Those of us practising in family law are all too aware of the overloaded court system, leading to increased waiting times for our clients and therefore delay in the conclusion of cases, causing substantial emotional distress upon the parties.
We are also conscious that the legal costs of a case need to be proportionate to the assets involved, often in lower value cases, long drawn out and costly court proceedings cannot be justified, often leaving those lower value cases without legal representation.
There has been much research in this area as to how to improve efficiency over the last few years and on 7 April 2025, a pilot scheme was launched ‘the express financial remedy procedure pilot’. This is a streamlined process introduced for parties with assets estimated to have a worth of £250,000 or less, excluding pensions. The net assets are the total of the non-pension assets, less liabilities.
This process is reduced from a three-stage procedure into a two-hearing procedure by turning the first appointment into a financial dispute resolution (i.e. FDR). The FDR will take place within 16-20 weeks following the issuing of a Form A and the Final Hearing within 26 – 36 weeks of the Form A. This would result in proceedings concluding within seven months of issuing. This is a huge reduction in timescale as a report carried out in 2019 estimates the average length of proceedings i.e. to reach a Final Hearing to be 84 weeks.
How to use the procedure and where is it being piloted:
Form A – The form has been amended to include an additional question where the applicant is provided with an option to confirm whether they believe the net total assets, excluding pensions, are worth less than £250,000. If the applicant confirms this to be the case, the matter will automatically be processed via the express procedure where proceedings will be issued in one of the pilot courts (listed below as specified in PD 36ZH):
- Cheshire and Merseyside;
- Cleveland, Newcastle and Durham;
- Greater Manchester;
- Lancashire and Cumbria;
- North and West Yorkshire; and
- West Midlands
The first hearing will be conducted by the judge as an FDR and the usual format of an FDR hearing will take place. If settlement has been reached, the court will invite parties to file a consent order and the subsequent vacation of the Final Hearing (if listed). If unable to settle, the parties must exchange open proposals for settlement within 7 days after the FDR. Further directions may be made and therefore must be complied with.
Second Hearing – Final Hearing
The Final Hearing will be listed upon the issuing of the Form A therefore parties are offered transparency and certainty of the timeframes that they working to. It will be listed for one day and again the hearing will follow the usual formatting of a Final Hearing.
Whilst encapsulating the steps taken under the usual financial remedy process, the objectives here are clear in that an early settlement is encouraged by streamlining and simplifying the process for cases where there are modest assets available and less to spend on legal fees. The focus is on clear directions with an accelerated timetable, it requires litigants to focus on the necessary steps and avoid undue delay.
If successful, the pilot could be a really positive step in enhancing access to justice for many.