Please take time to read these notes carefully. It is important that you understand certain background information and the Court process involved to appreciate the fee structure, and what you are paying for at each stage of the payment plan.

The Process

Stage 1

Disclosing Financial Information

The Protocol states that at the earliest opportunity both parties should give each other details of their financial circumstances, supported by certain documents. Once there has been disclosure of each party's financial circumstances, both should make every effort to negotiate a settlement.

At no stage should the issue of a formal application to the Court be considered an antagonistic step, but a way of progressing matters to a conclusion without undue delay.

The financial information that should be disclosed is that which the Court requires if an Application is issued. It is set out in a standard form (Form E) to which we refer below. Once you have completed the basic information in the forms we will send you, we will prepare a draft of the Form for you to check. Once you have confirmed the draft is correct, a copy will be sent to your spouse together with the documents mentioned. Some of the information we may need, in particular the information about life policies and pensions can take some time to obtain, so we ask that you seek the information as soon as you confirm your instructions.

Negotiations

Once there has been an exchange of the financial information, we will discuss with you the likely outcome of your case, and formulate proposals with you to put to your spouse.

Under the terms of the Protocol your spouse has an obligation to respond; if your suggestion is not acceptable to him or her, they should put forward a counter proposal. Again if this is not acceptable to you, a further suggestion would need to be put.

Negotiations continue this way and hopefully lead to an agreement (see below).

This sounds longwinded, but usually we can judge quite early on, whether the issues can be resolved by negotiation or not. If we think there is a reluctance to provide disclosure or negotiation towards a sensible resolution, we will advise you whether an Application may need to be made to the Court.

Agreement following negotiation - Consent Order

If agreement is reached, this is recorded in a document called a Consent Order, which is lodged with the Court, together with a brief summary of your respective assets (Statement of Information). A fee of £30.00 is payable to the Court, when the paperwork is lodged. It is usual to share the cost of this between you, so you would each pay £15.00.

The agreement and summary of your assets are reviewed by the District Judge and provided they approve the agreement it can be made into a Court Order.

Formal Application to the Court

The majority of cases are resolved by negotiation, and result in a Consent Order being made. However sometimes negotiations need help along the way, and it may be necessary to issue a formal application with the Court.

If negotiations are not successful, we will issue an Application (called Form A) for the Court to resolve the financial aspects. The fee payable to the Court is £210.00

Once the Court has processed the application, it is returned to us. At the same time the Court posts a copy to your spouse or their solicitor.

When the Court issues the application, a time table is set, giving a series of dates for certain steps to be taken, and for the Court hearings.

The date when Form E [disclosure of financial information] should be exchanged with your spouse.

On the date set by the Court, Form E should be exchanged between you and copies lodged with the Court.

The second date is when we should exchange a number of documents with your spouse's solicitors.

This will include: a chronology setting out key dates and events in your marriage; a Schedule setting out what we understand to be the issues between you both; a draft of any questions we wish to raise on your spouse's Form E (financial disclosure).

The First Appointment Hearing.

The next date set by the Court is a hearing called the First Appointment Hearing.

If all the information required in Form E has been provided and there are no queries over that information, this hearing may be used as a forum for negotiating a settlement of your case.

The Judge hearing your case may indicate how he would resolve the matter and efforts will be made to bring the matter to a conclusion by way of agreement at this stage.

Alternatively if information is still missing or any questions have been raised in respect of the information provided, the Judge can make an Order setting a date by when it should be provided.

All the work outlined above is covered by Stage One of our Fixed Fee Payment Plan. If you choose to pay by monthly instalments, we will reduce our fees from £4400.00 to £3441.25 (inclusive of Vat and the fee payable to the Court on the issue of the application of £210.00). Should you choose to pay in advance the fee will be £3147.50 (costs of £2500.00, Vat and Court Fee).

If we reach a settlement of your case prior to this stage, and our fees are less than those quoted we will charge you only the fees incurred.

The Process

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Fees