Form D81 - is it applicable to unmarried couples?

[Bathsheba1878]

Hi, I would really appreciate some advice on whether form D81 applies to those who have never been married. My ex-partner and I separated many years ago and have 1 son (who lives with me). I have applied, through a solicitor, for periodical payments under Schedule 1 of the Children Act for assistance with my son's education. My ex-partner is a very high earner and did not want to disclose any financial details to a Court so instead he agreed to reach an agreement with me through mediation. However , to make it legally binding it needs to be ratified by a court. My solicitor submitted the details of the financial agreement to the Court but they have rejected it on the basis that it has to be accompanied by Form D81 (which requires financial disclosure). My solicitor says this is not usual procedure because my ex and I were not married - but the Court is insisting on it. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation? My ex won't agree to financial disclosure so I feel as if I am back at the start of the process. Not sure if my solicitor should have advised me about this at the outset or if it genuinely is an unusual request by the court. I would be really grateful for any advice - the prospect of challenging my solicitor on this is daunting!

Schedule 1 is a discretionary remedy and therefore the Court must have the parties financial information in order to approve an order, just as in divorce.

Were you to apply to the Court, he would be ordered to complete form E or E1. That would be a lot more onerous than the D81.

Your Solicitor clearly hasn't done a Sch1 application before, they aren't that common, to be fair.

In theory, D81 is designed for divorcing couples, but the judge is perfectly entitled to ask the parties to use it to provide the information he/she needs to consider the proposed order.

It is a lot shorter than an E1.

Thank you so much for this advice. I chose my solicitors specifically on the basis that they had expertise in this area because I know these applications are unusual. She assured me that she had done them before and seemed very confident. However, I suspect she has made an error in not understanding the process and I will have to challenge her on this. I have wasted a huge amount of time and money getting to this stage and we’ve now hit a brick wall. Thank you both again though for your advice, which confirms what I suspected.

hello, I am facing the same situation and it’s a nightmare. Did you manage to get it sealed without the d81 form? Thanks for reading

Hi, in the end we didn’t complete the D81 form. It was settled by having an agreement that we both signed but it was never ratified by a court. I guess if my ex had failed to abide by the agreement we’d have gone straight to court but he has been reasonably compliant (not entirely as his payments were meant to increase with the cost of living and he hasn’t really stuck to that but I can’t face having any more contact with him). Our son, who is in his 3rd year now, ended up going to a city where rent is high so it was well worth it. It was a horrible experience but I’ve no regrets about doing it - the student loan for living expenses wouldn’t have covered our son’s rent, let alone other living expenses.
i wish you all the best. Let me know if there’s anything further you’d like to know.