A how to guide on Form A, which you are required to do as part of Financial Remedy proceedings, written by Wikivorce.
Introduction
Form A is a type of form used in the divorce process which is used to apply to court for a financial settlement relating to divorce.
Form A is mainly used in two types of situations –
Agreement reached – When a couple have agreed to a financial settlement together then form A is sent to court along with a consent order and a D81 statement of information to request that the court review and approve the consent order.
Unable to agree - When a couple are unable to agree on a settlement then either you or your ex can decide to take the matter to court. This can be done by filing out and submitting form A which will lead to a series of court hearings to decide the case.
Before you apply to court, you should try to come to an agreement between yourselves and applying to court should be a last resort. You can do this by discussing with your ex and trying to reach an agreement together, attending mediation or by using solicitors. Obviously if you are unable to communicate with your ex (e.g., if there has been a history of domestic abuse in the relationship) applying to court may be easier and less stressful.
If you are able to reach an agreement then you will need to send off a completed form A, D81 statement of information and a consent order to court so the court can review and approve the order.
Consent order – A consent order is a type of order that sets out the financial agreements you make with your ex during a divorce, whatever is set out in your consent order is legally binding (if the court approves it).
D81 statement of information – A D81 is a form that will provide the court with information on your ex’s and your own financial situation.
If you are unable to come to an agreement either between yourselves or through mediation, then your next step would be applying to court.
Before you can apply to court however, you will need to attend a MIAM (mediation information and assessment meeting). There will be situations where you may be exempt from attending a MIAM such as –
There has been domestic abuse in the relationship
There are child safety concerns based on your ex’s behaviour
You urgently need an order
You have previously attended a MIAM
If you attend a MIAM, you will need the mediator to fill out and sign part of form A to say you have attended. This is a legal requirement. You do not need to attend a MIAM if you have come to an agreement with your ex and are asking the court to review and approve the consent order. There is more information about mediation and MIAM’s on the last few pages of form A.
Who is required to submit a form A
Either side can submit a form A. usually only one side would submit form a, meaning the person submitted the form would be the applicant and the other party would be the respondent;.
It is the first form required to start financial proceedings.
Costs
There is some costs to be expecting when applying to court when using form A, Contested hearings are £275 and a consent order is £53.
Click to download Form A
Form A
Notice of [intention to proceed with] a financial application
In the right hand corner of page 1 there is a box that is to be completed by the applicant. Under 'The family court sitting at ....' write the name of the court who is hearing your case, Write your case number where it says 'Case No.'. If you are receiving legal aid you will need to write your reference number where it says 'Help with fees - Ref No.'.
Please write the applicant's name where it says ‘full name of applicant’. (Full first name e.g., Daniel not ‘Dan’, any middle names and surname.) Write the respondent's name where it says 'Full name of the respondent'.If another person is joined in the proceedings (e.g., if a married person owns a property with a parent) you would need to write the parents full name as well.
Read the questions and tick the boxes that apply to you. Since this is an application in relation to finances, you would tick the box for ‘in connection with matrimonial or civil partnership proceedings. Has the court granted you a decree nisi/conditional order ? If yes, tick yes and include a copy of the form with your application. If you don’t have a decree nisi or a conditional order, tick no. Has the court granted you a decree absolute/final order ? if yes, tick yes and include a copy of the form with your application. If you don’t have a decree absolute or final order, tick no.
If you are filling out for with an agreement reached
You would tick the box that says 'to proceed with the application in the ...'. This lets the court know you and your ex have been able to come to an agreement between yourselves through mediation or other means. On the right side of the page you then need to tick the boxes of the orders you would like the court to consider making. if you are unsure on what orders you need, tick all the boxes.
If you are filling out because you are unable to agree
You would tick the box that says 'to apply to court for'. This lets the court know you and you ex have not been able to come to an agreement and you are asking the court to make the orders for you. On the right side of the page you need to tick the boxes of the orders you can you ex have agreed on.
Page 3 - Futher details of the financial application
Instructions for Page 3
Property adjustment order
If you have said you want a property adjustment order, you would write down the address of the property in the first box and the name and address of anyone who has a mortgage on that property (if relevant).
Periodical payments for children
if you are making an application for periodical payments for children you need to tick the box that describes your situation, if you have a written agreement then tick one of the first boxes with the correct year from when the agreement was written. If you don't have a written agreement but you are applying for agreements then tick the boxes that describe your reasoning for applying. If none of the boxes apply then in the section under this one you will need to tell the court if the Child Support Agency has made any calculations (tick yes or no) and in the big box you need to briefly give your reasoning as to why the Child Support Agency isn't dealing with your claims OR why you need additional payments in addition to the Child Support Agency payments.
