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Original poster

Divorce - Final Financial hearing

9 replies

Jeany1967 · 16/09/2024 22:12

Me and my ex are going through a really messy divorce and we have our final financial hearing next Monday. I know it's a going to be a whole day affair and I'm absolutely dreading it. I have decided to have a barrister as the last childcare hearing was absolutely awful (I represented myself and he had a barrister) and between the barrister and the judge they were trying to bully me into dropping abuse allegations I had made against him. I just can't go through that again so I have had to get a barrister and put it on my credit card.

Anyway... I have had to get all my bank statements, credit cards, payslips etc, together with my statement and I'm due to send them to him and the court 3 days prior to the hearing. All these forms are about me and my financial situation. I am convinced he's hiding assets in our son's bank account (which is in my ex's name only) but how do I query this? There's nowhere to ask it in my forms and it's not like I can query it at the final hearing because he won't have time to prove anything with statements etc. He is due to send me his documents at the same time but I know he's not going to list our son's account so how do I query this? If I wait until the hearing he won't have an opportunity to prove anything?
I know I can raise questions about his documents but how can I question this account before the day?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

OP posts:
GreenPlayer · 16/09/2024 22:16

What's happened in between? Normally you exvhange form Es and provide disclosure. You then get a chance to provide a list of questions and ask for any missing accounts etc after disclosure at the first hearing. Either way there's an ongoing obligation of disclosure, so just write to his solicitors and ask for disclosure in advance of the hearing.

Original poster
Jeany1967 · 16/09/2024 22:26

GreenPlayer · 16/09/2024 22:16

What's happened in between? Normally you exvhange form Es and provide disclosure. You then get a chance to provide a list of questions and ask for any missing accounts etc after disclosure at the first hearing. Either way there's an ongoing obligation of disclosure, so just write to his solicitors and ask for disclosure in advance of the hearing.

Thank you for your reply.

We had the first hearing in January and had to provide form E's and bank statements for that. We then raised questions but that hearing was only an hour. As far as I was aware (and haven't heard anything from the court since) we have to submit updated form E's and statements to each other and the court 3 days prior to the hearing next week and that's it. Maybe I've missed something but there is literally nowhere where I can query this account.

OP posts:
Mumof3confused · 16/09/2024 22:38

Have you had the FDR? Usually you have a first hearing, then FDR and then final hearing.

You can ask for additional disclosure any time. Say you are aware of an account kept on behalf of your son and you would like to see these bank statements too.

GreenPlayer · 16/09/2024 22:49

Your questions are put in front of a judge to be approved at the first hearing? A court order is then sent to both parties timetabling when the replies to questionnaires needs to be submitted by, you then get to send a second list of deficiencies for anything not answered. You need to contact the court for copies of the court order and also the otherside solicitors and ask them for the court orders and ask them for any disclosure you want. Best of luck.

Original poster
Jeany1967 · 16/09/2024 22:49

Mumof3confused · 16/09/2024 22:38

Have you had the FDR? Usually you have a first hearing, then FDR and then final hearing.

You can ask for additional disclosure any time. Say you are aware of an account kept on behalf of your son and you would like to see these bank statements too.

We've only had one hearing previously and it's the final hearing next week.

You mention that I can ask for additional disclosure any time but how? I am due to submit my form E and financial documents to ex and the court on Wednesday but these are all about me and my financial situation. Nowhere has it asked if I have questions about his financial situation and I haven't received his recent documents either so how can i query it? As I said, my barrister will bring it up in court next week but that doesn't give him the opportunity to show anything? Sorry if I'm being dumb but I just don't know where I'm going to get the opportunity to query it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jeany1967 · 16/09/2024 22:54

GreenPlayer · 16/09/2024 22:49

Your questions are put in front of a judge to be approved at the first hearing? A court order is then sent to both parties timetabling when the replies to questionnaires needs to be submitted by, you then get to send a second list of deficiencies for anything not answered. You need to contact the court for copies of the court order and also the otherside solicitors and ask them for the court orders and ask them for any disclosure you want. Best of luck.

I didn't query the bank account at the first hearing and have only really realised since then that this is what he is doing.

We are literally in court next Monday. I think I've left it too late to get copies of the court order

OP posts:
GreenPlayer · 16/09/2024 22:54

Is he represented by solicitors? You need to write to them and ask them urgently for the disclosure.
Otherwise say you will be asking the court to make adverse inferences for the lack of disclosure. Basically you will ask the judge to assume there is x amount in the account (whatever you honestly believe is in there) and that unless he proves otherwise you will seek that those sums are considered as him taking that amount from the pot and should therefore be given less that amount after whatever split is decided by the court.

Mumof3confused · 16/09/2024 22:59

Why did they decide not to have a FDR (financial dispute resolution?

Normally the Form E is submitted first of all, with all of your disclosure. Then you do the questions after you’ve read all of the others submission. Then you have the first hearing.

It sounds very odd to do Form E 3 days before the final hearing.

Mumof3confused · 16/09/2024 23:00

You don’t have a copy of the court order? Then you should ask his solicitor for a copy. They have a duty to help you with basic things like that as a litigant in person.

Ask for the account to be disclosed asap. If they say no, ask what their objections are. You’re building a paper trail which your barrister can use.

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