A financial remedy order is the formal order the Family Court makes to resolve the financial arrangements that flow from a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. It can include a wide range of orders, including:
A financial remedy order, once approved, is binding and enforceable. It is the cleanest way to draw a line under the financial side of a marriage or civil partnership.
If you and your spouse cannot agree how to divide the finances, either party can apply to the Family Court for a financial remedy order. These cases are handled by the Financial Remedies Court (FRC), the specialist national framework set up to deal exclusively with financial remedy work. The procedure has clear, well-defined stages.
Throughout the case, the court is under an active duty to consider non-court dispute resolution (NCDR). Since April 2024, when amendments to Family Procedure Rules Part 3 came into force, the court expects both parties to engage with NCDR options — mediation, arbitration, collaborative law, or a private FDR — at every stage, and may pause proceedings where it considers that has not happened. Parties are also required to file Form FM5, setting out their views on non-court dispute resolution, at least seven working days before the first hearing (and before any later hearing where the court directs).
A separate “Express Financial Remedy” pilot procedure is currently running from 7 April 2025 to 2 April 2027 in selected Financial Remedies Court zones. Where the parties’ combined net assets (excluding liabilities, mortgages and pension rights) are estimated to be less than £250,000, eligible cases in a pilot zone are allocated to a two-hearing express procedure rather than the standard three-hearing structure, aimed at bringing more straightforward lower-value cases to a faster, more proportionate resolution. Whether the pilot applies in the court that will hear your case is one of the first things we will check with you.
In most cases, the structure of the process itself encourages settlement. Many people reach an agreement at or shortly after the FDR. Only a small proportion of cases reach a contested Final Hearing.
Before you can apply to court, you generally need to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) with an accredited mediator. The mediator will explain mediation and assess whether your case is suitable for resolving without going to court. There are limited exemptions, including for cases involving domestic abuse or genuine urgency.
If mediation is not appropriate, or has been tried and not resolved matters, you can apply to court using Form A. A court fee is payable on issue (currently £313, per the HMCTS EX50A fees schedule — always verify the current figure at gov.uk/court-fees before submitting). The court will then set a timetable and list the First Appointment.
The cornerstone of financial remedy proceedings is full and frank disclosure. Both parties complete a Form E, which is a long, detailed financial statement that sets out:
Form E is exchanged simultaneously, usually around 35 days before the First Appointment. The disclosure that matters is not just the form itself, it is the supporting documents (12 months of bank statements, most recent payslips, mortgage statements, P60s, business accounts, pension CEVs and so on). Incomplete or evasive disclosure is one of the most common reasons cases get stuck. Experienced divorce lawyers will help you complete Form E properly, and will spot gaps in the other side’s disclosure.
A short note on evidence: the rule in Imerman v Tchenguiz ([2010] EWCA Civ 908) prevents a party from relying in court on documents they have obtained by going through the other side’s papers, emails, or accounts without permission. Even where there is a strong suspicion of hidden assets, the right route is to ask the court for further disclosure orders, not to gather evidence informally. We can advise you on the best way to test the other side’s disclosure when something does not add up.
Financial remedy proceedings can take months from issue to Final Hearing, and the financially weaker spouse often cannot wait. Three forms of interim provision are available:
Maintenance pending suit (MPS). A short-term order for one spouse to pay the other a periodical sum to meet day-to-day income needs while the proceedings continue. MPS runs until the final order of divorce (formerly decree absolute) is pronounced, after which interim periodical payments take over if income support is still needed.
Interim periodical payments. Similar in effect, but ordered once the conditional order has been made.
Legal services payment orders (LSPOs). Under section 22ZA of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the court can order one spouse to fund the other’s legal costs where, without the order, they would not reasonably be able to obtain appropriate legal services. The court must also be satisfied that the applicant cannot reasonably obtain a loan to cover those costs and is unlikely to be able to fund them by granting a charge over assets recovered in the proceedings (section 22ZA(3) and (4) MCA 1973; the leading authority is Rubin v Rubin [2014] EWHC 611 (Fam)).
