What is a Form E (Financial Statement)?
June 2025
A Form E is a detailed document used during divorce or civil partnership dissolution proceedings where the parties are exchanging financial disclosure in order to reach a settlement. It is a crucial form that allows both parties to present a full and honest picture of their financial situation, helping the court or their legal representatives to assess what a fair financial settlement would look like.
This summary provides general information and does not constitute legal advice on any individual circumstances.
Although it is mandatory to use Forms E to exchange disclosure as part of financial remedy proceedings (if the finances are being resolved through the court) they can also be used on a voluntary basis if the parties are seeking to reach an agreement outside the court process. If proceedings have been issued, they are filed and exchanged before the First Appointment (being the first court hearing). If the parties are proceeding outside court, they can agree the deadline for exchange themselves.
What Information Must Be Included?
The form is comprehensive and broken into various sections. It requires full disclosure of all assets, income, liabilities, pensions, and future financial needs. Parties must therefore provide details about property ownership, savings, shares, bank accounts, pensions, business interests and any other assets, as well as any debts or liabilities. Income from employment, benefits, rental properties or other sources must also be declared. Both parties are required to submit supporting documents, including bank statements, property valuations, mortgage statements, payslips, and pension valuations to evidence the information they have set out.
In addition to outlining their current financial positions, the Form E also provides each party with the opportunity to set out their future financial needs, particularly in relation to housing and living expenses, as well as their financial responsibilities toward any children.
The aim of the form is to give the parties (and the court, if proceedings are underway) a clear picture of each individual's circumstances to assist in reaching a fair financial settlement.
How Form E Affects the Outcome
As a comprehensive summary of both parties’ financial positions, the Form E is foundational in assessing exactly what there is to be divided, as well as beginning to assess what that division should be. If financial proceedings are underway, the court will use the information to identify areas of agreement and dispute, such as the ownership of an asset or its value, in order to assist the parties in moving towards a resolution, or make a determination itself in the absence of agreement. If the parties are proceeding outside court, they will undertake a similar process themselves, or through their legal representatives.
The form is therefore a significant first step in the financial settlement process, not only in setting out the actual assets and liabilities to be divided, but also in considering each party’s needs, and therefore what a fair and reasonable outcome would mean in their particular circumstances.
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