Written by Advicenow
This 30-minute film is for people going to court about their finances as part of a divorce or ending a civil partnership and don't have a lawyer to help. It is a step-by-step guide to how you fill out your financial statement (Form E) yourself. Watch Rosemary as she completes her own form and explains what details you put where, and what all the gobbledygook actually means.
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How to fill in your financial statement (Form E)
You have to fill in a financial statement (Form E) if you are going to court in England or Wales to get a financial order after you’ve split up with your ex-husband, wife or civil partner. If you're doing this without the help of a lawyer, it’s a very daunting prospect. So that’s why we’ve made this film to help. Watch Rosemary as she completes her own form and explains what details you put where, and what all the gobbledygook actually means. Rosemary talks about a helpful checklist in the film. You can now find this in the extended version of our guide about going to court for a financial settlement as part of your divorce.
Beware, you have to send this form to the court at least 35 days before your first hearing, and some of the evidence you need to include can take months to arrive - especially information about any pensions. It is therefore best to watch this film and start working on it as soon as possible.
This is just one of our resources to help you manage your separation and divorce, and save you stress and money.
Take a look at our other helpful guides:
A guide to applying for an order to settle your finances on divorce
A short film about what happens to pensions when you get divorced
A guide about how family mediation works and what to expect when you try it
A guide that helps you apply to court about arrangements for your children when you separate
The film supports our guide to going to court for a financial order to finalise your finances when you divorce or end a civil partnership. The guide also talks about how to do your financial statement, as well as explaining, step-by-step, how to get a financial order.
Through the guide, at the most important points, you can access our panel of expert family law solicitors for tailored legal advice at a reduced fixed-fee price. As you read through the guide you can get expert advice on:
- Form E and how to obtain the more complicated bits of information you need.
- Any questions you have about filling in the form.
- How to complete part 4.
- Any extra reports you may need and how to get them.
- What your next steps should be.
To read more on our Affordable Advice service and how it works take a look at Getting affordable advice from a family law solicitor via Advicenow.
Produced March 2018
Reviewed September 2022
Reviewed November 2024
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About this film
Disclaimer
The information in this guide applies to England and Wales and is for general purposes only. The law may be different if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The law is complicated. We have simplified things in the guide to give you an idea of how the law applies to you if you are a young worker. Please don't rely on this guide as a complete statement of the law or as a substitute for getting legal advice about what to do in the specific circumstances of your case.
The quotes and cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We hope they help you think about how to deal with your own situation.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Family Justice Council for funding this film. We would like to thank all those who provided feedback on the script.
The 2022 review of this film was funded by the Litigant in Person Support Strategy.
The 2024 review of this film was funded by the Ministry of Justice via the Online Support and Advice grant.
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
Great guidance
This guide is very well presented, clear and easy to follow. Thank you for taking the time to put it together and make the process of filling in a very large document manageable at a difficult time. Recommended to all facing one of these forms :-)
Paul on the 01 / 01 / 2021
Amazing
This was a clear, concise and easy to follow guide on how to complete Form E. Thank you so much for this as the form can be a bit daunting and your advice was invaluable.
Lou on the 07 / 12 / 2020
Fantastic
This was very helpful and clear. It helped me so much.
Thank you.
on the 04 / 12 / 2020
Filling in Form E
Very clear, and reassuring. Thank you.
J. on the 13 / 11 / 2020
Took the stress away
Invaluable when you are not sure about a particular question.
Described simply and literally stopped my panic,
Form completed in 2 hours with your help, thank you.
Janine on the 04 / 11 / 2020
All becomes clear
This answered my questions, and clarified some confusion. It made it all a lot less scary. Thank you.
on the 18 / 09 / 2020
Really well put together
Thanks for this, it was really helpful
Andy on the 04 / 09 / 2020
How to fill in form E
Really well explained and helpful. Now it won't be so daunting.
J.D on the 14 / 08 / 2020
filling form E
fab really helped me as was struggling to complete this form
bertie on the 28 / 06 / 2020
Extremely helpful!
The most helpful guide. Easy to understand.
on the 26 / 06 / 2020
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