- Discusses the options available to divorcing couples when it comes to resolving disputes, including FDR, as well as non-court-based options such as private FDR, mediation, collaborative divorce and arbitration.
Court-based financial dispute resolution (FDR) hearings have always been a useful tool in settling financial disputes without the need for a final court hearing. It is up to the judge on the day to make a decision as to how a separating couple’s finances will be divided.
Gradually, over the past few years—and particularly in the wake of no-fault divorce—more couples are seeking resolution to their financial settlement through less adversarial methods. Options include mediation, arbitration and private FDRs. Family lawyers are seeing a marked reduction in the number of couples going to final hearing, instead choosing more cost-effective, less acrimonious routes to getting a consent order in place. In 2018, 14% of finance cases went to a final hearing. By 2023, this had fallen to around
