News & views
Articles by our experts
‘They think it’s all over…’
The importance of full disclosure in ancillary relief proceedings.
The process of divorcing and obtaining a financial settlement can often be trying and exhausting. However, in the vast majority of cases couples can feel confident that they will be able to walk away with a final court order (whether negotiated or imposed by the court) safe in the knowledge that the legal process has ended and they can move on with their lives.
Unfortunately, there are a handful of cases where this finality is short lived after it is discovered that one of the parties has failed to disclose a fact material to the case. It can then become necessary to re-visit and even set aside the final court order if it can be shown that had this information been known, it would have resulted in a substantially different order being made.
Whilst applications to set aside final orders are very rare, being party to one can be a time consuming and costly process. If the application is successful, the final order will be ineffective and the financial proceedings will effectively be re-opened. This means that the process must begin again. There are likely to be requests for further disclosure and, if necessary, a re-hearing.
If you are the party found ‘guilty’ of a material non-disclosure, there is a strong chance that you will have to pay your ex-spouses costs relating to the application. Furthermore, you may face issues of credibility and arduous disclosure requests during the new financial proceedings.
So, how can you minimise the risk of this happening to you? Without meaning to state the obvious, honesty really is the best policy! There is a fundamental obligation on both parties in financial proceedings to provide full and frank disclosure. This can often feel like an onerous task. During the proceedings, both parties must complete and exchange a financial statement, commonly known as a ‘Form E’, which provides full details of their financial circumstances. Questionnaires asking for further disclosure often follow and if the matter goes to a final hearing, parties will give further oral evidence. Taking time to ensure that you provide thorough and honest information during these tasks will help to protect you from further costly litigation at a later date.
It is not uncommon for people to feel that there are some facts which are ‘not important’ or ‘do not need to be mentioned’, but these are exactly the kinds of issues which may come back to haunt you. You must ensure that you provide comprehensive disclosure at all times. If you are unsure as to the relevance of some information, you should inform your solicitor so that they can advise as to whether it can be disregarded in the context of financial proceedings. It is generally better to provide too much information than not enough.
It is understandable that clients can feel confused and distracted
during their divorce and ancillary relief proceedings, but the disclosure
process is not one which should taken lightly. Full and frank disclosure
of all information material to the case will ensure that when you obtain
a final order from the court you can start to get closure on the situation
without fear of someone discovering a skeleton lurking in your closet….
Author: Claire Dyer of Blandy and Blandy Solicitors of Reading, Berkshire
See Directory
Blandy and Blandy
website
Editor's note: This article co-incides with the
news that one fifth of couples who divorced last year tried to conceal
their assets or income from their spouse - a figure which has doubled
since 2006 according to a new report by Grant Thornton. The Daily Telegraph
reports,
'In cases where assets had been hidden, 88 per cent involved men concealing
wealth from their wives. Just two per cent involved women hiding assets.
In the remainder of cases, both partners tried to conceal wealth from
one another.'
Read full article at Telegraph/Divorce
Aid
DPS Software
This is a quality supplier of bespoke IT solutions for the Legal
industry. With over 20 years specialist experience, their Case Management
and Legal Accounting programs have assisted many established and start-up
legal firms integrate their business operations for success.
To speak to a Legal IT professional call 020 8804 1022, or to see a
full rangeof products and services online,
see DPS Software
website.