ABSTRACT
For divorce purposes, it is not normally necessary to know to whom a married couple’s assets belong in law, since s 24 of the MCA 1973 operates on the basis of a broad discretion to rearrange property ownership as appears appropriate to the court so as to do justice in the case. Following White v White [2000] 2 FLR 981 in the House of Lords, tracing of ownership may be more relevant in future, as where there are assets surplus to needs judges are to check their awards against the yardstick of equality. Where ownership is relevant either because the parties are not divorcing or for other reasons, s 17 of the MWPA 1882 may be used to determine proprietary interests. This is a procedural section and does not alter such interests, but only provides a machinery to declare them.
