Well, today was the FDR hearing in my local County Court. I arrived 1 hour ahead of the appointment as I understood that the protocol was to meet with the other party and their solicitor for an hour before going in to see the judge. This gives you an opportunity to negotiate and to get a good idea of exactly what issues the parties are still disputing.

True to form my soon-to-be-ex arrived exactly 5 minutes before our appointment. However, the court was running late and so we had a chance to talk for 20 minutes in an interview room. For those who have not been following my case, we are both currently self representing, so it was just the two of us - no solicitors/barristers. We exchanged the documents we had prepared for the FDR. She had to disclose details of any Calderbank Offers I had made. I submitted updated income/outgoings, assets/liabilities and also a statement of issues. As anyone who has followed can guess, we didn't get very far with negotiation.

We were called in by the clerk to see the judge. It was just the two of use seated at a meeting room table with the judge behind his desk at the end of the table. At this point I have to point out that FDR's are held 'without prejudice', which basically means in secret. So I'm sorry but this means that, especially as the legal proceedings are ongoing, I cannot reveal anything that was said in regards to my specific case. So I will stick to describing the process.

The judge does a ten minute monologue (seemed to be for the benefit of the tape as much as anything) outlining the case and the purpose of the FDR, which is to facilitate negotiation and if possible agreement between the parties. The applicant is then given the opportunity to make a statement on: what they believe the facts to be, what her case (or argument was) and what outcome she was looking for. The respondent is then given the same opportunity to speak. The judge may ask supplementary questions during or after your statement to ensure his understanding.

Any offers made to date are discussed. For older cases these are Calderbank offers, for newer ones (since 6th April 2006) they will be opne offers. The judge then dismisses the parties, ordering that they return in an hour to hear his views, and suggests that they could continue to negotiate during this time. As my ex-to-be would rather cut her breasts off than negotiate my lunch hour was spent sitting alone in the waiting room.

We went back into court after lunch and the judge outlined what he felt would be a likely outcome were the case to proceed to a final hearing. This is clearly on the basis of the law, the evidence presented and the cases made by the two parties. Understandably, an FDR judge is unable to predict what might be the outcome when issues at dispute (for example hidden assets) are argued in more depth at a 2 day final hearing.

So we heard the judges view, and had an opportunity to ask a few clarification questions - and that was it. The outcome - which at a high level I can share, is that no agreement was reached - so no consent order could be drawn up, and the judge made an order for there to be a final hearing some time after June.