Sometimes lawyers forget not everyone knows the code!

FDA ,FDR, CFC, FHDRA, ToLATA, TLATA, HR notice and so on and so on…

Lawyers love their acronyms and shorthand, but it might not always make much sense to their clients! It probably doesn’t help that the lawyers don’t always use exactly the same shorthand as one another either.

You may well work in a role where you use lots of shorthand and codes that your lawyer wouldn’t have heard of in return. But please never feel afraid to ask if you don’t know; we may sometimes forget that it’s not a universal language, but something quite peculiar to the family law world we inhabit.

What do you really need to know?

Here we look at some of the most common terms you might encounter.

Finances

Let’s start with the finances on divorce or civil partnership dissolution:

Form A – This is the application form used when applying to the Court for financial remedy proceedings. It sets out some brief details of the marriage or civil partnership, the estimated asset value, and the orders that you are applying for from the Court such as lump sums or pension sharing.

Form E – This is the key form (a financial statement) used when settling financial disputes, whether this be in or outside of Court. We are likely to refer to this form quite a lot! It is the form used to set out your financial circumstances, including (but not limited to) any property, bank accounts, pension and income. You and your ex-spouse/civil partner are likely to exchange these Forms with each other, whether via solicitors or in mediation to ensure you have a full picture of the finances before hopefully negotiating a settlement.

FDA – First Directions Appointment – As it says on the tin, this will usually be the first Court hearing you attend when engaging in financial remedy proceedings. This hearing is essentially to work out what direction the case needs to go in by focussing on what information is still needed, such as any expert’s reports/valuations and replying to any queries you may each have about the other person’s financial information in their Form E plus setting the timetable to the next hearing, the FDR.

FDR – Financial Dispute Resolution appointment – This is likely to be the second of the Court hearings and is essentially a court-based negotiation hearing. The Judge is present to assist by giving their non-binding indication in an effort to help the negotiations with the hope that you will be able to reach a settlement at this hearing or at least narrow a lot of the differences between you to reach an agreement shortly afterwards and without needing a final hearing (where the Judge makes a decision).

HR Notice – Matrimonial Homes Right’s notice – If only one person legally owns your family home, the other spouse/civil partner can lodge this notice with the Land Registry until you conclude all the finances and the divorce/dissolution. Any subsequent purchaser or mortgagor would learn that another person may have an interest in this property. It is usually simply a protective measure for a temporary period of time.

Children

Perhaps a little more complicated, because there is more than one court “system” at the moment, we have children arrangements:

CAP – Child Arrangements Programme – This is the older Court system that deals with private children matters. This Court process includes the FHDRA and the DRH, which I detail further below.

CAFCASS and CAFCASS Cymru – Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – CAFCASS (England) and CAFCASS Cymru (Wales) are organisations who are there to support and safeguard children involved in Court proceedings. They are most commonly involved to provide guidance and recommendations to the court about suitable children arrangements and will speak to parents and children as part of their reporting process.

FHDRA – First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment – For those under the CAP (above) this is the first of the Court hearings and is there to allow people the time to try and narrow the issues between them. If this is not possible, we will use it to set out directions and next steps for the case.

DRH – Dispute Resolution Hearing – Similarly to the usual second hearing in the financial remedy proceedings, this is where you would hope to reach an agreement on the arrangements for the children through negotiation and input from the court.

CFC (child focussed court)/Pathfinder – This is the newer Court system that has replaced the CAP (above) in various areas. As the name suggests, the aim is to be more child focussed. The plan is to achieve this through identifying risks to welfare more quickly. In the simpler cases, the process should take 16 weeks as opposed to a much longer process under the CAP with Cafcass/Cafcass Cymru involved from the outset to meet with the parents/children and report back about the voice of the child/impact on the child to the court with recommendations or noting agreements reached.

Unmarried couples

And last, but by no means least, we look at the terms around disputes between people who have been living together but haven’t married.

TOLATA/TLATA – Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act – This is the most common Act that would be applied in the event of a dispute around property between cohabiting couples – whether to identify who is entitled to what value in a property and/or to address how those shares are to be released (e.g by a sale).

DOT or Dec of Trust – Declaration of Trust – This is a document which sets out how a property is owned. For example, when one party contributes a significant sum to the purchase price and wants the sale to reflect that contribution, rather than splitting the proceeds equally. It might also explain how you will handle the property if the relationship ends. These can be really helpful at the end of a relationship if they are clear and comprehensive.

Ultimately, whether you are familiar with the terms or not, you should never feel your lawyer is not explaining things to you in a way you do not fully understand. If you feel unsure, ask them what advice they give you so you can make decisions about youu and your family’s future.

There are various other forms/hearings that may be involved, but we will always do our very best to provide you with clear, practical and accessible guidance along the way as here at Geldards, we pride ourselves on understandable and realistic advice for all of our clients.