Is Form E Compulsory in Divorce?

A Form E does not form part of the no-fault divorce proceedings process so Form E isn’t compulsory in divorce. However, if you or your spouse can’t reach an agreed financial settlement and one of you applies to the court for a financial order, you will be ordered to complete a Form E.

In this article, our North West family law solicitors look at when you need to complete a Form E and why.

For expert family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

What is Form E?

Form E is a standard court form that must be completed if you apply for or respond to a financial application made under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 – when you and your estranged or ex-spouse have not been able to reach a financial agreement.

In the Form E, you must provide standard personal and financial information. Form E is intended to form the starting point for any further questions about your finances or plans. It will stand as the basis for your evidence if you have to go to a final hearing and give verbal evidence.

As Form E is a crucial document in the financial court process it is important to get legal advice from a specialist family lawyer on how to complete it.

Form E and unmarried relationships

The Form E only needs to be completed if you are or were married or in a civil partnership – you don’t need to complete Form E if you or your ex-partner were in an unmarried relationship.

Form E during or after divorce proceedings

There is a common misunderstanding that Form E forms part of the divorce proceedings court process and that you need to fill it in to get a divorce. You don’t.

You can get divorced without either you or your spouse applying to the court for a financial order. The judge does not have to make a financial order before they grant a conditional order of divorce or final order. However, most family law solicitors recommend that you don’t finalise your divorce proceedings until you take advice from a divorce lawyer on whether it is in your best interests to do so.

For example, if you get divorced you will not be entitled to money from your spouse’s pension if they die before you. Without a financial court order in place, you won’t be entitled to a share of your former spouse’s pension fund through a pension sharing order. That’s why you may want to sort out your divorce financial settlement before you apply for the final divorce order.

If you are divorced or are in the process of getting divorced, and you decide to apply for a financial order, the court will process your financial application and make a standard direction and timetabling order. This will include a date for filing and exchanging Form E.

Form E if you have reached a financial agreement

If you have reached a financial agreement with your husband, wife or civil partner you won’t need to file a Form E if you are asking the court to convert your agreement into a binding financial consent order. Instead, you will both need to complete Form D81.

Form D81 is the abbreviated name for a statement of financial information. It is a couple of pages long compared to the 30-page Form E but you still need to disclose the value of all your assets.

The judge won’t approve an agreed financial consent order unless you are either mid-way through a financial application and have filed the long Form E or you complete Form D81.

Form E if you are applying to vary an earlier financial court order

If you are asking the court to vary a financial order you will still need to fill in Form E but you may not have to complete all of it. For example, if your application is to vary the amount of spousal maintenance or to extend the spousal maintenance term.

Form E if you signed a prenuptial agreement

If you signed a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement, you may question why you need to complete a Form E. You won’t need to do so if you and your spouse are asking the family court to make an agreed financial court order in accordance with the terms in your prenuptial agreement. You will both need to complete Form D81.

If you or your spouse think that the terms of the prenuptial agreement are unfair and one of you is asking the judge to ignore the contents of your prenuptial agreement you may need to complete a Form E. The person who wants to rely on the prenuptial agreement can ask for a preliminary hearing for the judge to rule on whether Form E completion is necessary and justified.

Compulsory Form E

Form E is compulsory in a financial application. The court will give a date for completion and exchange of Form E as part of the financial disclosure process.

If Form E isn’t completed on time this can throw out the court timetable. If you are ordered to complete Form E it’s best to speak to a family law solicitor quickly rather than leave it to shortly before the Form E filing deadline.

If you have left it late, or you are beyond the court deadline, it’s still best to get advice. A divorce solicitor may be able to get your spouse and their solicitor to extend the deadline and will be able to advise you on how to complete Form E and represent you in the court application.

Many people resent the compulsory nature of Form E. They think it is intrusive or irrelevant. For example, if they were only married for 12 months or signed a prenuptial agreement. Others think that they can ignore parts of Form E. For example, not include a pension because it was started before the marriage or an inheritance because it was received after the separation. Others don’t realise that they need to complete Form E fully and the relevance of questions about health or their plans to cohabit with a new partner.

A family lawyer can explain why all these Form E questions are relevant and why all assets must be disclosed even if you have a good argument to say that the value of some assets, such as a post-separation inheritance, should be ignored when the judge makes their financial court order using the argument that the asset is not a family or matrimonial asset and should therefore be ring-fenced.

Voluntary completion of Form E

Many separating couples voluntarily agree to exchange Form E during solicitor negotiations, family mediation, or if they agree to participate in family arbitration or a private financial dispute resolution hearing. In many scenarios, it makes sense to voluntarily fill in Form E as unless Form E are exchanged your spouse may think that you are trying to hide assets or they will say that they don’t have the information they need to reach a financial settlement.

Whether you are filling in Form E on a voluntary or compulsory basis our specialist family law solicitors can help you complete Form E and advise you on your financial settlement options or we can convert your agreement into a binding financial court order.

For expert family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.