Form B

[Helen773062]

I知 the respondent in a UK divorce. My ex applied for the divorce and I知 filling in the online gov.uk form. I知 confused about the question asking whether I want the court to delay my divorce in order to consider my financial position before the Final Order - I need to tick yes or no and not sure which one to tick.. I致e read about Form B but I知 not sure if it applies to me. I've run it through Co Pilot and it says I absolutely do not need or want to complete Form B as it can incur extra legal processes and potentially additional costs to me. Yet other people say I need to select yes, delay divorce and prompt a form b. My finances are still in negotiation and haven't been finalised and will include property and pensions. Can anyone explain in plain English whether I should tick yes or no to delaying? Thank you

[atticus]

Form B applies to everyone seeking financial orders - can you explain what you do not understand.

The safer course is to delay, unless there is some good reason why you want the marriage to be formally terminated more quickly.

As long as the financial aspects remain to be agreed there remains the possibility that they will not be agreed and that you will need to involve the court. Ticking the 'yes' box may help focus the other party's mind on the need to resolve the financial questions.

[Helen773062]

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post and respond, it's hugely appreciated.

My understanding of a form B is that it's an official document that is submitted to the court by me to put on record that I do not agree with a proposed financial order. But since our finances are still being negotiated, I just wasn't sure if I'd ever need to submit one or not (as I guess I may end up agreeing to a proposed financial order). My understanding may be wrong, but I think that's where the confusion came from.

I've heard conflicting advice about ticking yes to delay, or to continue without, and was confused about which option is the right approach for me. It sounds as though I need to delay as negotiations around property and pensions are ongoing (and only in the very early stage of negotiations).

I didn't want to incur any unnecessary costs to myself by asking to delay, if indeed there would be costs associated with doing this (I'm currently representing myself until a little further down the road), but I also didn't want to disadvantage myself and choose the wrong option. It sounds as though delaying is the right approach given my circumstances. I don't think I want the marriage to be formally terminated whilst finances aren't resolved - but even then, I don't fully understand the full implications of that.