Barder event: can a divorce settlement be reopened?

Specialist family law solicitor, Alex Garret, takes a look at Barder events and asks the question, can a divorce settlement be reopened?

Provided that you are able to finalise a financial settlement on divorce in the correct manner with it being sealed by the court, the circumstances whereby a divorce settlement can be reopened are extremely rare. It is therefore, very important that you seek legal advice when agreeing a divorce financial settlement to ensure that it is carried out correctly.

In most cases when a financial order is made by the court or by consent, the financial ties between each spouse are broken. This means that neither party is able to make a future claim against the other as part of the divorce.

Barder Event

However, there are exceptional circumstances that could mean a court may allow a divorce settlement to be reopened. These circumstances are known as ‘Barder events’ following a landmark case known as Barder v Barder (1987). A Barder event allows a divorce settlement to be reopened when something later happens that alters the basis upon which the original divorce settlement was made.

How does a court determine whether it should reopen a divorce settlement?

There are four conditions that must be satisfied:

1. New event(s) must have transpired since the order was made that invalidates or overturns the basis on which the original divorce settlement was made.
2. The new event(s) must have transpired within a relatively short time after the divorce settlement was made.
3. The application to reopen the divorce settlement is made promptly within the context of the new event(s)
4. The application to reopen the divorce settlement must not prejudice any rights to assets acquired by third parties.

Examples of cases that could include Barder Events

• A significant change in the value of assets;
• Death;
• A change in employment status;
• Bankruptcy;
• Remarriage or cohabitation that has been concealed; and
• A change in a party’s housing needs.

It can be established from the examples listed above that in order to be able to argue that a Barder event applies to a case, the new events must be unforeseen or unforeseeable at the time the divorce settlement is concluded.

Conclusion

It is very rare that a divorce settlement would be reopened but where an unexpected and significant change takes place shortly after a financial settlement is reached, an application can be made to the court to change the existing terms. However, the timing of the application is crucial as if it is left too late the court may not consider the application has been made promptly in the context of the new events and as a result, the application would fail on the third condition set out above.

Barder event family law solicitors

If you believe that a potential barder event applies to your case and you would like advice about reopening a financial settlement, our specialist divorce solicitors can help.