Category Archives: Procedure

What Is A Form J And Why Is It Important?

Similar to a Form E, when you file for divorce in Hong Kong and proceed through the court system, there are a number of steps and forms you need to fill out as part of your divorce. One of the key disclosure documents you must fill out is a Form J. A Form J, or a Children’s Form is designed to help you and your spouse and the Court determine the best arrangements for the children. A Form J is therefore an important document that should be filled out with careful consideration and accurate details so that the Court can use this document to determine the best interests of the children. Similar to a Form E, a Form J is sworn and signed by you and should therefore contain truthful and accurate information. As this is a key document in determining custody and access arrangements, it is prudent that you fill out this form with the assistance of your solicitor who can guide you through the process of filling out the form in the most accurate and detailed way. In the event you and your spouse come to an agreement over the children without the need for Court intervention, then a Form J will not be needed. However, if you and your spouse are going through the Court system in order to resolve any custody and access arrangements, the Form J will be mandatory and you will exchange this disclosure document with your ex-spouse.

Let’s go through a Form J for a better understanding of what information and disclosure will be required by you:

Part 1: You and Your Children
In Part 1 of the Form J, you will need to provide general information about you and your children. This general information includes the full name and address of you and your children, their date of birth, age, sex and relationship to you. If there are third-parties involved in the care of your children such as step-parents, grandparents and domestic helpers, you will also need to provide such details including their name and their relationship to the children.

Part 2: Current Living Arrangements
In Part 2 of the Form J, you will need to provide detailed information about the current living arrangements. For example, how much time do the children spend time with you and with the other parent and/or other carers. If you are involved in a new relationship, you will also need to provide details of this new partner. As part of the current living arrangement explanation, you will also need to provide details as to the arrangements for the children when they are with you. For example, where do they sleep, do they share a room, and how long have these living arrangements been in place? During the children’s time with you, do the children communicate with the other parent and if so, how frequently and by what means of communication? How do you and the other parent deal with handovers and what are the logistics of these handovers of the children? Do the children communicate with extended family members when they are with you and if so, how frequently? Other questions that you will need to answer about the children’s arrangements is the type of extra-curricular activities the children are involved in and how often they attend these extra-curricular activities. What kind of support do you or tutors provide to the children regarding their school work? What kind of entertainment activities are your children involved in? Finally, in this section you will also need to detail how the children are cared for when you are working or when you have to attend to work commitments such as after-hours meetings/meals and/or travel abroad.

Part 3: Schooling
In Part 3 of the Form J, you will need to detail the children’s schooling arrangements including the name of the children’s school and their year at the school. You will also need to provide details about how your children travel to/from school, how long it takes to get to/from school and what the after-school care arrangements are for the children when they are with you. If there is special care required for your child due to special needs, this should be detailed in this section. This section is important because this is where you will need to detail your plans about how you have involved and plan to involve the other parent in the decisions related to the children’s schooling. For example, you will need to provide a plan as to how you and your co-parent will make decisions about school, choice of subjects and future career options. Will you and your co-parent agree on attending school functions together such as on parent days and sports days? You will also need to put forth the emergency contact for your children and who would be responsible as the point person should your child fall ill at school or there are emergency issues that need to be dealt with.

Part 4: Health
Part 4 of the Form J is related to your child’s health and medical problems. You will need to detail whether your child suffers from any health and medical problems and if any special care is required for your child. If your child suffers from any physical disability or requires special medication or therapy, this is where you will need to detail the issues and provide transparent information to the Court.

Part 5: Finances
In Part 5 of the Form J, finances become the focus of this section, as finances will be important for the care and future of your child. In Part 5, you will need to detail your income including any bonuses or commissions you may receive as part of your income. If you have received or are receiving government allowances, you will need to identify this source of incoming cash. If you are receiving maintenance from your ex-spouse, you will also need to detail what you have been receiving or are receiving.

