Reopen Divorce After Settlement: Statute Of Limitations On Divorce Settlement

What is a Statute of Limitations?

A statute of limitations are rules that prevent cases from being filed too long after the injury, or harm, happens. Such as statute applies to both civil and criminal cases. A statute might mean that a certain case can only be filed within five years, for example. Normally, family law does not involve statute of limitations. Divorce, as a family law matter, is therefore not subject to a statute of limitations. A person can file for divorce at any time, regardless of how long they have been married.

In our example above, Henry is perfectly entitled to divorce Catherine, even though the harm happened ten years before.

Can a Divorce Case Be Stopped by Using a Statute of Limitations Defense?

As discussed above, a statute of limitations may apply to both criminal and civil cases. An injured party only has a specific amount of time, as established by the law, to file their complaint. For criminal cases, this means that the government only has a set amount of time to charge someone for a crime. For civil cases, the injured party has a set amount of time to file for damages, or compensation.

A statute of limitations can also be used as a defense in court. The person being sued or charged, called the defendant, can claim that the case was filed after too long a time. It would be unfair to the defendant to use old evidence that may no longer be reliable. When a valid statute of limitations defense is raised, charges, whether criminal or civil, must be dropped. It is even possible for a judge to raise a statute of limitations to save time.

Example: Seven years ago, Simon committed a crime. The government only learned of the crime a few months ago and want to charge Simon. In response, Simon raises the statute of limitations as a defense, arguing that the statute for his alleged crime is five years. Because the crime occurred seven years before, the government cannot take Simon to court. The charges against Simon are dropped.

When it comes to divorce, there is no statute of limitations defense. A person may file for divorce at any time during a marriage.