Anita Crewdson, Solicitor in Astle Paterson’s Family Department, urges couples who have recently obtained a divorce to check their settlements.
Anita said, “It has come to light there has been an error on a form on the Ministry of Justice website. The form known as a Financial Statement – also known as Form E – is used by people when they get divorced and is used to tell the Court about the person’s finances.
The error, which affected figures on the form meant that the final figures – that were meant to calculated automatically by the form – did not take account of debts and liabilities, and it therefore appeared that the person completing this form was in a better financial position than they were.
As a result it appears that some settlements have been agreed upon or ordered by a Court based on the incorrect figures.
The incorrect form first appeared on the internet in April 2014, and it is recommended that anybody who has got divorced from April 2014 should check the figures on their Form E disclosure form.”
Anita concluded “It is unlikely that people who were represented by a Solicitor will be affected, as most solicitors have a subscription service for Court forms and do not download them from the Ministry of Justice website, where the incorrect form appeared.
Most of the affected people are those who have handled matters themselves.”
Should you believe that you may have been affected by the online form error, or should you require assistance relating to any other aspect of a divorce, please do not hesitate to contact Anita Crewdson on 01283 531366 or by way of email at acrewdson@astlepaterson.co.uk who will be able to assist you.