Part 6: Future Parenting Arrangements
Part 6 of the Form J is an extremely important section. This is where you should detail what arrangements you would like to see for the children going forward and it is here you should detail what plans you have in place to bring this forward. In this section, you will detail the regular arrangements you propose for the children to spend time and communicate with the other parent including public holidays, school holidays, overnights and overseas trips. If the children are to live with the other parent instead of you, what proposals do you have for yourself in terms of communication and time with the children during public holidays, school holidays, overnights and overseas trips. You will also need to detail what proposals you have to assist the children in spending time and communicating with the other parent and other family members. This is an important section of the Form J because the Court will want to see how cooperative you are and if you are willing to be cooperative in the future. This is the time for you to show that you will do your utmost best to co-parent and be a willing participant in helping your children remain connected to the other parent. As the children’s support group not only includes parents and family members, the Court also wants to know how you will encourage the children to maintain friendships if a move is part of the proposal.

Part 7: Other Circumstances
Finally in Part 7 of the Form J, you will have the opportunity to detail any other circumstances which you believe are relevant to the arrangements of the children, including but not limited to mental/physical disability, mental/physical health and mental/physical abuse or violence. You can also detail any other relevant matters such as issues with a new partner or moving home. Your solicitor should assist you in detailing what is relevant and what necessary details should be provided or not.

Filling out a Form J can be overwhelming as you want to provide as much detail as possible, but you also do not want to overload the Court with too much unnecessary and historical information. It is therefore important that you speak with your solicitor to go through all the details of your case and consider what should or should not be included. Similar to a Form E, it is important to be reminded that you will need to sign this form under oath, thus your document must be truthful and should provide full and frank disclosure.

What Is A Form H?

In this article we will highlight one of the judicial forms required when you are going through a Divorce through the Hong Kong Family Court system. The Form H, is a form which has to be completed by each spouse before every hearing in the Family Court and which sets out the legal costs incurred up to that hearing and the estimated legal costs thereafter up to and including trial. The Form H is signed by you and your solicitor and by signing this form, you are acknowledging that the costs have been brought to your attention. It is therefore important that before you sign the Form H, you review the Form H carefully and ask any questions you may have about it with your solicitor.

Let’s look at the Form H in more detail as follows:

Part 1: Estimated Costs Incurred: In Part 1 of the Form H, your solicitor will need to list out costs such as (1) Fixed Costs (2) Solicitor’s Costs (including costs incurred by your current and any previous solicitors); (3) Disbursements (including disbursements incurred by your current and any previous solicitors); and (4) All Counsel’s Fees. These costs are generally apportioned between three aspects of your divorce, namely the main divorce suit, children and ancillary relief (financial matters). It is important in this section for your solicitor to list out the costs in detail and accurately.
Part 2: Estimated Costs after the current hearing up to and including the FDR: In Part 2 of the Form H, your solicitor will need to list out the costs as outlined above in 4 different parts, but this time your solicitor will list out the “estimated” costs and what you and your solicitor believe will be the further costs after the current hearing and up to the FDR (Financial Dispute Resolution) hearing to settle the issues related to ancillary relief.
Part 3: Estimated Costs up to and including the Trial: In Part 3 of the Form H, similar to Part 2, your solicitor will need to list out the anticipated estimated costs, including your solicitor’s costs, disbursements and counsel’s fees up to and including the Trial. Therefore, this is the “estimated” costs that you and your solicitor believe will be the remaining costs to bring your case to a conclusion.

The Form H is an important document because the Judge will look at this document when making any financial orders with respect to solicitor/counsel costs. Therefore, it is important that this is filled out accurately. Timewise, the Form H is usually exchanged a day before the hearing and presented to the Court on the day before the hearing.

Whilst a Form H is a required form when litigating divorce, it is important to note another important aspect of a Form H. Sometimes litigants will not be aware of the accumulated costs that have been incurred to date and the Form H can simply summarize for a litigant, the amount of costs incurred so far and what will be incurred going forward. By acknowledging and reviewing both forms submitted to the Court by both husband and wife, both the divorcing husband and wife will know how much the divorce will ultimately cost the two of them. This can sometimes be an eye-opening experience and perhaps even make one party reconsider whether litigation is worthwhile given the amount of money that is being spent.

