The divorce itself (no-fault, 2022 rules)
Since April 2022, one joint or sole application suffices; no conduct allegations. The statutory checkpoints: issue → 20-week holding period → conditional order → 6 weeks → final order. Application fee: £628 (EX50, July 2026). Divorce ends the marriage; it does NOT sort money or cases about the children — those are separate processes that can run in parallel.
Financial remedy — dividing the money
- Form E disclosure Both sides file sworn Form Es: 12 months of statements, pensions, property, needs. Full honesty is leverage; non-disclosure is contempt that can reopen settlements years later. The father's Form E guide.
- First appointment → FDR → final hearing Disclosure and issues first; a negotiation-heavy FDR where a judge indicates likely outcomes; trial only if that fails. Most cases settle at or before FDR.
- The s.25 lens Needs, resources, contributions, welfare of the children — the statutory factors of s.25 MCA 1973 frame every argument. Your housing-near-the-children evidence lives here.
- Consent order to lock it Whatever you agree, a consent order (fee £62) makes it binding. Without one, financial claims stay open indefinitely after divorce.
Fee snapshot (EX50 Jul 2026): divorce application £628 · financial remedy (contested) £321 · consent order £62. Solicitor hourly rates dwarf all three — which is why disclosure discipline and early settlement are financial strategy, not just good behaviour.
Where child maintenance fits
Child maintenance runs separately through the CMS (or by consent order). Shared-care overnights change the number — calculate your bracket and understand the overnight rules before you agree anything.
Questions people ask at Basildon Magistrates' Court and Family Court — self-representation guide
Is Basildon Magistrates' Court and Family Court — self-representation guide where my divorce is processed?
Divorce applications are handled digitally through the online service, with a designated divorce centre doing the admin — not necessarily your local venue. Financial remedy hearings, though, are listed at real courts; check your notices. Official venue info: HMCTS court finder.
Can I delay the divorce to slow the money case?
Rarely sensible. Courts separate the streams, obstruction reads badly, and the 20-week+6-week structure sets the pace regardless. Engage the money case properly instead — disclosure early is positioning.
She wants the house; I want the pension — is that allowed?
That's exactly what financial remedy reallocates: assets of different kinds against the s.25 needs-and-contributions ledger. Pension sharing orders are routine. Value everything properly before conceding anything.
Before your hearing
Turning scattered messages, notes and dates into evidence takes structure. organise the disclosure that decides the money — EvidenceCanvas is a guided toolkit that helps you draft a child-focused witness statement, answer a Scott Schedule point by point, and assemble a paginated court bundle. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.