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If you need any professional legal advice concerning spousal maintenance orders, please contact Myerson Solicitor's Family Law team on:
A spousal maintenance order, also known as a periodical payments order, is an obligation for one party to pay the other a sum of money on a weekly or monthly basis.
If the court grants a spousal maintenance order, it will need to determine whether to make a joint-lives order or if it is more appropriate to impose maintenance for a defined period.
Unless the recipient cannot adjust to financial independence without undue hardship, the latter option tends to be more favourable in the eyes of the court.
If there is a significant change in your circumstances, you may be able to apply to vary a spousal maintenance order.
Under section 31(1) MCA 1973, the court has the power to vary an order for spousal maintenance payments.
The court has broad discretion when determining variation applications. In exercising its powers, the court will have regard to all the circumstances of the case, with the first consideration being given to the welfare of any child.
The court will also consider any of the matters it was required to have regard to when making the original financial order, including those factors set out in section 25 MCA 1973, which are summarised as follows:
The party's needs will remain a dominant factor, but the overriding objective is always fairness.
The court will first consider whether any variation is necessary.
If it is, the court will consider the date the variation should take place from and whether to limit the term.
Finally, the court will review the appropriateness in all the circumstances of substituting a capital payment to replace the income stream being terminated, and this is known as capitalising maintenance.
This will depend on the circumstance of the case.
Common situations include:
If a party receiving periodical payments cohabits, this is not necessarily a reason for reducing or terminating maintenance.
Cohabitation is not necessarily equated with re-marriage.
Cohabitation, however, remains relevant as it causes a reduction in the payee's needs.
The application in Form A or Form A1 is completed and filed with the court to make an application to vary a spousal maintenance order.
The court will fix a hearing date not less than six weeks but not more than ten weeks after the date the application was filed.
Typically, a shortened procedure is used in variation applications which involves a simplified version of Form E to record the parties' updated financial positions.
If you need any professional legal advice concerning spousal maintenance orders, please contact Myerson Solicitor's Family Law team on: