England: software error means thousands of divorced couples may need to re-negotiate financial settlements

The error could lead to legal action being taken against the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) after it admitted the blunder as it can result in an overestimate of the husband or wife’s worth.

Julian Lipson, head of family law at Withers, said: “That creates a significant dilemma. The wronged party won’t be able to say that they were misled.

“Normally a settlement can only be undone if one of the parties wilfully doesn’t disclose relevant information, or makes a material misrepresentation … this could be difficult to unravel.”

It was not a lawyer who realised the error but lay expert, Nicola Matheson-Durrant, who assists litigants without representation.

Speaking to The Guardian, she said: “Not a single solicitor, barrister or judge in the whole of the UK had noticed this error.”

And while the courts service admitted the software was faulty and that it had fixed it, it made no attempt to inform the public of the mistake.

The MoJ could face extensive legal action if settlements were large and resulted in, for example, the purchase of a house with an excessive settlement.