Form E Orders Sought (Section 5): What to Ask For and How to Word It

Section 5 of Form E ("Order Sought") asks what financial orders you want the court to make — in practice, two plain questions: what should happen to the family home, and do you want ongoing spousal maintenance or a clean break. You do not need final legal wording, and the form itself only asks you to answer "if you are able at this stage".

Most of Form E is about facts: what you own, owe and earn. Section 5 is the one place the form asks for your position — and that makes it the part people freeze on. This guide walks through every field (5.1(a), 5.1(b), 5.2 and 5.3) using the official form wording, lists the orders you can actually ask for, and gives example wording you can adapt to your own situation.

Quick answer: what do you write in the orders sought section of Form E?

Write, in plain English, the broad outcome you want: what should happen to the family home (transfer or sale), whether you are asking for a lump sum, whether pensions should be shared, and whether you want ongoing spousal maintenance or a clean break. If you genuinely cannot say yet, state that your position will be confirmed once you have seen your spouse's disclosure. Section 5 is a starting position for negotiation, not a binding demand — but it is signed under the same Statement of Truth as the rest of the form, so it must be consistent with the facts you have disclosed.

What does section 5 of Form E actually ask?

Section 5 contains one main question with two named parts, plus two specialist questions that most people leave blank. As checked on 13 July 2026, the current form on GOV.UK is Form E (01.23), and the wording below is taken directly from it.

Notice the opening words of 5.1: "If you are able at this stage." The form itself accepts that you may not know your full position before you have seen the other side's disclosure. That said, answering 5.1(a) and 5.1(b) as far as you can is almost always better than leaving them empty — your answers frame the negotiation, and silence frames nothing.

What financial orders can you actually ask for?

The court's menu comes from the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (and the equivalent provisions of the Civil Partnership Act 2004). In section 5 you only need to name the types of order — not draft them. These are the ones that matter in practice:

Two notes on what is not on the menu. Child maintenance is normally dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service rather than the court, so it usually appears in section 5 only in limited situations — top-ups above the CMS maximum, school fees, or costs relating to a child's disability. And a "50/50 split" is not an order type: it is an outcome you achieve through combinations of the orders above. If you want to understand how courts reach the overall division, see how a divorce settlement is calculated in the UK.

How to answer 5.1(a): the family home

Say which of the three realistic outcomes you are seeking: the home is transferred to you, transferred to your spouse, or sold with the proceeds divided. You do not need to commit to exact percentages — but naming the outcome you want, and briefly why, makes your position credible.

Ground your answer in the housing reality you disclosed earlier in the form. If you are asking to keep a £285,000 home with a £110,000 mortgage, the obvious question is whether you can take on that mortgage alone — so a strong 5.1(a) answer anticipates it: "transfer of the family home to me, with a reduced share of other assets to offset the equity" reads very differently from "I want the house". If children live with you and neither of you can afford to rehouse if the home is sold now, you can also flag a deferred sale (often called a Mesher arrangement), where the sale is postponed until a trigger such as the youngest child finishing school. Courts use these, but they have real downsides — both of you stay tied to the property for years — so this is a point worth taking advice on before you commit to it.

Whatever outcome you name, make sure it is consistent with the property valuation and mortgage figures you gave in section 2.1 — how to calculate the equity for Form E explains how to get those numbers right.

How to answer 5.1(b): maintenance or clean break

State which of the two you consider appropriate, and one sentence of why. The form defines the choice for you: a clean break "means a settlement or order which provides, amongst other things, that neither you nor your spouse/civil partner will have any further claim against the income or capital of the other party" — and, as the form itself notes, a clean break does not end a parent's responsibility to a child.

The honest way to approach 5.1(b):

• Clean break is the realistic answer where both of you work, earn at broadly similar levels, or the capital split can meet both parties' needs. The court is required by section 25A to consider whether one is appropriate in every case, so saying you seek one is never an aggressive position. Read how clean break orders work before you answer.
• Continuing maintenance is the realistic answer where there is a significant income gap — typically after a longer marriage, or where one of you reduced your career for childcare and cannot yet meet your outgoings from your own income. If that is you, your section 3 budget is the evidence for this answer, so make sure your income needs section supports the claim. For how much and how long courts actually order, see spousal maintenance in the UK.

