MoJ Apologises for Fault on Divorce Settlement Calculator

The Ministry of Justice has apologised after a fault in an online calculator miscalculated thousands of couples' divorce settlements.

Justice minister Shailesh Vara has acknowledged the extent of the error which resulted in the financial assets of more than 3,600 couples being miscalculated in divorce and separation settlements. The error, which was found on Form E of the Ministry of Justice website, failed to record liabilities or debts as minus figures, resulting in the false inflation of wealth.

In a statement, Mr Vara said:

"A total of 36,527 cases contain a version of Form E filed from these periods. [HM Courts & Tribunals Service] staff have now reviewed all these cases and found that 3,638 files - 10 per cent - contained the faulty calculator version of Form E with an incorrect figure for net assets figure in the summary table.

"I have instructed HMCTS to write to all parties in the 2,235 closed cases. The letter expresses our sincere regret for the error, sets out what happened and explains that, although Form E is just one part of the evidence used in their case, there remains a possibility that the error affected the final outcome.

"This failure should not have happened. Divorce proceedings can be very difficult and I sincerely apologise for this situation and any distress it may have caused."

If your marriage has broken down and you need help with the legal side, contact our divorce solicitors on 020 8297 4414 for advice.

Mandy Peters

Divorce Solicitors