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Sat 5th July, 2008
Ancillary Relief
Ancillary relief is a process by which financial issues between the parties to a broken down marriage are resolved.
If the parties do not come to a mutual agreement before or during divorce proceedings then there is a route by which the court can scrutinise and determine financial issues between the parties.
A preliminary point to note however is that no court order regulating the financial issues can be made final before decree nisi. A court can make an order which embodies an agreement or part of an agreement which has been reached between the husband and wife. There is also no time limit (although some rights might be lost on remarriage) during which the court must make an order settling the financial issues. However, if the financial matters have not been resolved by the time of decree absolute it is essential that a spouse wishing to remarry should at least consider issuing an application for ancillary relief before remarrying.
You should contact a solicitor to discuss the range of orders which are available.
Guide to Ancillary Relief Proceedings
| Step 1 |
File an application for ancillary relief on Form A. Once Form A is issued, court sets date for First Appointment. The Court then notifies the Respondent of the application and the date of the First Appointment. |
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| Step 2 |
Parties exchange sworn statements of their financial circumstances - Form E. |
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| Step 3 |
Parties file and serve Statement of Issues, Chronology, Questionnaire and any requests for further documents. |
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| Step 4 |
First Appointment - this is a directions hearing at court. Judge will give directions on matters and define the issues in dispute. A date for the Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) is set. |
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| Step 5 |
FDR - this is a court led mediation session
- Judge considers all offers which have been made
- Judge indicates appropriate level of settlement
- Parties to use best endeavours to reach agreement on matters still in issue
- If settlement is reached then a final order can be agreed
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| Step 6 |
If settlement was not reached there will either be a further FDR or a final hearing |
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