Revealed: divorce software error to hit thousands of settlements
Tens of thousands of couples who have settled their divorces in the last 20 months may have to re-open negotiations because a critical fault has been found in software used to calculate financial terms.
The Ministry of Justice was urgently investigating the extent of the errors of “Form E” on its website which have the potential to inflate the financial worth of a wife or husband. It has published an email address – [email protected] – asking anyone who believes they have been affected to contact the department.
The fact the software had been miscalculating assets since April 2014 was only spotted earlier this month by a family law specialist, Nicola Matheson-Durrant of the Family Law Clinic in Ascot, Berkshire. The MoJ only publicly admitted the problem on Thursday.
Matheson-Durrant told the Guardian: “Having discovered the fault and advised the MoJ, it became apparent that not a single solicitor, barrister or judge in the whole of the UK had noticed this error. It is such a critical fault. This form has been used in training so it will also have been seen by paralegals, university law departments and the Law Society.”
Matheson-Durrant is not a legally qualified solicitor or barrister, but is a McKenzie Friend, a lay expert who helps litigants. "
More from the source: Revealed: divorce software error to hit thousands of settlements | Law | The Guardian
Tens of thousands of couples who have settled their divorces in the last 20 months may have to re-open negotiations because a critical fault has been found in software used to calculate financial terms.
The Ministry of Justice was urgently investigating the extent of the errors of “Form E” on its website which have the potential to inflate the financial worth of a wife or husband. It has published an email address – [email protected] – asking anyone who believes they have been affected to contact the department.
The fact the software had been miscalculating assets since April 2014 was only spotted earlier this month by a family law specialist, Nicola Matheson-Durrant of the Family Law Clinic in Ascot, Berkshire. The MoJ only publicly admitted the problem on Thursday.
Matheson-Durrant told the Guardian: “Having discovered the fault and advised the MoJ, it became apparent that not a single solicitor, barrister or judge in the whole of the UK had noticed this error. It is such a critical fault. This form has been used in training so it will also have been seen by paralegals, university law departments and the Law Society.”
Matheson-Durrant is not a legally qualified solicitor or barrister, but is a McKenzie Friend, a lay expert who helps litigants. "
More from the source: Revealed: divorce software error to hit thousands of settlements | Law | The Guardian
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