Is a final financial order on divorce always final? Our family home was transferred to my ex-wife shortly before the coronavirus outbreak.


Subsequently, my business has collapsed. Had this happened before the court order I don’t think the judge would have given the house to my wife in its entirety.

Can the order be changed given the exceptional circumstances?

Mark Harrop, a family lawyer in London-based solicitors Family Law Partners, replies: This is a really interesting question. Some elements of financial orders are easier to change than others.

Maintenance payments, for example, can always be varied. If someone has lost their job it can be fairly straightforward to have those payments reduced or suspended.

You can also vary the timing of lump sum instalments if the original timetable is no longer affordable.

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Other elements, including transferring properties, are far harder to change. This is because it means reopening part or all of the case to reassess the fairness of the original order, something judges are extremely reluctant to do.

Mark Harrop, a family lawyer in London-based solicitors Family Law Partners +3
Mark Harrop, a family lawyer in London-based solicitors Family Law Partners
Underpinning this is idea that orders should give divorced couples certainty and finality so they can move on with their lives.

To have any chance of succeeding a number of tests need to be met.

First, you need to show a significant change in circumstances within months of the final order.