Most people assume that once a financial settlement has been approved by the court, the matter is finished. The assets have been divided, the paperwork signed, and both parties move on with their lives.
That assumption depends on one crucial thing. Both people must have given full and frank financial disclosure, telling the truth about what they own.
A recent High Court judgment shows that where one spouse deliberately conceals wealth, a settlement thought to be final can still unravel decades later.
A settlement built on a lie
Varsha and Bhadresh Gohil divorced in 2004. Mrs Gohil accepted a lump sum of £270,000 because she believed she had little choice. She suspected there was more money than her husband had disclosed, but suspicion alone is not evidence. Without proof, and faced with the prospect of continuing litigation, she accepted the settlement to bring the matter to an end. That single decision would set in motion one of the longest-running financial remedy cases ever to
