ABSTRACT
The orders which the court can grant following a decree of divorce or judicial separation are contained in ss 22-24 of the MCA 1973, and comprise money orders (periodical payments, secured and unsecured, and lump sums) and property orders (transfer or settlement of property, variation of settlements and pension orders) in favour of both spouses and children of the family, in the latter case only for children whose maintenance is not assessed by the CSA. The court’s jurisdiction is discretionary, and there is no regime of matrimonial property dividing property of the spouses on marriage breakdown either equally or in any other proportion. Prenuptial contracts are unenforceable in England and Wales, though they may be taken into account.
