Sample report. The parties, case number and statements are fictitious — real bundles are confidential. Each point models a kind of non-disclosure dealt with in a published judgment (section 7).
← Back
Bank statement review against Form E
Whitmore v Whitmore
Prepared for the instructing solicitor. Based only on the documents listed in section 1.
At a glance
5
points recommended for the questionnaire
3
gaps in what was produced
2
matters checked and held back, with reasons
3
declared figures confirmed by the statements
1. Documents reviewed
Barclays Bank UK PLC current account, sort code 20-45-72, account ending 2196. Eleven statements, 31 of 32 pages. The SHA-256 fingerprint lets both sides confirm later that these are the files that were served.
| Statement | Pages present | SHA-256 (first 12) | Note |
|---|
| Sep 2024 | 3 of 3 | 17b0cc5fe95b | |
| Oct 2024 | 3 of 3 | 2e143b78dd80 | |
| Nov 2024 | 3 of 3 | 5e6cd2161852 | |
| Dec 2024 | 3 of 3 | 7a64fb559897 | |
| Jan 2025 | 3 of 3 | 394c72c368bb | |
| Feb 2025 | 3 of 3 | bf8db02c561e | |
| Mar 2025 | — | — | Not produced |
| Apr 2025 | 2 of 3 | 1275e23af0a9 | Page 2 absent |
| May 2025 | 2 of 2 | f3eee9fd2370 | |
| Jun 2025 | 3 of 3 | 6009ee9aca75 | |
| Jul 2025 | 3 of 3 | 641e820b6ea1 | |
| Aug 2025 | 3 of 3 | 488ee87ecdbf | Ends 28 Aug — 15 days before the Form E date |
2. Statement checks
Every line checked against the running balance; every statement checked that opening balance, plus money in, less money out, equals the closing balance; and every closing balance checked against the next statement's opening balance.
| Statement | Opens | Closes | Balances within | Carries to next |
|---|
| Sep 2024 | 6,842.17 | 5,933.06 | Reconciles | Yes |
| Oct 2024 | 5,933.06 | 6,119.43 | Reconciles | Yes |
| Nov 2024 | 6,119.43 | 5,992.35 | Reconciles | No — see point 4 |
| Dec 2024 | 4,492.35 | 3,710.97 | Reconciles | Yes |
| Jan 2025 | 3,710.97 | 3,873.96 | Reconciles | Yes |
| Feb 2025 | 3,873.96 | 2,837.20 | Reconciles | Can't check — March not produced |
| Apr 2025 | 2,238.46 | 2,171.48 | Does not — page 2 absent | Yes |
| May 2025 | 2,171.48 | 2,735.76 | Reconciles | Yes |
| Jun 2025 | 2,735.76 | 1,831.99 | Reconciles | Yes |
| Jul 2025 | 1,831.99 | 1,480.66 | Reconciles | Yes |
| Aug 2025 | 1,480.66 | 920.91 | Reconciles | Last produced |
Monthly averages below use the ten complete statements only. April 2025 is excluded because a page is missing.
3. Recommended questionnaire points
Ranked by what is at stake and how firm the evidence is. The suggested wording can go into the questionnaire or a Schedule of Deficiencies as it stands. Each figure is cited so it can be checked against the page before anything is served.
Length
Suggested wording for all five points: about 260 words — under one page of the four-page limit, leaving room for questions on property, pensions and everything else.
1
Account not declared at Section 2.3
At stake: £9,900 moved, balance unknownEvidence: strong
- The statements show
- A standing order of £900.00 on the 2nd of every month to sort code 60-16-13, account 42887101: eleven payments totalling £9,900.00, one in every statement produced.
- The Form E declares
- Two accounts at Section 2.3, both at sort code 20-45-72.
- Why it is proportionate
- Nearly £10,000 moved during the disclosure period into an account that is not listed. Its balance, and anything else paid into it, is unknown.
- Suggested wording
Please identify the account at sort code 60-16-13, number 42887101, to which eleven payments of £900.00 were made from your Barclays account ending 2196 between September 2024 and August 2025. Please produce statements for that account for the twelve months up to the date of your Form E, and explain why it is not listed at Section 2.3.
