Thousands of divorce settlements may have to be recalculated due to an error on a form on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) website.

 

The error involves Form E, which is shown on the website and is used to record the financial details of divorcing couples including their assets and liabilities. It’s been discovered that the software running the form has not been taking all liabilities into account and so may produce misleading results in some circumstances.

 

Not all couples use the form but those that do may have reached settlements that were based on an inaccurate assessment of their finances. The form has been on the website since April 2014 but the fault was only discovered in December last year.

 

The MoJ has launched an investigation into what went wrong and to discover how many couples might be affected.

 

A spokesman for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service said: “Officials are taking steps to identify rapidly cases where this regrettable error may have had an impact, and we will be writing to anyone affected as soon as possible.”

 

We advise clients from our offices in Bridgend and Cardiff on issues of divorce and family law.  Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of divorce settlements and family law at family@berrysmith.com or 01656 645525.