How long do financial remedy proceedings take?

Financial remedies are a separate process from the divorce, run under Part 9 of the Family Procedure Rules. Before applying you must attend a MIAM or claim an exemption, and the court expects genuine attempts at non-court resolution — solicitor negotiation, mediation, collaborative law or arbitration — first. Anything agreed can be sealed as a consent order at any stage.

The stages

1. Form A — the application, with a court fee of £321, subject to Help with Fees. It specifies the orders sought.
2. First Appointment — listed about 12 to 16 weeks ahead. It is case management, not a decision: what further evidence is needed, what happens next, whether settlement is still possible.
3. Form E — filed by both parties at least 35 days before that hearing. It runs to 28 pages and requires 12 months of bank statements, mortgage statements, pension valuations, business accounts, property valuations and full details of income and outgoings. Questionnaires on each other's Form E are exchanged 14 days before.
4. FDR hearing — the settlement hearing. The judge reads the papers and the parties' offers, hears submissions, and gives an indication of what a fair outcome looks like. It is without prejudice, so nothing said can be used at a final hearing, which frees both sides to negotiate. Around 60 to 70% of cases settle here.
5. Final hearing — one to three days before a different judge, with live evidence and cross-examination.

How the court decides, and what it costs

The judge applies the section 25 factors of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973: the welfare of any children first, then income and earning capacity, needs and obligations, standard of living, age and length of marriage, disability, contributions, conduct in exceptional cases only, and lost benefits such as a widow's pension. In longer marriages the starting point is equal sharing of capital, adjusted for needs — above all housing the parent caring for the children. Modern practice leans towards a clean break wherever it is feasible.

Costs beyond the court fee are the real figure: £15,000 to £60,000 or more per party for a contested process, plus £3,000 to £20,000 for counsel at the FDR and final hearing. A private FDR, where the parties pay a senior barrister or retired judge to give the indication, typically costs £3,000 to £15,000 between them and is often cheaper than the delay it avoids.

Disclosure must be full and frank. Material non-disclosure is a ground for setting an order aside years later, as Sharland v Sharland confirmed. Get a pensions expert report where pensions are significant — transfer values alone frequently mislead.