Refusal to submit full disclosure

Hi all,

I'm due to have FDR in a few weeks, and the disclosure deadline is tomorrow.

My ex called me last night and said she would giving only a few bank statements, but not going to the effort of anything further as she knows this will delay the process further in her favour (it's dragged out for years now by her using delay tactics). How can I get the court to force full disclosure? Can I get the judge to push ahead without full disclosure from her and make assumptions that she will have to live with?

So so frustrating that my ex is actively looking to delay by pulling a stunt like this, but it was a phone call and not a text message so there's no proof!

Thanks.

Well, it rather depends what you think she is not disclosing and how important it is. The fact is that most spouses know the financial circumstances of the other. Whether the bank statements show whether that spouse shopped at Waitrose or Sainsbury doesn't really change anything. Possibly there is something important not being disclosed but you have to take a view on this. In practice it is difficult to hide big assets such as houses or pensions and typically the value of lesser items hardly affects the outcome by any significant percentage.

Hi David,

That's the thing, there's no way she's being truthful about her income so I need the statements to show that - by using the LIP card and the 'I struggle to put food on the table' phrase every time, when it's just not true gives the judge a warped reality. I need the judge to see the real her, and her real income / outgoings to make a fair ruling.

So, what can be done by the court to demand full disclosure is given? I feel completely helpless.. She's given me, the courts, and my solicitor (when I had one) the runaround and it's making things extremely difficult for me.

That only works if she is an employee with a payslip. If she receives any significant amount of her earnings in cash you would struggle to prove it.

So, as expected, the court took pity on my ex being LIP and gave more time to submit paperwork - even though she'd had 2 years dragging her heels since the last court visit. It's so upsetting, and we now go back into the pile to have a new date. In the interim she's worked out with her boss (friend) to say she's out of a job next month and will have no income - surely the court would expect her to seek alternate employment rather than please poverty and gun for a bigger slice of the pie? Should I give up my job to level the playing field?

No, you should not give up your job. There is more to life than divorce. There are all sorts of benefits in having a job which are not purely financial.

Courts look at earning capacity rather than actual earnings. If A has earned £X for the last five years a court will assume an earning capacity of £X unless there is very good reason for the difference such as illness or retirement.