Edit: looks like I misread about the fixing it part. Still, I wonder what the situation would look like if a couple were legally divorced for only a couple of weeks.
> Mr Williams' legal representatives argued a final order of divorce is a "once-and-for-all" order, which cannot be set aside by the consent of the parties and may only be rescinded by the court if found to be either void or voidable.
It isn't like two other random people that didn't want to be were accidentally divorced.
Arguably, yes, that is exactly what happened here: If the lawyer intended to do this for some other couple and only did it for this one by mistake, then the couple that were divorced now are the "two other random people".
(And as for "didn't want to be", isn't that what this whole system with preliminary application, waiting period, and final application is for? As long as you haven't made the final application, then no, it isn't regarded as, well, final that you really want to go through with it.)
I don't think they were preventing, per se, as much as "wanting to negotiate on behalf of Mrs Williams to get the most out of Mr Williams" (who is presumably happy with this accident because it avoids all that faff since Mrs Williams, I assume, has no negotiating position now they're actually divorced.)
I'm guessing that's things like child care, handling of pre-nups, 50/50 split of main domicile, etc. but doesn't cover "extras" like boats, other houses, etc.?
Which is why people hire expensive lawyers like the ones in the story for negotiating their divorce settlements...
The lawyers who requested the divorce want to cancel it, but there's no legal process for doing that, given that they instigated it, had the authority to act on their client's behalf and there was no administrative mistake made by the court. Especially as the guy is perfectly happy with the outcome, under what basis could the court rescind the divorce and compel him to become re-married? Even more so when the outcome is clearly that they will ultimately end up divorced anyway (or else they wouldn't have engaged the divorce lawyers) and the only issue is about the terms of the settlement between the two parties.
They wouldn't really compel him to become re-married, he'd just never have been un-married in the first place.
I'd hope that even though this error leaves the couple divorced earlier than expected, it won't mean that the former-wife will forfeit her right to whatever support she should be able to expect.