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
Thank You
Thank you for your time for helping others. I dont think I did some parts correct its very hard but you are a great help. x
Maureen on the 07 / 11 / 2024
Great Video
Nice clarity , giving a methodical and plain English approach to a big old form. A great service to those who can't afford a lawyer at a stressful time. thank you.
Andrew on the 01 / 06 / 2024
Form E life saving video!
Such a confusing part of what is a stressful process. This video was a real life saver and by far the most informative on the internet!
Jeremy on the 10 / 11 / 2023
Completing Form E
Very helpful, and very well explained.
G Thomas on the 18 / 10 / 2023
Fantastic
clear and concise information
Barry on the 05 / 10 / 2023
Form E Simplified
This video simplifies the daunting task of filling out the form E.
Very well done for making it easy to tackle a difficult form!
Deji on the 25 / 09 / 2023
wish i had seen this earlier
great easy to follow film. It helped me to stay focused and put the correct details in the relevant boxes.
jo on the 17 / 07 / 2023
Help with Form E
This video was very helpful to me in completing the court form E. Thank you!
IS on the 10 / 01 / 2023
Highly recommend this
Really helped me. Thank you
G on the 02 / 12 / 2022
A FANTASTIC Video - thanks you SO much!!
Thank you for such a clear, well-presented, video - its helped me SO much!!!
Elliott Brock on the 13 / 11 / 2022
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