These interim orders can usually be applied for as soon as proceedings are issued, and often well before the First Appointment. They can be critical for keeping a case on a level playing field where one spouse holds most of the income or the bulk of the savings.
The First Appointment is largely a case management hearing. The judge will:
The FA usually takes place 12 to 16 weeks after Form A is issued. Good preparation here saves time and cost later.
The Financial Dispute Resolution hearing is, in many cases, the most important hearing in the process. By the time you reach the FDR, both sides should have:
At the FDR, the judge looks at the paperwork and, without hearing evidence, gives an indication of the likely outcome at a Final Hearing. The aim is to focus the parties’ minds and encourage settlement. Under FPR 9.17(2), the judge who conducts the FDR cannot deal with any later contested hearing, although the same judge can make a consent order if agreement is reached and can give procedural directions for the future course of the case. Because the FDR judge will not decide the case if it does not settle, both sides can speak more openly than they would otherwise.
What you bring to the FDR matters. Both sides will usually need an open settlement proposal, a without-prejudice proposal, a position statement, an updated schedule of assets and a pension summary if pensions are in issue. The judge expects this level of preparation; cases prepared half-heartedly tend to fare poorly at FDR.
Private FDRs are increasingly common as an alternative to a court-listed FDR. The parties jointly instruct an experienced specialist — typically a King’s Counsel or retired judge — to act as the FDR evaluator. The hearing takes place at an agreed venue, on a date chosen by the parties, with no court delay. Many couples value the flexibility, the privacy, and the fuller indication a private evaluator can usually give. Whether a court FDR or a private FDR is the better choice depends on the circumstances of the case.
A high proportion of cases settle at or shortly after the FDR. If yours does, the agreed terms are recorded in a Consent Order, which is sent to the court for approval and becomes a binding financial remedy order.
If the case does not settle, it moves to a Final Hearing. Both parties give evidence under oath, are cross-examined, and the judge makes a final financial remedy order based on the evidence and the section 25 factors.
Final Hearings are the longest and most expensive part of the process, and the court will hold both parties accountable to the duty to negotiate reasonably. A party who refuses sensible offers may face a costs order against them. Since changes to Family Procedure Rule 28.3 in 2024, a party’s failure — without good reason — to attend a MIAM or to engage in non-court dispute resolution is now an express conduct factor the court will take into account when deciding whether to make a costs order. Importantly, “without prejudice save as to costs” offers (often called Calderbank offers) remain inadmissible in financial remedy proceedings under FPR 28.3(8), except at the FDR itself. The most powerful written costs protection therefore still comes from making a well-pitched open offer at the right point in the case.
Important — Calderbank offers and costs: A common misunderstanding is that the 2024 reforms reinstated Calderbank offers as a costs-protection device. They did not. Open offers are still the principal tool for costs protection in financial remedy proceedings. Take advice before relying on any without-prejudice offer to limit your costs exposure.
A reasonable working assumption is:
First Appointment: around 12 to 16 weeks after Form A is issued
FDR: typically 14 to 20 weeks after the First Appointment
Final Hearing (if needed): typically 6 to 12 months after the FDR, depending on court availability
So a financial remedy case that settles at or shortly after the FDR can usually be resolved within around 6 to 9 months. A case that goes all the way to a contested Final Hearing usually takes 12 to 18 months from issue, sometimes longer in complex cases.
Local court listing pressures vary, and the time it takes to gather pension reports or business valuations can shift the timetable. Recent efficiency work in the Financial Remedies Court has aimed at tightening these windows, particularly for cases on the Express track. Your family law solicitors will give you a tailored estimate as the case develops.
There is a court fee for Form A (currently £313, per the HMCTS EX50A fees schedule — always verify the current figure at gov.uk/court-fees before submitting), and additional fees for any specific applications you make along the way. Help with Fees is available for those eligible.
Legal costs depend almost entirely on how contested the case becomes. A case that settles at the FDR typically costs significantly less than one that runs to a Final Hearing. At Lawson West, we will talk you through realistic costs at the outset and update you regularly so there are no surprises.
One often-overlooked cost is the bundle. Under Practice Direction 27A, the applicant prepares the court bundle for every hearing. For a contested Final Hearing the bundle can run to several volumes, and the time and disbursements involved are not always anticipated in early estimates. We will be upfront with you about that from the outset.