- Sources
- Sep 2024 p.1 · Oct 2024 p.1 · Nov 2024 p.1 · Dec 2024 p.1 · Jan 2025 p.1 · Feb 2025 p.1 · Apr 2025 p.1 · May 2025 p.1 · Jun 2025 p.1 · Jul 2025 p.1 · Aug 2025 p.1
- Pattern seen in
- Walton v Walton [2025] EWFC 16 (B): an account in the husband's sole name received credits of £25,000 and £20,000, and the court concluded he had lied about knowing it existed (paras 10, 13).
2
Income not declared at Sections 2.16 to 2.19
At stake: £1,200 a monthEvidence: strong
- The statements show
- Ten payments in of £1,200.00 from Whitmore Consulting Ltd on the 15th of the month, totalling £12,000.00 — about £14,400 a year. April's does not appear on the pages produced.
- The Form E declares
- Net employment income of £4,150 a month at 2.15, and "None" for self-employment and for any other income at 2.16 and 2.19.
- Why it is proportionate
- Regular income of this size bears directly on both income and needs, and the Form E states there is none.
- Suggested wording
Your Barclays account ending 2196 received ten payments of £1,200.00 from Whitmore Consulting Ltd between September 2024 and August 2025. Please explain your connection with that company, the basis on which the payments were made, and why no income from it is declared at Sections 2.16 to 2.19. If you have any interest in the company, please produce its accounts for its last two financial years.
- Sources
- Sep 2024 p.2 · Oct 2024 p.2 · Nov 2024 p.3 · Dec 2024 p.2 · Jan 2025 p.2 · Feb 2025 p.2 · May 2025 p.2 · Jun 2025 p.2 · Jul 2025 p.2 · Aug 2025 p.2
- Pattern seen in
- Closest published example found: in Walton, the undisclosed account was said to be "a trading account for his unincorporated business" (para 9). That case turned on the account rather than on undeclared income as such.
3
Disclosure is incomplete
At stake: completenessEvidence: certain
- The statements show
- No statement for March 2025. Page 2 of 3 of the April 2025 statement is absent: page 1 ends at −£1,411.32 and page 3 opens at −£1,702.86, leaving £291.54 of activity unaccounted for. The last statement ends on 28 August 2025, fifteen days before the Form E is dated.
- The Form E declares
- Twelve months of statements for the account, as Section 2.3 requires.
- Why it is proportionate
- These are requests for documents that should already have been produced. The missing April page is also where April's payments in points 2 and 5 would appear.
- Suggested wording
Please produce: (a) the statement for March 2025 for the account ending 2196; (b) page 2 of 3 of the April 2025 statement; and (c) statements for that account from 29 August 2025 to the date of your Form E.
- Sources
- Feb 2025 p.3 (closing £2,837.20) · Apr 2025 p.1 (ends −£1,411.32) · Apr 2025 p.3 ("Page 3 of 3", opens −£1,702.86) · Aug 2025 p.1 (period to 28 Aug 2025)
- Pattern seen in
- In Walton, the court obtained the account information from the bank directly "because of Mr Walton's failure to obtain the information as required by the order" (para 6).
4
Balance does not carry forward, November to December 2024
At stake: £1,500.00 unexplainedEvidence: certain
- The statements show
- The November 2024 statement closes at £5,992.35. The December 2024 statement opens at £4,492.35. Both statements reconcile internally.
- The Form E declares
- Nothing that would account for the difference.
- Why it is proportionate
- Consecutive statements from the same bank carry the balance forward exactly, so a difference of £1,500.00 needs the bank's own record for those dates.
- Suggested wording
The closing balance on the November 2024 statement for the account ending 2196 is £5,992.35; the December 2024 statement opens at £4,492.35. Please explain the difference of £1,500.00 and produce the account's transaction history, as issued by the bank, for 28 November to 1 December 2024.
