Private FDR

What a Private FDR Is and Who Uses It

In financial remedy proceedings the court must refer a case to a financial dispute resolution appointment, the FDR, unless there are exceptional reasons not to (rule 9.15(4) of the Family Procedure Rules 2010). Rule 9.17 treats the FDR as a meeting for discussion and negotiation at which both parties must use their best endeavours to reach agreement, and the judge who hears it has no further involvement with the case beyond a further FDR, a consent order or directions. In practice the judge indicates the likely outcome at a final hearing.

A private FDR takes that model out of the court building. Resolution, the family lawyers' association, describes it as you and your former partner appointing an independent private judge, a specialist in financial family matters, to evaluate the financial issues between you. The Family Mediation Council calls the same process early neutral evaluation held as a court-style hearing. Either way the outcome is an indication, not a decision: you can accept it in full or use it to negotiate the finer points.

The rules recognise it. Rule 2.3(1) defines non-court dispute resolution to include evaluation by a neutral third party such as a private financial dispute resolution process, and the Financial Remedies Guide published in March 2026 says the court encourages the use of private FDR appointments. Our summary of the Financial Remedies Guide 2026 explains what else changed.

A private FDR suits any money claim the Financial Remedies Court handles: a financial settlement on divorce or dissolution, a claim for a child under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, or financial claims after an overseas divorce. It can be held before anyone applies to court, or in place of the court FDR once financial remedy proceedings are under way.

Private FDR or Court FDR: the Differences

Both appointments end in an indication rather than a decision, and both are without prejudice, so the differences are practical:

• You choose the evaluator. Resolution notes that your lawyers help you appoint the private judge of your choosing; if the choice is not agreed by the first appointment, the Guide says the court is likely to help you agree one or a way of choosing one.
• You choose the date. Resolution says a private FDR can be booked within a short timeframe.
• You choose the venue. A court FDR at District or Circuit Judge level is listed for a short slot unless the court directs otherwise. A private FDR runs at a neutral venue, with each of you in a separate room with your lawyers if you prefer, and you need not speak in front of the evaluator or to your former partner.
• You pay the evaluator. Resolution says plainly that there is a fee for a private FDR, and the Guide expects fee details for any proposed evaluator at the first appointment if the choice is not yet agreed. Court fees for the application that follows are on the GOV.UK court fees page, and our charges are on our family law fees page.

A private FDR is not the right first step in every case. Where you suspect assets are being moved or hidden, the pre-application protocol recognises that a court application may be needed first, for example to prevent assets being disposed of: see hidden assets and non-disclosure and freezing orders. If you want a binding decision rather than an indication, family arbitration is the alternative.

Disclosure, Preparation and Common Problems

An indication is only as good as the information in front of the evaluator. The pre-application protocol annexed to Practice Direction 9A underlines the duty of both parties to make full and honest disclosure of all material facts, documents and other information relevant to the issues. In proceedings, rule 9.14 requires each of you to exchange a financial statement, Form E, with its supporting documents. For a private FDR we work from the same disclosure and agree a single schedule of assets and income so the evaluator is not given competing figures.

Offers matter as much as figures. In court, rule 9.17(3) requires the applicant to file all offers, proposals and responses, including those made without prejudice, not less than 7 days before the FDR, and the Family Justice Council's FDR guidance says any agreement to withhold offers from the FDR judge is improper. We agree a timetable with the other side that mirrors the rule.

The problems we see most often are:

• Disclosure that is incomplete or out of date, which leaves the evaluator guessing and gives the other side a reason to discount the indication.
• Disputed valuations of a business, a pension or a property, which the court can address at the first appointment by directing a jointly instructed expert under rule 9.15(3), and which are best settled before the private FDR is fixed.
• Position statements written as full skeleton arguments, when the Family Justice Council asks for a succinct overview.
• Treating the indication as a decision, when the guidance reminds practitioners that it is not binding.

How a Private FDR Works

1. Agree the process. Both sides agree in writing to attend, choose the evaluator and the date, and settle how the fee is met. If proceedings have been issued, the Guide says the order permitting a private FDR identifies the evaluator and the date, dispenses with the in-court FDR, allows adjournment only by written agreement or court order, and lists a mention hearing shortly afterwards. That order is normally made at the first appointment.
2. Complete disclosure. Form E is exchanged, questionnaires are answered, valuations are obtained and the schedule of assets and income is agreed.
3. Exchange offers and position statements. Without prejudice proposals and a concise position statement from each side go to the evaluator by the agreed date.
4. Attend the appointment. The lawyers present each side's case, the evaluator asks questions and then indicates the outcome a judge would be likely to reach at a final hearing.
5. Negotiate around the indication. The rest of the day is spent narrowing the gap, and agreed terms are recorded in signed heads of agreement.
6. Turn the agreement into an order. We draft the consent order and the statement of information on Form D81 for the court's approval; where proceedings are on foot, the Guide provides for the mention hearing to be vacated once the consent order is approved. Our consent orders page explains that stage.

If You Do Not Settle on the Day

A private FDR that does not settle is not wasted. The Guide requires the parties to give the next judge an explanation confined to basic facts: whether the appointment took place, its date and whether both of you attended, who the evaluator and the legal teams were, where it was held and how long it lasted. The explanation must not refer to any without prejudice positions, so what was said and offered stays out of the court file.

Rule 9.27A then applies: unless the court directs another date, each party must file and serve an open proposal for settlement within 21 days after the FDR, and the Guide applies the same rule after a private FDR. Open proposals matter for costs. Between spouses or civil partners, including claims after an overseas divorce, the general rule in rule 28.3(5) is that each side pays its own costs, but under rule 28.3(6) and (7) the court may order one party to pay the other's costs because of conduct, and must have regard to any open offer and to any failure, without good reason, to attend non-court dispute resolution. A Schedule 1 claim for a child sits outside rule 28.3, and costs there are in the court's discretion under rule 28.2. Practice Direction 28A adds that a refusal to negotiate openly, reasonably and responsibly will generally be treated as conduct that may attract a costs order.

If you held the private FDR before issuing proceedings, attending it counts under rule 3.8(1)(d): a person who attended a non-court dispute resolution process about the same dispute in the 4 months before applying is exempt from the MIAM requirement, with written confirmation of attendance from the provider as Practice Direction 3A requires. Our MIAM advice page covers the other exemptions.

When Legal Advice Is Especially Important

Take advice before you commit to a private FDR, not just before the day, where:

• The assets include a business, pensions, trust interests or property abroad, so the indication turns on valuation evidence that has to be in place first: see business assets on divorce and pensions on divorce.
• You suspect non-disclosure or that assets are being moved, when a court application may need to come first.
• There is an international element, which our international family law pages cover.
• There has been domestic abuse. The pre-application protocol accepts safety concerns as a good reason not to attend non-court dispute resolution. In immediate danger call 999; the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247. Our domestic abuse and injunctions pages explain protective orders.
• Your right to live in the UK depends on the relationship: see our family immigration solicitors.

How RakLAW Solicitors Can Help

RakLAW Solicitors acts for clients at private FDRs from our office at 42 Shad Thames in Southwark, a short walk from Tower Bridge. We advise on whether a private FDR is the right step, agree the evaluator and the terms with the other side, complete your disclosure, prepare the schedule, position statement and offers, and represent you on the day. If terms are agreed we draft the consent order and Form D81; if not, we prepare your open proposal and take the case on through the court timetable. Our out of court options hub explains mediation, negotiation, collaborative law and arbitration.

The first step is a free 15-minute consultation. Call 0203 345 2000 or book an appointment online.