From 7 April 2025, several Family courts are trialling the new Express Financial Remedy Pilot. The aim of the pilot is to resolve contested financial remedy cases quicker for divorcing couples, causing fewer delays, and to be more cost effective for the parties involved.

What is the standard court process?

Usually, there are three hearings in a contested financial remedy case.

The initial hearing is called the first directions appointment hearing (“FDA”), it is mainly administrative, considering what directions are needed and if any expert reports or valuations are required.

The second hearing is the financial dispute resolution hearing (FDR). The FDR is a neutral hearing in which a Judge will hear a summary of each parties’ position and provide guidance on what may be ordered at a final hearing if the parties do not settle their case. The aim of the hearing is to assist parties in reaching a mutual settlement.

If the parties cannot agree a settlement between themselves, there is a final hearing where the court will impose a settlement upon the parties.

What is the express scheme?

In comparison, the pilot scheme has a maximum of 2 hearings rather than 3. The first hearing is between 16 and 20 weeks after proceedings are issued and at that hearing the Judge will review documents, encourage the parties to reach agreement and give an indication of the likely outcome of the case. Thus, the parties essentially skip the FDA to go straight to FDR.

Much like under the standard process if the parties cannot reach agreement the matter will then be listed for a final hearing.

Am I eligible to use this scheme?

You are eligible to take part in the pilot if you are applying to a court that is taking part and yours and your partners total combined net assets are worth less than £250,000.

The pilot is set to be in place until 3 April 2026, when it is anticipated to be extended across England and Wales with the net asset threshold figure potentially being increased to include more cases.