If you are the higher earner, it is entirely legitimate to write that you consider this a clean break case. If you genuinely cannot say — for example, you have not yet seen your spouse's income disclosure — say that your position on maintenance will be confirmed after exchange of Forms E.

Example wording you can adapt

These are illustrations of tone and structure, not templates to copy blind — your answer must reflect your own disclosed facts. Plain English like this is exactly what the form expects; you are not being marked on legal vocabulary.

Younger couple, no children, both working: "I seek the sale of the family home with the net proceeds divided equally, retention by each party of their own pensions and savings, and a clean break in respect of both capital and income. I do not seek spousal maintenance and I believe this is a clean break case."

Parent staying in the home with children: "I seek the transfer of the family home into my sole name, with the mortgage transferred to me, in return for [my spouse] retaining a greater share of the other assets. I consider this is a case for continuing spousal maintenance for a limited term, as I am the children's primary carer and my current income does not meet the outgoings set out in section 3.1. My position on the term and amount will be confirmed once disclosure is complete."

Longer marriage with pensions: "I seek the sale of the family home with division of the net proceeds, a pension sharing order in relation to my spouse's occupational pension, and thereafter a clean break. The percentage of any pension share is to be confirmed once the cash equivalent values and, if necessary, a pension report are available."

Position genuinely not yet formed: "I am unable to specify the orders sought until financial disclosure has been exchanged. In principle I anticipate seeking orders dealing with the family home, pension sharing and a lump sum, and I reserve my position on spousal maintenance pending disclosure."

If you are asking for a pension sharing order, the pensions section of your form has to carry it: the CETV figures and scheme details in section 2.13 are what make the request meaningful. The Form E pensions section guide covers what to include.

What about sections 5.2 and 5.3?

Most people correctly leave both blank. They exist for two specific situations:

5.2 — variation of a nuptial settlement. This applies where assets are held in a trust-like arrangement made before or during the marriage (an "ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlement") and you want the court to vary it. If it applies, the form asks for the settlement's details, who made it, and its trustees and beneficiaries. If you think family assets sit in a trust, this is squarely a get-advice situation — trust arguments are technical and fact-heavy.

5.3 — avoidance of disposition. This is for cases where you allege your spouse has transferred, gifted or otherwise moved assets to put them beyond your reach — for example, "selling" a car to a sibling for £1 or moving savings to a new partner. Under section 37 of the MCA 1973 the court can set such transactions aside. If it applies, identify the property and the person it went to. Do not use 5.3 for vague suspicion; if you believe assets are being hidden rather than formally transferred, the questionnaire stage after exchange is usually the tool — see how the court forces financial disclosure.

How precise do you need to be — and can you change your mind?

Section 5 is a statement of position, not a contract. You can refine it after disclosure, and almost everyone does. Final, precise orders are drafted much later — in a consent order if you agree, or by the court if you do not. Nothing in section 5 stops you negotiating a different outcome.

Two real constraints sit underneath that flexibility. First, the whole of Form E — section 5 included — is signed under a Statement of Truth confirming your disclosure is "full, frank, clear and accurate", so your stated position must not contradict the facts you have disclosed (what happens if you lie on Form E covers how seriously courts take this). Second, consistency has tactical value: a section 5 that swings wildly between exchange and the first hearing invites questions about your credibility. Ask for what you can justify from your disclosed needs and resources, keep genuine uncertainty explicit ("to be confirmed after disclosure"), and you lose nothing.

Deliberate overreach is the other trap. Asking for dramatically more than your needs and the sharing principle could support does not "anchor" the negotiation in your favour — it signals unreasonableness, and unreasonable conduct of proceedings is one of the few things that can attract a costs order in financial remedy cases.