If you application includes an application in relation to one or more child, fill in the boxes with the child’s information, if you have more than one child you can just print off more sheets.
This section is so the court known where to send documents. If you are being represented by a solicitor, you would write their name and the name of the firm they work at in the top 2 boxes and then write your solicitors firm address where it asks for your address. If you don’t have a solicitor, you would write your details instead. If you do not wish for your address to be known by your ex (the respondent) leave this part blank and complete from C8 confidential contact details and send this form off with your application. On the next page, write your ex’s (the respondents) solicitors’ details or their own details if they don’t have a solicitor in the boxes like you did for your details.
If you do not wish your address to be made known to the respondent, leave the address details blank and complete Confidential contact details form C8. Please ensure that any documents submitted with this form or at a later date, do not disclose the confidential contact details you wish to withhold.
If you are not exempt from attending a MIAM, this Is where you would add your proof of attending a MIAM. Your mediator needs to fill out and sign Section 4B (page 12). If you are not exempt and have not yet attended a MIAM you can not continue with the application. Attending a MIAM is a legal requirement. If you are exempt from attending a MIAM you will need to complete section 3 (page 8). Tick the box(es) as to why you are exempt from attending the MIAM. If you are exempt due to a history of domestic abuse in the relationship, you will need to complete section 3A. Tick the boxes of what evidence you have of the domestic abuse. If you are exempt due to needing a order made urgently you will need to complete section 3B (page 10), tick the box that explains why you need an order made urgently.
If you are exempt due to previous MIAM attendance or you have already a MIAM exemption applied, you will need to fill out section 3C (page 11) and tick the relevant box. If you are exempt for any other reason you will need to fill out section 3D (page 11). Tick the relevant box that applies to you.
Section 3 is asking you why are claiming to be exempt from a MIAM, this can either be filled out by you or your solicitor. Each box will give you a section you need to fill out, so tick the box on why you are exempt and then fill out the corresponding section.
Section 3A
This is the section you will be filling out if you are claiming exemption due to domestic violence. This section continues on to page 9 and 10 so make sure you read the full section and read each box carefully so you don't accidently tick a box for something you don't have. To fill in this section you will need to tick the relevant box(es) to confirm you evidence of domestic abuse in the relationship, you can tick all the boxes that are relevant. Please remember to bring the evidence you confirmed to have to the first hearing.
Section 3B
This is the section you will be filling out if you are claiming exemption because you the application to be made urgently. To fill in this section you will need to tick the relevant box(es) to give your reasons as to why the application needs to be made urgently, this can be things such as you or your children/other family members are in danger or your ex is trying to move to a different country. Please remember to bring the evidence you confirmed to have to the first hearing.
Section 3C
This is the section you will be filling out if you are claiming exemption due previous MIAM attendance or you have been previously exempt from attending a MIAM. This section continues on to 11 so make sure you read the full section and read each box carefully so you don't accidently tick a box for something you don't have. To fill in this section you will need to tick the relevant box(es) to either state you have already attended a MIAM in the past 4 months (or have used other means of non-court dispute resolution) OR have already been exempt from attending a MIAM. Please remember to bring the evidence you confirmed to have to the first hearing.
This is the section you will be filling out if you are claiming exemption because of other reasons such as bankruptcy or you don't have contact with your ex. To fill in this section you will need to tick the relevant box(es) to give your reasoning as to why you are exempt from attending a MIAM, once you have done this you can move on to section 5. Please remember to bring the evidence you confirmed to have to the first hearing.
In this section you need to give proof that you either attended a MIAM or exempt from attending one. You do this by asking your mediator who carried out your MIAM or decided you are exempt to fill in the section for you.
If you have used used other means of dispute resolution (such as collaborative law, FDR, negotiation) you would need to go to section 3C and tick the following exemption -
"in the 4 months prior to making the application, the person attended a MIAM or participated in another form of non-court dispute resolution relating to the same or substantially the same dispute".
(you can then skip section 4 if you have ticked this exemption).
This is the box you will need to tick if you have used Wikivorce's online mediation service.
Your application can not be sent off without this section being filled out.
This is the last part of the form all you need to do is write in your name and your solicitors name and address (if you have one and sign).
How to submit form A
To submit form a you need to file it with the court, the court will then send your ex a copy to let them know you have applied to court and will tell them what to do next.
Our consultant service offers expert advice and support to help you reach agreement on a fair financial settlement, at a very affordable cost, typically a few hundred pounds rather than the several thousand you would spend with a traditional solicitor.
