No mediation, no Form E

I applied to divorce my soon-to-be-ex-wife after she went off with someone else last year.
I managed to get her to agree to sharing equal time with the children.

She refused mediation and has not filled in form E though it is now time the Final Order is ready to be applied for.

I don't know what to do next without any information

The only way to force disclosure is to make an application to court. Once you have disclosure you can still settle at any time and will be encouraged to do so.

It is polite to send a formal request for form E disclosure with a deadline. If she does not comply, you will need to have a mediation meeting and ask for a Form A application to court to be signed off.

The fact she had an affair will have no bearing on settlement; the first consideration is needs and the means you have between you to meet them. If you are sharing care equally your housing needs are the same.

It is usually wise to wait until you have a financial settlement before applying for the final order.

Hadenoughnow

Thanks for a reply, it is still not entirely clear to me.

I have politely requested Form E, another deadline..
then on to fill in Form A, it says on it about having attended MIAM which I did and she did not and more information about who her solicitor is which I do not know.

'The fact she had an affair will have no bearing on settlement'
assumes I believe what job she told me she has/had

If you don't know whether she has a solicitor, just put in her name and address on Form A. She can take the Notice of First Appointment to her solicitor when she gets it.

You really need to have attended MIAM in the last four months and to get Form A signed off by a mediator. Check with them whether they can do that without another MIAM.

Hadenoughnow

Contacting the mediator is good advice thankyou.

Re
'It is usually wise to wait until you have a financial settlement before applying for the final order'
I would like more details about this, I have heard it said to me and read it on solicitor's websites though without any specific details. The Form A starts with a tick box asking if it is completed or not.

You need a conditional order to have a legally binding settlement. The conditional order does not end the marriage. It is finally dissolved by final order. Once the marriage has ended various automatic entitlements end - ie dependents pension. There can also be an issue if only one party's name is on the FMH and home rights have been registered. Final order ends home rights but not financial claim. It can also cause problems if there is a need to claim maintenance pending suit. There may be other things too but these are the main ones.

Hadenoughnow

Thanks a lot,
those things that would not be in place after divorce.
My other question is if the final order status affects the financial settlement negotiation or not.