Form E Disclosures

When you file for divorce in Hong Kong and proceed through the court system, there are a number of steps and forms you need to fill out as part of your divorce. One of the key disclosure documents you must fill out is a Form E. A Form E is a disclosure document which outlines your assets and liabilities thus providing your ex-spouse and the court with full transparency of your financial status with supporting financial documents. In the Form E, you will need to fill out all the details of your financial status including your income, property, assets and liabilities. This document is signed under oath so it must be a true statement as a false statement may then be a contempt of court. In the event you and your spouse come to an agreement over the finances without court intervention, you both may be spared from exchanging a Form E if it is mutually agreed to waive the exchange of such disclosures. If however, you proceed through the court system and litigate your divorce, a Form E will be mandatory and you will have to exchange this disclosure document with your ex-spouse.

Let’s go through a Form E so you have a better idea of what is asked in the document and what information you must provide:

Part 1: General Information: In Part 1 of the Form E, you will need to provide general information such as your full name, birthdate, date of marriage and employment information. In this section, you will also need to provide your date of separation, whether you intend to remarry and information about your children such as their birthdates and whom the children currently live with. It is in this section that you can provide the current educational arrangements for the children and what you propose for future arrangements and if there are any maintenance arrangements or orders for maintenance between you and your spouse.

Part 2: Assets and Liabilities: In Part 2 of the Form E, you will need to provide information about your place of residence and specify whether you rent or own the property. You will need to provide information on whether you currently live with others including your new partner and children, whatever is applicable. If you own property in Hong Kong or elsewhere outside of the jurisdiction, you must provide this information including any details about the property such as mortgage/legal charges against the property, your estimate of the current property value and title information. As part of your assets, you will also need to provide bank details in Hong Kong and in any other jurisdiction, investment accounts, shareholding/beneficial interest in companies, directorships or any other businesses and also any insurance policies and pensions/MPF which you may have an interest in. Valuable personal items are also part of your asset pool so you will need to detail these items such as cars, boats, art and jewelry. It is important to note that if you hold cryptocurrency, this is also disclosable and you must provide information/supporting documentation about any and all crypto accounts. In addition to assets, you will also need to detail liabilities in detail including loans, revolving credit and credit card charges.

Part 3: Income: In Part 3 of the Form E, you will need to provide details of your income including base salary, bonuses, commissions and any allowances provided by your work. If you receive income from any other source, this is where you will need to provide the information and supporting information.

Part 4: Current Monthly Expenses: Part 4 of the Form E is where you will need to provide a complete breakdown of your monthly expenses. In this section, the Form E guides you through each area of expenses and lists out different types of general expenses that you will likely have such as meals at home, transport, insurance premiums and other expenses related to the children such as tuition, holidays and clothing/shoes. In this section, you are also asked to provide a list of anticipated future expenses and this is a good opportunity to list out what changes are in store whether there will be an increase or decrease in expenses.

Part 5: Other Information: In Part 5 of the Form E, you will be given an opportunity to provide details as to whether there has been any significant changes to your assets during the last 36 months and this includes assets both in Hong Kong and elsewhere. This is where you will have an opportunity to explain any major changes that you have experienced with your income or loss of assets through special circumstances. You will also be given an opportunity to explain whether the conduct of either party should be taken into consideration. It should be noted that this is only taken into consideration in exceptional circumstances however, the court does provide you an opportunity to provide such details in this section. Additionally, you can also explain the standard of living during the marriage enjoyed by yourself and the children and any other circumstances which could significantly affect the extent of financial provision that should be made by or for you and the children. In Part 5 of the Form E, this is your opportunity to provide as much narrative detail as possible as to the financial circumstances of your family and what you expect/anticipate is needed in order to maintain the status quo.

Part 6: Orders Sought: In Part 6 of the Form E, you will be able to list out what orders you seek from the court. If you have hired a solicitor, this is the time to discuss with your solicitor your expectations as to what it is you seek from the divorce.

Part 7: Schedule of Attachments: Finally in Part 7 of the Form E, you will be provided with a checklist of all the supporting documents you must provide with your Form E. It is important you go through each item so that all required supporting documentation are provided as attachments.