When making a financial remedy order, the court applies the factors set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The welfare of any children of the family under 18 is the first consideration. Beyond that, the court weighs:
Alongside section 25, the court applies three guiding principles developed in the leading case law:
Needs. The court asks what each party reasonably needs, particularly in terms of housing and income, and whether the assets can stretch to meet both. In most cases, needs is the dominant principle.
Sharing. The starting point for assets generated during the marriage — often called matrimonial property — is an equal share. The presumption can be displaced where the facts justify it.
Compensation. In a narrow set of cases, the court can adjust the outcome to compensate a spouse for a financial disadvantage arising from the marriage (for example, having given up a career to care for the family). This principle is less commonly applied but remains part of the framework.
If you are facing financial remedy proceedings, or trying to decide whether to apply, please get in touch. Our specialist divorce financial settlement solicitors at Lawson West offer caring, supportive and completely independent advice, with offices in Leicester and Market Harborough. Your FREE initial discussion is the place to start.
Call our family team on 0116 212 1000 for Leicester, or 01858 445 480 for Market Harborough, or complete our free online Contact Us form and we will be in touch as soon as possible. The first phone call is often the hardest to make. We’re here to help.
No. You can get divorced without making a financial application. But unless you have a binding financial remedy order, your financial claims against each other remain open, sometimes for years after the divorce is finalised. Most family lawyers will strongly advise you to obtain at least a Consent Order, even if everything has been agreed amicably.
Yes, where you can agree the terms. A Consent Order is the court order that records the financial terms you have agreed and dismisses any further claims between you. Many couples reach agreement through solicitors, mediation, collaborative law or arbitration, and then ask the court to approve a Consent Order. The judge must be satisfied that the agreement is fair before sealing it — it is not a rubber stamp — but in most cases the court approves the terms without listing a hearing. This is generally the cheapest and least stressful route to a binding order.
It is a court hearing, but the judge cannot record evidence and “without prejudice” discussions there cannot generally be referred to later. The aim is to enable open, honest conversation about settlement under judicial guidance.
There is a strict duty of full and frank disclosure in financial remedy proceedings. The court has wide powers to draw adverse inferences, order further disclosure, freeze assets, and order disclosure from third parties (such as banks or business partners). Trying to hide assets is high risk and tends to backfire.
Possibly. Spousal maintenance is a needs-based award and depends on the income, capital and earning capacity of each party. The trend in recent years has been towards “clean break” orders where reasonable, but maintenance can still be ordered where it is the only fair way to meet a spouse’s income needs.
Pensions are often the second-largest asset after the family home, and sometimes the largest. The court can order pension sharing (a percentage of the pension is transferred to the other spouse), pension attachment (a share of the pension when it is paid), or pension offsetting (the non-pension spouse takes more of the other assets to balance things out). Specialist pensions on divorce expertise is often essential.
The court has wide powers to keep things moving, including making orders for costs, ordering disclosure, drawing adverse inferences, and (in extreme cases) committal for contempt of court. Refusing to engage is almost always counter-productive.
In limited circumstances, yes. Appeals are usually made under Family Procedure Rule Part 30, and the grounds and time limits are tight, so take advice quickly if you are unhappy with a decision. A separate route applies where the problem is not that the judge got it wrong, but that the order itself was tainted at the time it was made. Set-aside applications under Family Procedure Rule 9.9A are available on four grounds: fraud, material non-disclosure, certain limited types of mistake, and supervening events that were unforeseen and unforeseeable at the time the order was made (often called Barder events, after Barder v Caluori [1988] AC 20). Set-asides are most often used by spouses who later discover that the other side was hiding assets at the time the order was made.
A financial remedy order is binding and the court has a range of enforcement tools. Depending on the order, these can include applications for enforcement by attachment of earnings, charging orders against property, third-party debt orders against bank accounts, judgment summons and, in pension cases, applications back to the pension provider where a sharing order has not been implemented. Early action helps; arrears and non-compliance are much easier to address before they build up. Our family team can advise on the right enforcement route for your situation.
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