, then pass something to a solicitor to get drawn up into a consent order (financial order?) for a judge to rubber stamp.

in the session we just said verbally what our assets and incomes were and the mediator put them up on a white board. The mediator said the starting point woukd usually be the current situation but STBX didn’t agree to divulge that and so we went off what savings were etc as of December 22 when we officially separated and I moved out of the family home with the kids into rented, until it’s sold.

following the session mediator has sent an email saying we should start to prepare our disclosures - pay slips, P60s, 12 months of bank statements for all accounts etc.

is this a mandatory part of the process whatever happens? Or just if we disagree.
do we have to submit this evidence to court with the consent order paperwork even if we’re in agreement?

Full financial disclosure is mandatory and if you think your husband is lying/will try to hide money or assets you should ensure your solicitor knows this.

Oh sorry I missed the bit about if you agree. If you agree then you can just submit what you have agreed on.

Thank you
I think he’s fine to submit evidence of savings etc at the time of the separation. He doesn’t want to divulge his position since then (apart from income). He’s done quite well with a redundancy payout then a new higher paying job and I know he has a guaranteed bonus coming up in April. But I was on board with the principle that it should be what our assets were at the time of the split really. I think. Unless I’m being an idiot! I suppose the only difference it makes is what he has available to meet his future housing needs but it’s already clear he has much more available to him for that so would be nothing we don’t already know in some ways.

Ah,

Unfortunately for your ex the redundancy is relevant. It’s a payout that is calculated on his years of service. Years he was married to you. You are entitled to a share.

The bottom line is that whatever you agree is safeguarded by doing full disclosure because then you can both make an informed decision when you settle. Not doing disclosure means you run the risk of the court order being overturned in the future. Which is why judges don’t like it and may question what you agree.

It isn’t that difficult and doesn’t mean you change what you decided. It just means you did it knowingly and with all the information.

@User63847439572 - We just filled in form D81 which together with drawn up consent order was submited to the courts - we both knew what we had up to separating so need for evidence

Thanks both
Thats interesting about the redundancy, I hadn’t thought about it that way. It wasn’t huge in the grand scheme of things though (based on what he told me at the time)

You should have full view of the financial picture: and you are entitled to his payout as it’s based on work he did during the marriage. Don’t short-change yourself without even find out out what amounts are involved. You may be able to use this as leverage for something else - chattels or pensions or whatever.