Filling out a Form E will be daunting especially if you have representing yourself in a divorce. It is recommended that you seek the assistance of a solicitor to help you fill out this financial disclosure as this will be a key document in your divorce and will be referred to many times throughout the court process. You should be reminded that you will need to sign the Form E under oath. Thus, the document must be truthful and you must provide full disclosure. Before you submit a Form E, be sure to speak with a solicitor so you can be sure that all information has been correctly listed and that you are not missing anything of great importance.

Hong Kong Divorce x Liv Magazine: A Beginner’s Guide to Divorce and Custody

Hong Kong Divorce was recently featured in Liv Magazine’s November 2022 issue. Here’s a look at our Feature Article!

Every relationship has its problems, and while counselling can help many couples get back on track, sometimes separation is the only way forward.

If you find yourself in this difficult situation, it can be reassuring to have a trusted resource to help guide you through the divorce process in Hong Kong. If there are children involved, it’s even more important to come to an amicable separation.

How Do Hong Kong Courts Deal with Divorce?

In Hong Kong there are five grounds for divorce, and you need to select one option when filing your paperwork. They are:

Adultery
Unreasonable Behaviour
One Year Separation with Consent of the Other Party
Two Year Separation Without Consent
Desertion (for at least a period of one year)

How Do Hong Kong Courts Deal with Custody Issues?

In Hong Kong, children issues are broken down into three areas:

Custody: In Hong Kong, you will either be granted “sole” custody over the children or share “joint” custody with the other parent.

Generally speaking however, whether you receive sole or joint custody, each parent will always have a right to be consulted over major issues with respect to the children such as education, religion and health.

Even if you are granted “sole” custody, the other parent can veto your decision by bringing this to the Family Court.

Care and Control: This refers to the parent who will be responsible for the day-to-day decisions related to the children and who the children will be living with on a day-to-day basis.

Access: In cases where one parent has care and control, there will be an order for reasonable access.

Your lawyer will go through each of these issues with you, in order to fully understand the terms you want from the divorce, and ideally work with the other party to come to a mutually agreed-upon resolution.

All About Hong Kong Divorce

HongKongDivorce.com is a free educational tool and resource for individuals struggling to navigate divorce in Hong Kong. You can find all the answers you need to assist you in navigating through the complexities of divorce and matrimonial proceedings in Hong Kong.

It aims to set out in simple terms what you can expect to encounter in the run-up to a divorce, and during the long and sometimes complicated process that may follow.

Caroline Choi, HongKongDivorce.com

The platform was created by Caroline Y Choi, a matrimonial lawyer at Oldham, Li & Nie. Caroline is an expatriate who has lived in Hong Kong since 2016. She is Of Counsel with the Law Society of Hong Kong and an attorney with the State Bar of California. She specialises in high-asset expatriate divorces and with multi-jurisdictional expertise in Hong Kong and California. As a frequent contributing writer for The Huffington Post on all issues related to family law, Caroline created the website HongKongDivorce.com with the objective of providing the public with easily accessible information related to every aspect of divorce. Its mission is to provide a concise and clear overview of the law, with the objective of providing the public with easily accessible information related to every aspect of divorce and to clarify how the divorce process works. Its mission is to provide a concise and clear overview of the law, answer common queries and provide general support to those in need.

Contact Details

Looking for advice? Call 2186-1810 or visit HongKongDivorce.com to learn more.

No-Fault Divorce in the UK_Is This What’s In Store For Hong Kong?

On 6^th April 2022, England and Wales adopted a “No-Fault Divorce Law” pursuant to the Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act, which allows couples to legally separate without either party having to admit any wrongdoing. As Editor-in-Chief at Hong Kong Divorce and as a qualified attorney with the State Bar of California and a member of the United States District Court, Southern District of California and United States District Court, Central District of California since 2007, I wanted to discuss No-Fault Divorce and how the new law in the United Kingdom compares to No-Fault Divorce in California.

