Divorce solutions made fair
We complete and exchange Form Es in family law almost daily, be it at the start of the court process for the first court hearing, or even if we are trying to settle cases without the need for formal court hearings. Form E is the basic court document which sets out each party’s assets and liabilities.
What is form E?
Form E is the first time in the divorce process where you start to commit your case to paper. It’s the first time your ex will also be able to scrutinise your lifestyle from the bank accounts and credit card statements which need to be submitted along with all supporting evidence of your income and outgoings.
So, make your you get it right at this point. Otherwise, lawyers acting for your ex will send letter after letter asking for explanations of items which may be missing and explanations about the most minuscule amount of spending.
We had a case recently, where the marital pot exceeded £2m and a lawyer was interrogating a client about why they had spent £56.81 at an airport departure lounge 9 months previously. Was it worth it in the whole great scheme of things? What did the other side think the client was going to say? “I was having a glass or two of Chablis with the new partner” as he went on a weekend away. Did the cost of the letter add value to the client’s case? In our opinion, no – and it fuels more animosity between the parties.
Why is it important to complete form E correctly?
Now, where it is important to put the correct information down is in assets and liabilities. So often we see listed in bold on Form Es the car loan the client has. Every client remembers the loan they have taken out for their pride and joy, but in nearly all our cases, clients on the other side fail to put in the asset box the fact that they have the car that as the asset corresponds with the liability they are trying to consider. We see car loans of £60,000 on the form but no evidence anywhere of the corresponding value of the car. It is important that lawyers deploy the basic principles of the accounts they were taught during their training that for every debit there must be a corresponding credit.
Make sure that all information is imputed correctly on form E at the beginning of the process. This will prevent lawyers from spending additional money arguing over assets and liabilities which could easily have been resolved.
It is expected on form E that parties provide full and frank disclosure. Failure to do so can have serious costs and consequence orders made against them.
This will also avoid the other side asking long questionnaires about the deficiencies in your form which will cost you a fortune in legal fees to answer and put right. So, as the client, get everything right from the start. As the lawyer, make sure you add up what needs to go on the form and bring value to the client by completing it correctly at the start.
If you require any help, please contact chris@fair-result.co.uk
Subscribe to the Today’s Family Lawyer newsletter to receive industry updates, news and analysis
This article was submitted to be published by Fair Result as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Family Lawyer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Family Lawyer.
