On the breakdown of a marriage one household usually has to be divided into two, and this inevitably causes friction.

When you are first seeking advice regarding a divorce, or separation, you should start to take steps to separate your day-to-day finances from your spouse. All joint accounts should be transferred into sole accounts. You should also be aware that you are equally liable with your spouse for any joint debts.

You should also think about making a new Will. Please see our 'Making a Will' leaflet.

The Court has very wide powers under Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to deal with financial matters, which is called ‘ancillary relief’. The divorce petition itself contains a request for various financial orders. Either party can apply to Court for ancillary relief, but the Court can only make a final order once you have obtained Decree Nisi, and the order is only enforceable after Decree Absolute. If you re-marry without making an application for ancillary relief then you will lose all rights to make financial claims against your former spouse.

There is a Court fee of £210 for an application for ancillary relief. Once the application has been made, the Court sends a notice to the other party informing them that an application has been made. It also sends a timetable to both parties setting out when various forms need to be completed and filed at Court.

The Financial Statement, or Form E, is the main document used by the Court. This form sets out all of your financial details. Various documents like wage slips, P60’s, bank statements, house valuations and pension statements need to be attached to the form. Your legal advisor will discuss with you exactly which documents will need to be filed. You will need to swear the Form E as being true, and there is a fee of £7 for swearing this form.

Each party completes a Form E, which is filed at Court and simultaneously exchanged with the other party.

Both parties must attend all hearings. Each party’s legal advisor may attend, or they may instruct a barrister to represent them. All hearings are usually in front of a Judge in their private room, or ‘in chambers’.

The hearing is relatively informal. The representatives of both parties will give the Judge a brief outline of the case, and from that the Judge will make directions as to what should happen next. There will be encouragement for the parties to reach an agreement amongst themselves, and this hearing can often be used as a Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) Hearing.

This is an opportunity for the representatives of both parties to try and reach a resolution. The hearing is simply a negotiating forum with the Judge acting as chair. Both parties are expected to negotiate, and there is pressure to reach an agreement during this hearing. At this hearing the Judge may give an indication as to the likely order the Court may make. Any correspondence attempting to settle the matter will also be shown to the Judge. Most ancillary relief matters settle at this stage, although the Court cannot make Orders that are not agreed by both parties.

It is very unusual for a matter to reach a final hearing. At this hearing a Judge will hear from both parties' representatives, and usually the parties as well. The Judge will then impose a settlement on the parties.

This hearing is often lengthy, and can last a day or more. The hearing is also inevitably very expensive as barristers are used, and there is a lot of preparation work needed.

Income and capital orders can also be made by the Court for the benefit of the children of the family.

Please note that the Court will not usually make an order in relation to child maintenance unless there are special circumstances. This is because the Child Support Agency usually deals with child maintenance matters.

The Court will not take into account any behaviour of the parties, unless it is very extreme. It will also not consider the reason that the marriage failed, or who actually made the application for ancillary relief or divorce when making a settlement.

The Court has a duty to deal with all cases fairly. In order to do this it needs to know all the facts of the case. If someone fails to give full and frank disclosure of their financial situation, and does not co-operate with the Court, then they risk having a costs order made against them for wasting the Court’s time. The Court may also draw an inference from the refusal to co-operate that they have something to hide, and so have more assets than they are declaring. At the very least, non co-operation will mean that somebody will lose the sympathy of the Court.

You are able to reach a financial settlement with your spouse at any point during the proceedings. In fact, often an application for ancillary relief is not needed, and parties reach an agreement regarding finances as part of the Divorce proceedings.

The whole ancillary relief and divorce process positively encourages parties to negotiate and reach an agreement between themselves. Legal advisors and Courts will recommend mediation throughout.

If an agreement is reached between the parties, then the legal advisor will draft a ‘Consent Order’. This Consent Order will set out the terms of the agreement, and state that the agreement is in full and final settlement of all financial claims one party has against the other. The Consent Order is filed at Court together with a form setting out all of the assets and income of both parties. A court fee of £40.00 is payable. The Consent Order is placed before a Judge who usually then converts it into an order of the Court.

In order to prevent any future applications to Court by either party, it is advisable to settle all financial claims upon divorce by either issuing ancillary relief proceedings or filing a Consent Order. It should be noted that unless settled, financial claims do not necessarily cease upon Decree Absolute.

Obviously, if an agreement can be reached between the parties then it will take far less time to finalise the matter. The total time spent will very much depend on the complexities of the finances, the willingness of both parties to negotiate, and the swift availability of full financial disclosure.

If the matter has to go through the whole court process then it can take up to a year until final hearing.