What Does Full and Frank Disclosure Mean? UK Guide

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Full and frank disclosure is one of those phrases that appears in every divorce guide and is almost never explained properly. You reach an agreement with your ex, you feel relieved, and then someone tells you that you both have to disclose everything before a judge will approve it. That can feel like an intrusion, particularly when you have already sorted things out between you.

The duty is real, though, and the reason behind it is more sensible than it first appears. It is also the point at which most people quietly wonder whether they can get around it. This guide covers what the duty actually requires, what you need to reveal, how it works on a consent order application, and what a court can do if one of you holds something back.

Where the phrase “full and frank disclosure” comes from

The phrase is not invented by solicitors to make a simple job sound complicated. It comes from case law. In Livesey (formerly Jenkins) v Jenkins [1985] AC 424, the House of Lords held that each person owes a duty to the court, not only to their spouse, to disclose all material facts about their finances. That principle applies just as much to the exchange of information leading up to an agreed order as it does to a contested hearing.

The Supreme Court restated it three decades later in Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC 60. Lady Hale made the point that a consent order takes its authority from the court, not from the fact that two people signed something. Because the judge is the one making the order, the judge has to be told the truth.

What “full” and “frank” each mean in practice

“Full” is about completeness. Every asset, income stream, pension and debt of any real value goes in, including things held jointly, things held abroad, and things you consider to be yours alone. “Frank” is about honesty and timing. You volunteer the information rather than waiting to be caught, and you describe it accurately instead of presenting a flattering version.

A useful test: if you find yourself hoping your ex does not think to ask about something, that thing needs to be disclosed.

Why the court insists on full and frank disclosure

A judge approving a financial order is not a rubber stamp. Under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the court has to consider each person’s income, assets, needs, earning capacity and contributions, along with the welfare of any children, before deciding whether an arrangement is fair. None of that can be assessed if the judge does not know what there is to divide.

There is a practical reason too. A settlement built on half the facts tends to fall apart. If one of you later discovers that the other had a rental property, a large bonus, or a pension worth several times what was mentioned, the agreement stops looking like an agreement and starts looking like something to be undone. Disclosure is what makes the order stick. It also feeds directly into how assets are divided, because the split is worked out from the pot you both declare.

What you need to disclose

The list below covers what most couples need to set out. The detail varies with the size and complexity of your finances, but the categories rarely change.

• Property: the family home and any other property, with current market values and outstanding mortgages.
• Bank and savings accounts: current accounts, savings, ISAs, premium bonds and any accounts held abroad.
• Pensions: every pension you hold, with the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for each. Pensions are the most commonly overlooked asset and often the second largest.
• Income: salary, self-employed profits, bonuses, commission, dividends, rental income, benefits and any maintenance received.
• Investments and business interests: shares, funds, cryptocurrency, company shareholdings and directors’ loan accounts.
• Debts and liabilities: loans, credit cards, tax owed, and money owed to family members.
• Anything on the horizon: an imminent inheritance, a redundancy package, plans to remarry, or a bonus you know is coming.

That last category catches people out. Disclosure is not a snapshot of one convenient day. If something material changes between the point you exchange information and the point the order is sealed, you will need to tell your ex and the court.

How disclosure works on a consent order application

For a consent order, disclosure usually happens in two stages. First, you exchange information directly, through mediation, or through solicitors, so that you can both see the full picture and agree a settlement on an informed basis. Second, you summarise that picture on Form D81, the Statement of Information for a Consent Order, which goes to the court with your draft order and your Form A.

You do not file bank statements, payslips or property valuations with a consent order application. The D81 published on GOV.UK asks for figures rather than evidence, and both of you sign a statement of truth confirming those figures are correct. That signature is what carries the weight.

Contested cases work differently. There, the court orders a formal exchange of Form E, a far longer document that comes with a thick bundle of supporting evidence. If you want the detail on which document applies to your situation, we have compared Form E and the D81 side by side.

What happens if you do not give full and frank disclosure

The consequences are more serious than most people expect, and they are not limited by time in the way people assume. In Sharland, the husband told the court his software company was not being prepared for sale when it was. The Supreme Court allowed the wife’s appeal and sent the case back to the Family Division. The order he had signed was worth nothing to him.

Broadly, a court can:

1. Set the order aside and reopen the settlement, even years after it was sealed, if the non-disclosure was material.
2. Order the person who hid assets to pay the other side’s legal costs, which in contested proceedings can run well into five figures.
3. Draw adverse inferences, meaning a judge can assume undisclosed assets exist and are worth more than claimed, and divide the pot accordingly.
4. Treat a false statement of truth as contempt of court, which carries the possibility of a fine or, in serious cases, imprisonment.

Deliberately concealing money is a category of its own, and we have set out the realistic outcomes in our guide to hiding assets in divorce. The short version is that it rarely stays hidden, and the cost of being found out is almost always higher than the amount concealed.

How much detail is enough?

Disclosure should be proportionate to your circumstances. A couple with a house, two pensions and a modest amount of savings does not need forensic accountants or a formal valuation of every item of furniture. Round, honest figures based on recent statements are fine, and the court expects sensible estimates rather than precision to the penny.

Where it pays to be careful is with pensions and property. Request your CETVs early, as some providers take weeks. Use a realistic property valuation rather than the most optimistic number an estate agent gave you. And if you genuinely do not know the value of something, say so on the form rather than guessing quietly.

Common questions about full and frank disclosure

Do we still need to disclose if we already agree?

Yes. The duty of full and frank disclosure is owed to the court, and the court has its own duty to check the settlement is fair. An agreement between you does not remove the judge’s obligation to look at the figures, which is why every consent order application is accompanied by a D81.

Do I have to send bank statements for a consent order?

Not to the court. A consent order application is made on Form D81, which asks for figures rather than documentary evidence. You may well exchange statements and valuations with your ex-partner while you are agreeing the settlement, but those do not get filed with the court.

What if my ex refuses to give full and frank disclosure?

You cannot apply for a consent order without a settlement, and you should not agree one blind. Mediation is often the quickest way through, because a mediator can set a structured timetable for exchanging information. If that fails, an application for a financial order lets the court order disclosure and impose consequences for ignoring it.

Can a consent order be set aside for non-disclosure years afterwards?

Yes. There is no fixed time limit. The test is whether the non-disclosure was material, meaning the court would have made a substantially different order had it known the truth. Sharland was decided three years after the original hearing.

Does disclosure include my new partner’s finances?

Your new partner is not a party to your divorce and does not have to disclose their assets. You do have to disclose anything relevant to your own position, though, including whether you are living with someone who contributes to your household costs, or whether you intend to remarry.

Does the duty apply to a clean break order too?

It does. A clean break ends all future financial claims between you, so the court is being asked to close the door permanently. Judges look at the figures on a clean break application carefully for exactly that reason.

Getting your disclosure right first time

Full and frank disclosure asks for honesty rather than perfection. Set out everything material, use sensible figures, tell your ex about anything that changes before the order is sealed, and the process is usually straightforward. The court fee for a consent order application is £62 as of July 2026, and a properly disclosed application is the one most likely to come back sealed rather than with a judge’s query attached.

For more on the disclosure side of a settlement, our financial disclosure guides cover the forms, the evidence and the common pitfalls in more depth.