What Happens If My Ex Refuses Financial Disclosure in Mediation?

If you are using family mediation to work through your finances following separation or divorce, you will both be asked to provide information about your financial circumstances.

But what happens if your ex-partner simply refuses?

The answer is quite straightforward: financial mediation cannot properly continue without sufficient financial disclosure.

Why is financial disclosure necessary in mediation?

One of the key principles of financial mediation is transparency.

Before you can begin exploring possible financial arrangements, you both need to understand what you are actually working with.

This means providing relevant information about your financial circumstances, which may include your income, property, mortgages, savings, investments, pensions, debts and other assets or liabilities.

The exact information required will depend on your individual circumstances.

This isn’t about one person having to accept the other person’s proposals. It is about making sure that you are both making decisions based on the same financial picture.

What if my ex-partner doesn’t provide everything?

There is an important difference between financial disclosure taking a little time to complete and somebody refusing to disclose their finances.

It is quite normal for additional information to be needed during the process.

A property valuation might need updating. A pension valuation may still be outstanding. A bank statement or mortgage figure might need to be provided. There may also be questions arising from the information already disclosed that need clarification.

Those things don’t necessarily prevent mediation from continuing.

However, if one person refuses to provide the financial information necessary for meaningful discussions to take place, that is different.

A mediator cannot force somebody to provide financial disclosure. But equally, we cannot simply ignore the missing information and continue as though it doesn’t matter.

Can we still reach an agreement without full financial disclosure?

Financial decisions made following separation can have significant and long-term consequences.

For mediation to help you explore possible arrangements properly, you both need to have full information about the financial position you are discussing.

As mediators, we remain impartial. We don’t decide how your finances should be divided and we don’t tell either of you what outcome you should accept.

But we do have a responsibility for the mediation process itself.

If there is insufficient financial disclosure for meaningful and informed discussions to take place, we cannot simply move ahead towards an outcome based on figures that have not been properly established.

What happens if my ex-partner refuses to disclose their finances?

If important financial information is outstanding, we would usually identify what is needed and give the relevant person an opportunity to provide it.

But ultimately, financial mediation requires both people to participate transparently in the disclosure process.

If one person refuses to provide the necessary financial information, there may come a point where financial mediation simply cannot continue.

In that situation, we would discuss this with you both and bring the mediation process to an appropriate conclusion.

What happens next?

The breakdown of mediation does not mean that you are left without a way forward.

During your Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM), we discuss mediation as well as the other options available for resolving matters following separation or divorce.

If financial mediation cannot continue because the necessary disclosure is not being provided, you may need to consider one of those alternative routes.

Depending on your circumstances, this may include obtaining independent legal advice and considering whether an application to the Family Court is necessary.

If appropriate, the relevant MIAM Certificate can also be issued to enable you to take the next steps.

Financial mediation needs transparency from both of you

Mediation gives separating couples an opportunity to work through their finances together and retain control over the decisions that affect their future.

But for that process to work, both people need to be open about their financial circumstances.

Questions can be asked. Further information can be requested. Figures can be clarified and updated as the process progresses.

What we cannot do is build an agreement around a financial picture that we know is incomplete.

If one person ultimately refuses to provide the financial disclosure necessary for informed discussions, financial mediation cannot properly continue.

Do you need help working through your finances?

If you are separating or divorcing and would like to understand how financial mediation works, the first step is to book your individual MIAM.

We can talk through your circumstances, explain the financial mediation and disclosure process and help you understand the different options available to you.