Ancillary relief proceedings - part 1

“Ancillary relief” is the term used by lawyers to describe all orders of a financial or property nature or that relate to pensions that a Court can make following divorce, judicial separation or nullity proceedings.

Such proceedings are now very much Court-controlled.  The Court will impose timetables for compliance with its orders.  The parties will usually be required to personally attend all Court hearings.  There may well be costs consequences for failing to adhere to timetables, to obey Court orders and to attend hearings.

An ancillary relief application is commenced by filing with the Court an application in Form A, accompanied by a cheque in the sum of £210.00 being the fee payable.  The Court issues the application, usually within a few days of receiving it.  The Court then sends each party a sealed copy of the Form A, accompanied by both a Notice of First Appointment (Form C) and a Notice of Response to First Appointment (Form G).

The Form C is the most important of these three documents because:-

  1. It contains details of the date and time of the First Appointment (that will be in 12 to 16 weeks’ time);

  2. It contains the timetable for the case up to the initial hearing date of it (the “First Appointment”).  This timetable provides the dates for the parties to file with the Court and to exchange with each other:-

    • a Statement of Information about their financial circumstances (known as a Form E) no later than 35 days before the First Appointment;
    • a concise statement of the apparent issues between the parties;
    • chronology;
    • either a questionnaire setting out the further information and documents each requires  from the other, or, alternatively, a statement that no such information or documents are required;
    • a completed Notice in Form G, stating whether the party will be in a position at the First Appointment to treat that hearing as a Financial Dispute Resolution hearing (“FDR”).

  3. The Form C also provides that an estimate in Form H of any legal costs incurred by the party be produced to the Court at the First Appointment and a copy supplied to the other party.

For further information regarding matters arising from this article, please telephone Christian Abletshauser on
01932 852057, or email him: ChristianAbletshauser@meadowsfraser.com