The FDR: The Financial Dispute Resolution.

The FDR is the Financial Dispute Resolution and is the proceedings leading to Ancillary Relief (the name given to the legal process in England and Wales whereby the financial arrangements of a divorcing couple are negotiated and formalised in a court order).

During the FDR you will have to be very awake and able to think and calculate quickly. It is important to realize from the start that the concept of equality is anathema to the legal system; even your own barrister will be aiming at giving 51-60% of your assets away (OK, so the opposition wants 80% of your money). Furthermore some of your assets are soft assets and you will be put under pressure to accept an inflated estimated value on these (shares, house value etc) and these high risk items will end up in your side of the split, whereas the opposition will want car, cash, pension, gilt-edged assets and other low-risk items. Be warned; once the FDR is over you cannot come back and complain that your shares have decreased in value!

It is important to realize that there is considerable flexibility in dividing your various pots of money. It would be simple to say that together we have £400.000 so we each take £200.000. In fact the pots can be considered separately, so unless the difference in your pension provision is over say £50.000 then that “pot” can be left alone and the cash “pot” divided separately, etc. Obviously this can cut both ways so the one who can juggle these figures best will profit most.

Another sneaky item that may be slid in may include non-financial agreements; “The children will reside with their mother Monday to Friday” is an innocent-looking example. If you accept this it will makes you ever seeing your kids incredibly much harder and will doom you to everlasting child maintenance payments too. You may agree under duress to get things over with but be aware you have given your kids away and here is no way back!