ABSTRACT
Making use of the range of orders available under ss 23 and 24 of the MCA 1973 must always be subject to the provisions of s 25A, only formally inserted into the MCA 1973 by the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, but prior to that already common practice in putting together ancillary relief packages. The practical result is that the court must weigh up whether there should be no periodical payments in the financial package (ie, a clean break) or substantive or nominal periodical payments (ie, continuing spousal financial interdependence), or whether any periodical payments that they consider must be ordered should be for a limited term so as to provide a deferred clean break (eg, because a solely capital package is impossible for the time being). The only difference made by the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 was that prior to the insertion of s 25A the court could not actually impose a clean break unless the parties themselves were willing to have one: now, whenever the court is making s 23 or s 24 orders, it can and does, such power being given by s 25A(1), (2) and (3) in the following manner.
