Amending a financial order under the 'slip rule'

The ‘slip rule’ refers to FPR Rule 29.16 which provides that the court “may at any time correct an accidental slip or omission in a judgment or order” and that a party “may apply for a correction without notice”

The purpose of the slip rule is to amend an order or judgment to give effect to the intention of the court.The application of this rule is well-demonstrated in the case of IC v RC [2020] EWHC 2997 (Fam). Here, the parties agreed to a consent order which was then approved by the courts. The order made provision for periodical payments payable by the husband to the wife which would end upon either of their deaths, the wife’s remarriage, or a further court order. The order was subsequently varied. However, the variation order erroneously provided that the payments would end following ‘the Applicant’s remarriage’ – the Applicant being the husband, rather than the wife. The husband sought to rely on this and stop the payments following his remarriage. The wife applied under the ‘slip rule’ for the order to be corrected. The husband argued that the power did not have the power to amend the order, as it ceased to have effect following his remarriage. The court rejected this, as the courts are empowered to correct an order “at any time” and amended the order to reflect its original intention.

If you believe there was an error in the drafting of your final order, contact Vardags today for a free initial consultation with one of our expert divorce solicitors. 

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