Financial Consent Order after Divorce

wifetobe_2

Hi,

I am a first-time poster here and am hoping someone can give me some advice on our situation.

My fiance was divorced earlier this year (Absolute granted in April) and the former marital home is sold, awaiting a date for exchange.

An agreement has been reached between htb and the ex with regards to splitting the equity, and agreeing to lay off any future claims on pensions/savings etc. He will take a fixed sum, she gets the balance, and everything else remains unchallenged by the other.

She has agreed to draw up a FCO and foot the bill (damn right given the share she has grabbed) however, we have received a letter from her solicitors asking for full financial details...wageslips, bank statements etc.

We assumed that as an agreement had been reached without solicitor involvement, that the document would just be produced and signed by both parties??

Is the financial disclosure definitely necessary in order to acheive what needs to be acheived in this instance??

Any help would be gratefully received.

Many thanks

wifetobe xx

meer53

Full financial disclosure is essential in any divorce. I'm surprised that the divorce was finalised in April if this hadn't already been done. My solicitor advised me to sign nothing at all until a financial agreement was in place. I think your OH will have to be compliant if he wants what was agreed. Is there a reason why he doesn't want to supply what they're asking for ?

Fire_Fox

Welcome! Why have you received a letter from your partner's ex's solicitor? Surely none of this is anything to do with you?

wifetobe_2

Thanks for your replies - there is no real reason he doesn't want to supply the info - she is taking much more than she probably should be, she has the large pension and company share scheme etc, whilst he is left with debts....

I think we just expected a solicitor to draw up the document as instructed and both parties to sign. We do not have a solicitor at this stage. The divorce was managed by my OH using some online tools to help. The forms were all completed and filed in court by him.

We are not sure if the solicitor needs this info to do what they've been instructed, or if they are trying to build up their part somewhat, and subsequently their fees.

Fire Fox - sorry for not making myself clear - the letter is addressed to OH not me. It is not asking for any of my details.

Has anyone any experience of using the online FCOs? I have looked at Wikivorce, which seems to be the most reputable one out there...they claim to be solicitor-drafted and legally binding.

meer53

A Form E is for both parties to complete to give full disclosure of their financial situation so that an agreement can be made. Both parties Form E's are exchanged so that they can dispute anything they feel isn't right. It's to prevent either party from saying they earn 10k when really they earn 100k. If i were your OH, i'd get some free legal advice if he's trying to do this on his own.

My solicitor advised me that if i felt my ex was lying about his finances, they could have access to bank accounts etc to verify what he was saying so it's pretty pointless not to tell the truth. Not saying your OH would do that of course.

pigpen

Yes, unfortunately. The other party does not get a copy so long as you are not hiding anything I don't see an issue.

My divorce was through Oct '10 and the FCO was done April '11 and backdated to April '10 when the divorce was first applied for. They are separate to each other now unlike in ye olden days when everything was on hold until everything including custody of the dog was sorted!

meer53

pigpen wrote: »

Yes, unfortunately. The other party does not get a copy so long as you are not hiding anything I don't see an issue.

My divorce was through Oct '10 and the FCO was done April '11 and backdated to April '10 when the divorce was first applied for. They are separate to each other now unlike in ye olden days when everything was on hold until everything including custody of the dog was sorted!

My solicitor said that my ex's Form E would be available for me to look through so that i could question anything i didn't agree with. Otherwise how would you know whether they were lying or not ?

pigpen

not the financial form.. just the court application is available for you to look through. Maybe he didn't explain it well to you.

Fire_Fox

wifetobe wrote: »

Thanks for your replies - there is no real reason he doesn't want to supply the info - she is taking much more than she probably should be, she has the large pension and company share scheme etc, whilst he is left with debts....

I think we just expected a solicitor to draw up the document as instructed and both parties to sign. We do not have a solicitor at this stage. The divorce was managed by my OH using some online tools to help. The forms were all completed and filed in court by him.

We are not sure if the solicitor needs this info to do what they've been instructed, or if they are trying to build up their part somewhat, and subsequently their fees.

Fire Fox - sorry for not making myself clear - the letter is addressed to OH not me. It is not asking for any of my details.

Has anyone any experience of using the online FCOs? I have looked at Wikivorce, which seems to be the most reputable one out there...they claim to be solicitor-drafted and legally binding.

Then why do you think you need a solicitor? I don't understand why you are feeling bitter about what she is 'grabbing' when it's what your partner agreed without the help of a solicitor?

meer53

pigpen wrote: »

not the financial form.. just the court application is available for you to look through. Maybe he didn't explain it well to you.

Nope, she definately said i could see what he'd put on his Form E. I knew he wouldn't own up to everything which was why he wouldn't complete it.

From https://www.direct.gov.uk Providing a financial statement :

Returning Form E
This form must be sent to the court dealing with your divorce no later than 35 days before your First Appointment. You must also send a copy of this form to your spouse or civil partner. You or your adviser will need to contact them to do this. This can be done by post.