Financial disclosure - Who? What? When? How?

As part of the process of reaching a financial settlement in respect of the finances when going through divorce or dissolution proceedings, you will need to provide details and documentary evidence of your financial situation including your income, capital, assets and liabilities. This is called the duty of financial disclosure.

Throughout the negotiations (and any court case), you will be under an ongoing duty to disclose any changes to your financial situation. This is to ensure any settlement reached is in light of the up to date financial landscape of the parties.

If it is later found that a party has not provided full and accurate financial disclosure, for example if they have failed to disclose a property they have an interest in, this could invalidate any settlement reached.

It is a good idea to seek specialist legal advice before starting the process of resolving the matrimonial finances. This should include details as to the documents you will be required to obtain and disclose, such as share certificates, partnership agreements, pension valuations and bank statements etc. This will give you a head start, as well as a plan of action.

Who must disclose?

The duty of financial disclosure applies to you and your ex-partner. You both must be transparent and honest about your respective circumstances.

What financial information must be disclosed?

Once they understand your circumstances, your solicitor will provide guidance about the details and documents you will need to disclose. The overall objective is to enable you and the court to make informed decisions.

Typically, you will be asked to set out and provide documents to prove:

• your income, whether earned income, self-employment, dividend, bonuses or other benefits;
• details of savings and investments, with relevant statements;
• details of valuable personal belongings such as jewellery and artwork
• property assets, with ownership papers, mortgage statements and valuations;
• business interests, and relevant company accounts and tax submissions; and
• the value of your pension and when you can draw it
• details of liabilities including loans, credit cards and over drafts

You will also need to set out your outgoings; including how much your pay towards your mortgage or rent, utility bills, any school fees, and other expenses such as groceries and holidays.

Gathering together the supporting documentation can take some time, especially if you need to obtain specialist valuations, so you must factor in timescales and work to a realistic deadline.

 When and how?

If you want to try and resolve things outside of court, you will start with a voluntary exchange of financial information. This means you can agree between yourselves, and your legal representatives, when to send each other your documents. Again, you should think about how long it will realistically take to fill out any forms and gather documents, before agreeing an exchange date.

If you have to go to court to resolve a disagreement about the financial settlement, then the court will set a specific date by which financial disclosure is to be exchanged, and you should organise yourself to work towards that.

Either way, it is usual for there to be a simultaneous exchange of information. This can usually be done by email or a secure link, especially given the amount of documents that may be involved.

The duty of disclosure is ongoing, so if anything about your finances changes after you have sent over your initial pack of information, you should continue to update your ex-partner or their legal representative. Where there is a court case, you will be told by the court to provide updating disclosure before each court hearing, so the court has the most up-to-date information available.

How we can help

Whether you have only just started proceedings for your divorce or dissolution of your civil partnership, or if you are ready to agree the financial settlement, we can provide you with the specialist advice required to ensure you get the answers you need and the best deal is secured for you.

For further information, please contact our Family Law Team on York 01904 716000, Wetherby 01937 583210 or Malton 01653 692247 or email law@warekay.co.uk.