Witness Statement Deadlines in Divorce: Miss Them and Miss Out
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Serena Sandhu
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Missing deadlines in divorce proceedings: a lesson from AB v CD [2025]
The case of AB v CD (2025) EWFC 253 (B) was set for a two day final hearing in financial remedy proceedings at the Family Court in Newcastle. Both parties failed to comply with directions and section 25 witness statements were late, improperly formatted, not uploaded to the portal.
What happened?
The case was fairly straightforward. The wife, AB and the husband, CD were divorcing and, like many separating couples, they needed the Court to decide on a fair financial settlement.
Both parties were represented by solicitors and counsel.
Per the Court’s directions, the parties were required to file section 25 witness statements by 7 July 2025, 21 days before the final hearing. Both failed to do so. CD’s was dated 17 days before the hearing. AB’s was dated just 6 days before the hearing.
The parties section 25 statements was limited to 8 pages, however both parties exceed the page limited ad CD ignored the formatting requirements in accordance with Practice Direction 22A as the font was too small.
What are section 25 statements?
Section 25 statements of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 outline various factors the court must consider when making financial orders in divorce proceedings, including 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, including earning capacity, financial needs, the standard of living of the family before the breakdown of the marriage; age of each spouse, duration of the marriage, any physical or mental disabilities, conduct.
Usually, the contents of the witness statement will form the basis of what each spouse will say under oath.
When a party fails to serve their witness statement on time, it puts the other side at a disadvantage because they do not have as long to consider the arguments put forward by the opposing party.
Serving on time is so important that the Court can impose strict sanctions on parties who miss deadlines. Specifically, rule 22.10 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 states:
“If a witness statement for use at the final hearing is not served in respect of an intended witness within the time specified by the court then the witness may not be called to give oral evidence unless the court gives permission.”
Effectively, the party who does not serve their witness statement by the time/date specified, cannot give oral evidence at the final hearing without permission.
The high cost of missing deadlines
AB made an application for relief from sanctions, essentially asking the Court to overlook the rule-breaking and allow her to proceed with her section 25 statement, despite missing the deadline.
Applications for relief from sanctions are governed by the Family Procedure Rule 4.6, which requires Courts to consider nine specific factors, including whether the failure was intentional, whether there’s a good explanation for it, and the impact on both parties.
The Judge systematically worked through each factor and found them all pointing against granting relief. AB blamed problems with previous counsel for the delay in providing the statement, and claimed she was waiting for information from CD. The Judge was highly critical of these arguments, calling them “weak” and that was “describing it kindly.”
Looking at all the factors, and all the circumstances of the case, the Judge refused AB’s application.
There were numerous other issues in this case that did not assist either of the parties. The Judge criticised the “extremely poor” management of the hearing, including court bundles (the collection of all relevant documents for the case) arriving four days late and containing 537 pages when the maximum permitted was 350 pages, and both parties filing their position statements late – one landed on the morning the final hearing was due to commence.
Quoting Xanthopoulos v Rakshina, the court described non-compliance as “a form of cheating”. AB’s delay gave her an unfair advantage and truncated CD’s ability to prepare.
Lessons for parties and practitioners
Parties who want their day in court must take procedural rules seriously.
Those who do not comply with case management directions could face serious sanctions and, as AB v CD [2025] shows, the Courts are prepared to use them. The Courts are already under severe pressure. Failure to prepare cases properly impacts on the Court’s ability to deal with them efficiently.
Of course, there may be legitimate reasons why a witness statement is late. In those situations, the best course is to apply for relief from sanctions as early as possible and with credible evidence. Ideally, you should contact the other party to confirm they do not oppose your application.
If you are ready to exchange documents but the other side is not, you can require them to formally request more time and apply for relief from sanction. This could be a quick way to strike out a claim.
Ultimately, the family courts are there to help couples decide important issues fairly, but the process only works if both sides take it seriously. As this case shows, if you don’t follow the process, you risk being shut out of decisions about your own future.
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