Hi WhyMe
Top tip, do a section at a time! Don't try and do it all in a day because it's mind boggling.
Do bank accounts, credit cards etc one day.
Do future needs one day.
Do normal expenditure one day. Print out all your bank statements for the last year or two, then get onto excel and put all your outgoings into different columns,
e.g. mortgage, insurance, coffee, clothing, kids clothing, school trips, food, fags, utility bills, holidays, cinema trips etc, tv licence, house maintanence, car mileage etc, etc. (Your solicitor can give you a form with anything and every expense you might incur to help you with this - mine did).
Then total up the year and divide by 12 for your monthly outgoings. There are different Form Es around so the box on outgoings can be rather small, so just write 'see attached' and appendix it if your Form E doesn't have headings built into it (mine did, STBXH's didn't - and he's now the fool for not filling that bit in correctly!). That's a good quality solicitor for you!
Ring around any expenses that come out of his account (and you might not know about them) and get quotes e.g. car insurance, house insurance etc.
Try and do it one day a week so you've plenty of thinking time. Make any notes as they pop into your head 'oh, yes' this expense'.
I can't chat today but if you want to talk to me about Form E, I am a bleeding expert on them these days, what with me having four (mine, his, his and his).
Form E is possibly the most important document to get right (am kicking myself now for not listing expenditure that he'd previously paid for and, of course, has now been dumped on me).
So take your time on it. And remember FULL and FRANK disclosure. Avoid any gross exaggeration. You won't get away with lying about stuff. E.g If your husband is a high earner and claims you lived a frugal lifestyle, but there's no money in the pot, it raises some really interesting questions (take note dear STBXH).
Good luck. It does end - but it goes on for quite some time! Let's hope you only have to do one!