An FDR Hearing is the Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing. It is generally the second hearing within financial remedy proceedings and is listed following the First Directions Appointment (FDA hearing).
The FDR hearing is known as the ‘negotiation’ hearing as it gives both yourself and your ex-partner the opportunity to negotiate a financial settlement with the assistance of a Judge.
It is a ‘without prejudice’ hearing. This means that any offers put forward at the hearing cannot be disclosed to the Judge at the final hearing. This encourages the parties to put forward more reasonable offers and to have more productive negotiations. This in turn makes it more likely that the parties will settle at the FDR hearing, without saves the costs incurred in going to a final hearing. However, it is important that the parties have all of the relevant information required in advance of the FDR hearing in order for such negotiations to be possible.
It is more common now for this type of hearing to be listed in person. All parties to the proceedings and their legal representatives will need to attend Court an hour before the hearing for pre-hearing discussions. This usually allows for the parties and / or their legal representatives to get an idea of what the other party’s position is and for any outstanding issues to be raised.
The parties and their legal representatives will then go before the Judge. They will be given the opportunity to put forward their case, however, it does not usually include giving evidence. The Judge will have the opportunity to look at all of the relevant information, which includes the parties’ financial disclosure and may include documents such as property or business valuation reports if applicable. In addition to this, the Judge will consider the without prejudice offers that have been put forward by the parties in preparation for the hearing.
The Judge will then give an indication of what they would consider to be a fair outcome in terms of a financial settlement. This tends to be accurate in terms of what a Judge would order at a final hearing. This provides the parties with a good starting point for negotiations on the day of the FDR hearing. They will then have the opportunity to go away and consider the Judge’s indication and to put forward various offers.
If you are able to agree a financial settlement at the hearing, the agreement will be drafted into a financial consent order and will have to be approved by the Judge.
If the parties are unable to reach an agreement on the day, the Judge will not be able to impose a decision on the parties. The case would have to be listed for a final hearing. The Judge that dealt with the case at the FDR hearing will have no further involvement in the case and the final hearing Judge would also not know what indication was given by the Judge at the FDR hearing.
If you have any questions about this issue, please contact our specialist divorce and finance team who would be happy to assist.
