Ministry of Justice – DIY finances on Financial Settlements

Couples advised to check their Financial Settlements

Many divorcing couples have resorted to a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ approach in recent months but the perils of not getting good legal advice can be far reaching and disastrous.

A recent example of this has come to light today whereby couples using the Ministry of Justice Financial Form (called a Form E) may have entered into a final court order to their detriment.

It would appear that a whole section relating to a party’s finances has been left out of the form and this may have been relevant to the settlement the parties reached. For some couples who thought their matter was resolved they may find their partner reopening the whole matter.

The Ministry of Justice refer to this as a regrettable error and recommends that anyone who entered into a financial order within the last 20 months check to see if their version of the Form E included a section to include debts.

The error only affects litigants in person as Solicitors use their own forms and of course advise you on the content.

If you are worried that you may be affected , we at Berlad Graham LLP are here to help so please call us NOW and we can advise if you need to take any further action. Do not delay as this could be a big issue.