Under this new No-Fault Divorce law in the United Kingdom, parties filing for Divorce can file a joint application for divorce without the need to cite terms such as Adultery or “Unreasonable Behaviour” and thus pointing to the conduct of the other party. This is a change from the previous law in the United Kingdom where parties filed for Divorce citing fault either by way of adultery or unreasonable behaviour or desertion. Whilst couples in the United Kingdom can opt for divorce based on 2 years’ separation, this basis for divorce requires consent from the other party and if no consent is received, parties must be separated for an additional 5 years before a Petition for Divorce can be filed.

No-Fault Divorce has long been something followed in California. In fact, California was the first state in the USA to enact a No-Fault Divorce law. This law was signed by Governor Ronald Reagan, a divorced and remarried movie star at the time and came into effect in 1970. Many states in the USA now follow the No-Fault Divorce law including New York, Florida, Washington and Hawaii, among others.

For those in favour of the No-Fault Divorce law, the benefit of the move towards this new law is that the litigious heat that many couples face in divorce will be taken out of the divorce process as the courts will no longer look to fault and the reasons behind the breakdown of the marriage. Instead, the view and hope are that the parties will instead focus on a more collaborative way forward in resolving issues related to children and financial division. In the United Kingdom, industry leaders are embracing the move towards the No-Fault divorce law as “fault” creates unnecessary conflict and in fact, many believe that “fault” has no bearing on the outcome of financial proceedings.

It is true that in California, there are at times litigious divorces even though it is a No-Fault state. Many parties can bring in “fault” through declarations and testimonies filed with the Court in support of their motions for relief. It is not a perfect system. And it is likely that in the United Kingdom, while the hope may be to create a more harmonious environment for divorcing parties, there still will be loopholes where parties’ attempts to bring in information to prove fault and blame will remain to play a pivotal role in the divorce. However, similar to what California has seen in their No-Fault divorce system, the United Kingdom judges will no longer focus on what caused the breakdown of the marriage and instead focus on simply moving the divorce forward and focusing on the wishes of the parties to end the marriage.

With the new law in effect as of 6^th April 2022, the parties can now file for divorce and cite “irreconcilable differences” which is how divorcing parties file for divorce in California and other No-Fault states. In addition to the citation of “irreconcilable differences” the parties will then file for a condition order (similar to a Decree Nisi in Hong Kong, which is a first step towards a divorce or Decree Absolute) and then once that is granted, the parties can then apply for a final order (Decree Absolute).

The big question many are now asking is whether the process in the United Kingdom with No-Fault divorce will result in a quicker divorce process. According to experts in the United Kingdom, there will be a minimum period of 20 weeks from the commencement of the proceedings to the conditional order. In California, the courts provide parties an opportunity to ponder upon the divorce and provides opportunity for reconciliation during the “waiting period.” In California under Section 2339(a) of the California Family Code, the waiting period is six (6) months and begins once the Summons and Petition for Divorce is filed or the date of appearance of the Respondent, whichever occurs first. This minimum 6-month period to obtain a divorce is to allow the parties sufficient time for parties to change their mind about the divorce and to reconcile.

The England and Wales No-Fault Divorce law follows the likes of many other international countries who have also adopted this No-Fault divorce including Australia (Family Law Act 1975), Canada (The Divorce Act 1968) and Sweden. Whether the No-Fault divorce law will incite more divorces in the United Kingdom is yet to be seen. Proponents against No-Fault divorce argue that this will only increase the filing of divorce petitions, in addition to the fact that without allowing fault to be introduced into the discussion, judges will make important decisions without consideration of the facts, behaviour and circumstances that led to the breakdown of the marriage.

A big question among practitioners and clients in Hong Kong is whether the Hong Kong courts will follow the United Kingdom by introducing No-Fault Divorce. This is yet to be seen but it is likely that if Hong Kong courts decide to move towards No-Fault Divorce, it will take much time and consideration before any decisions are made. History has demonstrated that Hong Kong courts are slow to follow the United Kingdom and thus, only time will tell if Hong Kong decides to move towards No-Fault Divorce.

What Is A Form J And Why Is It Important?

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