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Money and property

ES1 form: agreed summary of a financial remedy case

Form ES1 is a short, joint summary of a financial remedy case. It gives the judge key dates, the parties' details, the issues and the orders sought on one document.

Fill in the ES1 form with Wren

How Wren helps with the ES1

Official forms are written for lawyers. With Wren you do not have to decode this one on your own, and you still follow the court’s procedure.

  1. Plain questions, one at a timeEach part of the ES1 becomes short questions in everyday words. Answer at your own pace and come back to it.
  2. Help beside each questionWhat the question is asking and what the official guidance says about it, in plain English.
  3. The official form, filled inYour answers go into the official ES1. You check it, sign it and send it yourself. Nothing goes to the court for you.
  4. What comes next, kept with your caseWhat usually happens after you send it, with the dates worked out from the published rules.

Time and money

On your own
A day or more
With Wren
About an hour for most forms
Solicitor for this form
£740 to £1,2403 to 5 hours

A solicitor’s time for the ES1 can run to £1,240. With Wren it is part of £19.99 a month, and it takes about an hour for most forms rather than a day or more.

Times and hours are Wren’s estimates for a typical case, not quotes. Solicitor costs are those hours at £247 an hour, the courts’ guideline rate for a solicitor with over four years’ experience, outside London (GOV.UK, Solicitors' guideline hourly rates (in effect from 1 January 2026)). The guideline runs from £200 to £295 an hour outside London depending on experience, firms set their own rates, and VAT is added on top.

Key facts

Official title
Financial remedy summary of case: Form ES1
Format
Word (.docx) or OpenDocument (.odt) template. Complete only one.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
Who files
The applicant, after collaborating with the other partySource: para 57 (external source, opens in a new tab); paras 57, 58 (external source, opens in a new tab)
Goes with
Form ES2, the summary of financesSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
Replaces
At the First Appointment it satisfies the rule to file a statement of issues and a chronologySource: para 57 (external source, opens in a new tab)
In the bundle
One of the preliminary documents at the front of the bundleSource: paras 6.4 and 6.6 (external source, opens in a new tab)

Who uses the ES1

The applicant files it, but both parties must work together on one composite version. The Financial Remedies Guide says this applies equally to people without lawyers.

When it is used

Before the First Appointment, the FDR and the final hearing in the Financial Remedies Court. It is filed by 11:00 on the day before each hearing. In express pilot cases it is due 7 days before the first hearing.

Before you start

  • Key dates: cohabitation, marriage, separation, divorce application, Form A and earlier hearings.
  • Each party's age, occupation, net income and address.
  • Children's first names and ages.
  • Expert reports, open offers and costs figures from Forms H or H1.
  • The orders each party will ask for at this hearing.

How to fill in the ES1

Open each part for what it asks and how to answer it. In Wren, each part is a few plain questions, and your answers fill in the form.

Case details

Court, case name, reference, judge if known and type of hearing.

Background dates

Key dates from cohabitation to the latest hearing. Where a date is disputed, both versions are shown.

Parties and children

A table for each party, with an asterisk where a figure is disputed. Then the children of the family.

Experts, offers and costs

Expert reports, open offers made and costs incurred, outstanding and projected.

Issues in the case

Yes, no or unsure answers for each party on issues such as conduct, non-disclosure, housing needs and departing from equal sharing.

Orders sought and other information

A brief summary of the orders each party wants. Then up to 80 words each of other material information.

Prepare your ES1 with Wren Family

Wren Family turns official forms into short, plain-English questions you can answer at your own pace. You check everything before you send it: nothing goes to the court for you.

Get started

Free for 14 days, no card. Then £19.99 a month, with your money back within 14 days if it’s not right.

What happens after you send it

The judge reads the ES1 with the ES2 before the hearing. An updated version is filed before each later hearing.

Common mistakes

  • Sending competing versions. The Guide says this is unacceptable at the First Appointment.
  • Filling in both the Word and OpenDocument templates. GOV.UK says to complete only one.
  • Not stating the hearing date on the front page or not cross-referencing bundle pages.

Common questions

Do I have to complete ES1 if I do not have a lawyer?

Yes. The Financial Remedies Guide says the duty to prepare ES1 and ES2 applies equally to litigants in person.

When is ES1 due?

By 11:00 on the day before the First Appointment, FDR or final hearing. Express pilot cases need it 7 days before the first hearing.

What if we cannot agree the ES1?

The parties are expected to collaborate on one document. The Guide says competing documents are unacceptable.

Where these facts come from

These are the official rules and pages this page is based on. They are listed so you can check a detail for yourself; you do not need them to use Wren. They are outside Wren and open in a new tab.

Last checked against its sources on . How we check our pages.

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