Catherine Vine plots the Law Commission’s plan for matrimonial property, needs & agreements
Judges sitting in financial provision on divorce cases have been likened to bus drivers who lack information about where they are going. In such cases, all a judge is told is that “the driver is required to drive to a reasonable destination”. That lack of direction may be disconcerting to the bus driver, but it is no doubt terrifying for the “passenger” clients who embark on financial provision cases with no real understanding of how much they might have to pay to a former spouse and for how long.
Three elements of reform
The Law Commission is currently conducting a law reform project on matrimonial property, needs and agreements, the outcome of which, we hope, will assist bus drivers and passengers alike. The project has three distinct elements:
- Marital property agreements (“pre-nups”)—agreements which seek to settle the financial outcome of divorce or the dissolution of civil partnership in advance.
- The law relating to financial needs on divorce and dissolution.
- The
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