- Sources
- Nov 2024 p.3 (balance carried forward £5,992.35) · Dec 2024 p.1 (balance brought forward £4,492.35)
- Pattern seen in
- X v Y [2022] EWFC 95 (B) was published "to draw wider attention to the ability of dishonest parties to manufacture bank statements (and other documents) which, for all practical purposes, look genuine" (para 28). Arithmetic continuity is checked on every statement for that reason.
5
Payments consistent with a vessel not listed at Section 2.8
At stake: asset value unknownEvidence: moderate
- The statements show
- A direct debit of £340.00 on the 10th of the month to Solent Marine Mooring Fees: ten payments totalling £3,400.00.
- The Form E declares
- At Section 2.8, a Volkswagen Tiguan and household contents. No vessel.
- Why it is proportionate
- Regular mooring fees ordinarily relate to a vessel, which would be a capital asset. The evidence is the payee's name, so the question asks rather than asserts.
- Suggested wording
Your Barclays account ending 2196 shows monthly payments of £340.00 to Solent Marine Mooring Fees. Please state what these payments are for, identify any vessel or other asset to which they relate, give its current value and how it is owned, and explain why it is not listed at Section 2.8.
- Sources
- Sep 2024 p.1 · Oct 2024 p.2 · Nov 2024 p.2 · Dec 2024 p.1 · Jan 2025 p.1 · Feb 2025 p.1 · May 2025 p.1 · Jun 2025 p.2 · Jul 2025 p.1 · Aug 2025 p.2
- Pattern seen in
- AF v GF [2024] EWHC 3478 (Fam): a yacht "did not feature in H's form E" and was found through Companies House (para 106). The judge still found it "an unwise investment of a business nature, not the frittering of funds" (para 108) — which is why this point asks rather than asserts.
4. Checked and not recommended
Listed so nothing is dropped silently. Each can be added if your instructions point to it.
| Matter | What the statements show | Why it is held back |
|---|
| Outgoings at Section 3.1 |
Money out averages £5,725.55 a month over the ten complete statements, against £4,189 declared. |
Most of the difference is already raised. £900.00 a month is the transfer in point 1, which moves money between accounts rather than spending it; £340.00 is the mooring fee in point 5. The remaining £296.55 a month is less than average cash withdrawals. Raised separately, it would ask about the same money twice. Revisit once points 1 and 5 are answered. |
| Cash withdrawals |
Sixteen withdrawals totalling £5,500.00, each between £100 and £500 — about £550 a month. |
No single large or unusual withdrawal. Worth raising only if your client says cash use on this scale is out of character. |
Declared figures the statements confirm
| Form E | Declared | Statements |
|---|
| 2.15 net employment income | £4,150 a month | Eleven credits of £4,150.00 from Meridian Systems Ltd |
| 2.3 balance, account ending 2196 | £920.91 | Closing balance £920.91 on the August 2025 statement |
| 3.1 mortgage | £1,890 a month | £1,890.00 to Nationwide Building Society in every statement |
5. Matters that may warrant specialist review
- Whitmore Consulting Ltd. If the respondent has an interest in the company, the statements show only what reached this account. Whether income is retained in or routed through the company is a question for a forensic accountant.
- Any vessel. If point 5 confirms one, an independent valuation.
- The account at 60-16-13. Once statements are produced, they can be reviewed in the same way as this one.
6. Method and limitations
- This review covers one account. Money that never passes through it cannot be seen here.
- Amounts and dates are confirmed by the balance checks in section 2. Payee names, sort codes and account numbers are not arithmetic and were checked by eye against each page.
- Transfers to the account in point 1 are treated as movements between accounts, not as spending.
- Monthly averages use the ten complete statements. Totals of individual payments count every page produced, including pages 1 and 3 of April 2025.
- The report describes what the documents show. It draws no conclusion about why any payment was made or omitted.
7. Published judgments behind this sample
This section exists only because the sample is fictitious. It shows that each point reflects something courts have actually dealt with. Reports on real matters do not cite case law — that is for the instructing solicitor. Quotes were checked against the National Archives text.