Common mistakes in the orders sought section

• Leaving 5.1 completely blank when you do have a position. The form permits it, but you give up the chance to frame the negotiation — and the other side will have framed theirs.
• Borrowed legalese used wrongly. "I seek a Mesher order with liberty to apply" impresses nobody if the rest of the form shows you mean a sale. Plain English you understand beats legal phrases you do not.
• Ignoring pensions. If your spouse has meaningful pension savings and your 5.1 says nothing about pension sharing, you have silently conceded the single biggest asset in many marriages. At minimum, reserve your position.
• Conceding a clean break too early. Saying "clean break" when you have not yet seen the other side's income disclosure can undersell a genuine maintenance claim. If unsure, reserve the position.
• An answer that contradicts your own form. Asking to keep the home while your section 3 budget shows you cannot cover the mortgage, or seeking maintenance while disclosing income that exceeds your outgoings, hands the other side its questionnaire.
• Forgetting the Schedule of Documents. Section 5 is followed by the Statement of Truth and the document schedule. Run the Form E documents checklist before you sign — missing attachments cause delay and avoidable questions after exchange.

What happens after section 5?

You sign the Statement of Truth, attach the scheduled documents, and exchange Forms E simultaneously with your spouse. After exchange, each side can raise a questionnaire about gaps in the other's disclosure, and if you are in court proceedings the timetable runs on to the First Appointment and FDR — what happens after Form E is exchanged walks through that sequence. When you reach agreement, the orders you sketched in section 5 get turned into precise, binding form in a consent order with a D81 summary — covered in making your financial agreement binding.

If you are still drafting the form itself, Divvio's online Form E questionnaire asks all of these questions in plain English — including your position on the home, pensions and clean break — and assembles a court-ready Form E from your answers. It is free to start, and you only pay when you export.

Frequently asked questions

What should I write in section 5.1 of Form E?

State the broad orders you want in plain English: what should happen to the family home (transfer or sale), whether you seek a lump sum or pension sharing, and whether you want spousal maintenance or a clean break. The form only asks you to answer "if you are able at this stage", so genuine uncertainty can be stated as a position to be confirmed after disclosure.

Do I need exact legal wording in the orders sought section?

No. Clear plain English is better than legal phrases used incorrectly. Section 5 asks for the kinds of orders you seek, not a draft order — precise legal drafting happens later, in a consent order or at court. Naming the order types (transfer of the family home, pension sharing, clean break) is enough.

Is the orders sought section legally binding?

No. Section 5 is a statement of your opening position, and you can refine it after disclosure — most people do. But the whole form, including section 5, is signed under a Statement of Truth, so your position must be consistent with the facts you have disclosed, and a wildly shifting position damages credibility.

Do I have to choose between maintenance and a clean break on Form E?

Section 5.1(b) asks you to say which you consider appropriate, but you can reserve your position if you have not yet seen your spouse's disclosure. A clean break ends future financial claims between spouses; it never ends a parent's responsibility to a child. If in doubt, reserving the position costs you nothing.

Should I leave sections 5.2 and 5.3 blank?

Usually yes. Section 5.2 only applies if you are asking the court to vary a nuptial settlement (typically a trust arrangement), and 5.3 only applies if you are seeking to set aside a transfer your spouse made to defeat your claim. Both are specialist situations where legal advice is strongly recommended.

Can I say the orders I seek depend on disclosure?

Yes. The form itself opens section 5.1 with "if you are able at this stage". Stating that you seek orders in principle — for example dealing with the home and pensions — with detail to be confirmed after full disclosure and valuations is a normal and sensible answer.

Is Form E the same as a consent order?

No. Form E is financial disclosure plus a statement of the orders you seek; it decides nothing by itself. A consent order is the separate legal document that records an agreed settlement and, once approved by the court, makes it binding.

Official sources checked

• GOV.UK: Form E financial statement (version 01.23, checked 13 July 2026)
• HMCTS Form E Notes for guidance (01.23)
• Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (ss.22–25A, 37)
• Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 9

Divvio is not a law firm and this guide is not legal advice.