first appt to be the FDR

MY SOL HAS SAID IF GOES TO COURT THE FIRST APPOINTMENT WILL BE THE FDR?DOES THAT MEAN IT'LL BE FINALLY SORTED THAT DAY RE DECISION.ANY INFO GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED.

Hello Topaz

The FDR is a meeting attended by you your spouse and your sols and a district judge.

You talk about the asset split and hopefully make offers if you cant agrea then the dj will offer direction as to what he or she thinks is a fair deal as it were.

If you still cant agrea then you will need to go to a final hearing with a new judge if at the FH no agreament is made then the new DJ will decide for you.

So hopefully at your FDR you can agrea if so then yes its more or less over just paperwork to do (Consent Order)

Good luck with the FDR Topaz i hope it ends there for you.

dukey

My FA was treated as an FDR - I assumed wrongly that this meant all the information necessary was in place - otherwise why would the judge agree? - in fact some of the required information was missing - so although it speeds up the process be sure you know all you feel you need to ....
Also I was shocked and stressed out on the day and felt very pressured to sign the Consent Order on FDR day - my feeling now is that there is really nothing to be lost by going away with the draft Consent Order unsigned and giving yourself a few days to think through all the implications before you sign.

thanks Maggie,will certainly bear in mind what you've said.Will discuss with my sol when I see him next.

Hello All

I've read this thread with interest

Am I correct in thinking that the First Appointment can be the FDR only if both parties agree in advance?

This would mean that both parties were happy then had all the required information in advance of that court appointment?

Is that correct?

Many thanks

Sazza

Hi Sazza- all I can remember is that I got a letter from my solicitor saying that there would not be an FA - we would move to FDR - I suppose I assumed some information checking mechanism had taken place/some target reached - that it would be safe to go to FDR. In my case the missing information was his response to my challenging his inflated income needs and crucial stuff on pensions- standard forms ie quite basic and important to the outcome.
There's a point in the AR process where the FDR date and getting the Consent Order seem more important to the legals than making sure all the information is in place.On the day it seemed impossible to call a halt to the wheeler dealing and ask about the missing basics.

Hello All,

Both parties need to agree for the FA to be a FDR, by application on Form G.

The Court isn't interested in minutae, they take a 'broad brush' approach and if there is adequate information (as opposed to precise detail) the judge can give an indication of what the likely outcome of a financial split will be.

Please note that a FDR in itself is not a Final Hearing. Just because a FA becomes an FDR there is no legal necessity for the parties to agree to the judge's opinion. They MAY chose to do so but if anyone wants time to consider it please do not hesitate to stand up for yourself and say 'No'.

From what I've read on this site it appears that acceptance of pension valuations is a common stickler when it comes to assessing the total financial 'pot'.

If you are at all unsure about the accuracy of your x's CETV then ask for the information on Form P to be provided and directions from the court for an actuarial valuation, but if you do that you need to provide (and ideally jointly) the questions you want the actuary to address.

Pension valuation is a dark art to me but there are advisors on this site such as BDM whose posts seem to make a lot of sense.