A recent case in the High Court tested the theory of whether a WhatsApp message constituted a binding contract in a family law case. This raises the question: Can you settle your divorce by WhatsApp? Fortunately, the answer is ‘no’! However, many people may still wonder, can you settle your divorce by WhatAspp legitimately?
The case background
The snappily titled case of Reid-Roberts & Anor v Mei-Lin & Anor this year concerned an unhappy marriage and bankruptcy proceedings. Mr. Gudmunson and Ms. Mei-Lin bought a family home together. After their marriage broke down, during settlement negotiations, the husband sent a WhatsApp message suggesting that if the wife cared for the children, he would transfer his share of the house to her ‘without complications.’ In short, this situation prompted the legal debate: Can you settle your divorce by WhatAspp under UK family law?
What Happened Next
An agreement was reached in the family court on this basis. However, Mr. Gudmunson was declared bankrupt a week later, and he did not disclose this to the family court.
Had he done so, the court would not have made the order. The wife argued that the Trustee in Bankruptcy, instructed by the creditors, was not entitled to claim against her husband’s 50% share of the family home, worth £1.5m, due to the WhatsApp message. Ultimately, this highlights why the question “Can you settle your divorce by WhatAspp?” needs careful legal consideration.
The High Court Decision
The High Court disagreed. The judge ruled that the WhatsApp messages alone were not a legally binding contract. For a contract to hold up in court, there must be offer, acceptance, consideration, and an intention to create legal relations. Furthermore, the court found that the message did not clearly show Mr. Gudmunson intended to enter into a legally binding agreement. The message relied on by Ms Lin was not signed. It did not conclude with Mr Gudmunson’s name or any normal sign-off. His name displayed at the top of the message, but this was automatically generated by Ms Lin’s phone and the WhatsApp platform itself. So, the wife lost out. To clarify, can you settle your divorce by WhatAspp? The court made it clear that such a settlement is not legally recognised, despite digital communication becoming more common.
How Does This Compare to Previous Cases?
This contrasted with the case of Hudson v Hathaway in 2022. In that matter, the Court of Appeal confirmed that an email exchange was enough to uphold an agreement to transfer property. In that case, the court found that Hudson’s emails were ‘in writing’, and the sender’s typed name (“Lee”) was a valid signature.
Key Takeaway
So where does that leave us? In this digital age, there’s nothing like an old-fashioned signed piece of paper or an order from a judge. Pre-internet oldies like me are nodding in agreement.
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