A section 25 statement is a statement produced for the court, usually as part of the preparation for the final hearing. It is your opportunity to set out your case and tell the judge the circumstances which you think it should take into account when deciding the outcome.
It is called a Section 25 statement after Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, a checklist of the factors which the court must take into account when deciding how to resolve a couple’s financial claims within divorce proceedings. Those factors are:
- The welfare of any minor children who have not attained the age of eighteen (the court’s first consideration)
- The income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future, including in the case of earning capacity any increase in that capacity which it would in the opinion of the court be reasonable to expect a party to the marriage to take steps to acquire;
- The financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;
- The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage;
- The age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage;
- Any physical or mental disability of either of the parties to the marriage;
- The contributions which each of the parties has made or is likely in the foreseeable future to make to the welfare of the family, including any contribution by looking after the home or caring for the family;
- The conduct of each of the parties, if that conduct is such that it would in the opinion of the court be inequitable to disregard it;
- The value to each of the parties to the marriage of any benefit which, by reason of the dissolution or annulment of the marriage, that party will lose the chance of acquiring.
Your Section 25 Statement should address each of these factors and explain to the judge how they apply to your specific circumstances. For example, when considering financial needs, you may wish to set out the type of home you require to house yourself and any children you have and the sort of property your ex will require, giving an explanation as to why such a property would be appropriate. If your ex is not working or is not working to their full potential, when addressing income and earning capacity, you may wish to set out the type of employment that they can do and how much you anticipate they will be able to earn.
Your Section 25 statement is key piece of evidence. It will stand as your “evidence in chief” at the final hearing meaning it will be taken as your primary evidence at the hearing. The judge may prevent you from expanding upon it during the hearing so you must take care with the statement and make sure it includes everything you believe the court needs to understand. If you believe that there are any other circumstances outside of the Section 25 checklist which you believe to be relevant, you should consider addressing those circumstances as well, although you should be mindful that a page limit is often imposed limiting the number of points you can raise.
Section 25 statements can take time to prepare and are a critical document at a final hearing. Penalties may be imposed if you file a statement after the deadline set by a court. If you need to produce a Section 25 statement, please contact us so a member of our specialist divorce and finance team can assist you further.
