Fdr preparation

Hi.
Can anyone please kindly help me with what to expect in court. Have my fdr in a few days and have a solicitor and barrister attending. Not even sure if I need both there. Have proposed an offer to the ex, I doubt he''ll even consider as he''s awaiting a settlement from me and has expectations I truly can''t meet.

Just want to understand the fdr process a bit better. Am I going to be cross examined? Or is it for the legal reresentatives to try and get my ex to negotiate.

I''m concerned he''ll be difficult and take it to a final hearing, which will prove way to costly for me, £20k, money better spent on our child. Currently his dad is paying his legal fees. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I accept and understand each case is different, but a general insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Hi Arti,

Welcome to Wiki!

I noticed you haven''t had a response on this - have you been to Court yet?

Can anyone help Arti? - shout out to Wise-wikis

WR

Hi the first hearing is quite informal, you are supposed to of exchanged your form E''s which you file with the court approx 30 days before and then 15 days before file you Form G, Chronology and Statement of issues and questions you''d like to raise in regard to his or her Form E. However this doesn''t always go to plan, if this hasn''t been done and 1 of you holds up the filing at court of these documents , then the first hearing will probably be to give further Directions and time lines for filing and answers to questions etc, 2nd hearing is to discuss issues that you may not be able to resolve with regards to questions and answers etc, for example my x husband would not disclose full bank statements, therefore you then raise this in your questions, if he doesn''t comply then the judge gives directions etc for compliance, it can go on and on and on, but by rule there are only supposed to be 3 hearings, as the idea is to save and reduce costs. Good luck and best wishes

In general terms you will not be cross questioned at an FDR unless it is listed as being a final hearing (that is my understanding).

The first appointment should have ironed out what questions can and can not be asked in response to the Financial E documentation that should have been filed by both parties.

By the time you get to the FDR there should have been proper disclosure and return of information - if their has not your legal teams should have attended to this.

There is no point going to an FDR only to find that the judge cannot make an indication of settlement because of non disclosure as this is a total waste of time for both parties and also a waste of court time also.

If you have made an offer which you believe to be fair then your legal team should be attempting to get this settled for you in the court before you have to go in for the FDR.

IF the case goes the full three rounds to a final hearing then if the judge at the FDR has made an indication of settlement then it is unlikely that it will be changed at a final hearing and maybe the party not listening at the FDR will get an order for costs against them based on litigation conduct - in normal circumstances divorcing couples bear their own costs.

You mention that your husband is being funded by his Dad. At the moment loans from parents during divorce are classed as soft loans (that is stupid in my opinion but there you go).

But more to the point if you husband is getting funding it is presumably as he is short of cash. On that basis I am wondering whether you are too and how you are funding your legal representation? Are your legal team working on the presumption that they will get paid on the sale of any marital asset?

Thank you very much for your reply.
Well the FDR went ahead without much resolution. The ex and myself have now been told to prepare for final hearing and costs today''s have exceeded £60k combined!... He stills owes his legal team, as do I.

A couple of offers we''re bounced to and fro, but to no avail. Since the FDR last week, all has been unusually quiet..
I really want resolution and don''t want to battle it out at a FH, so the show goes on.

Thank you all for all your replies. I hope youre in a better position than me.
Good luck and remain positive.
Arti

Arti, do you have a very large marital pot? How far apart are you in terms of offers? What is the sticking point here? It is an obscene waste of money that, as you say, could be better used to benefit your child.
In my case the bills were high because he would not negotiate and made unrealistic demands. In the end at fh he got what he had been offered and rejected at fdr. It cost more than 20k extra between us .

Hadenoughnow