Forfeiture and Divorce
Section 9 of the Divorce Act 1970 has gained a lot of media attention recently due to court cases such as K.W.M v P.J.M and MNB v MMP. Section 9 allows the Courts to make an order for the patrimonial benefit of the marriage to be forfeited by either party in favor of the other, either in whole or in part, after taking all necessary factors into account.
The factors that need to be taken into account as stated by Section 9 of the Divorce Act 1970 are:
- Duration of marriage:
- The circumstances which gave rise to the breakdown of the marriage:
- Substantial misconduct by either party, and
- If the court is satisfied that if the order is not made the one party will be unduly benefited in relation to the other party.
Section 9, aims to uphold the common law position that a spouse should not unduly benefit from a marriage in which they caused the intentional breakdown of.
Although Section 9 makes provision for the forfeiture of a spouse’s portion of the joint estate it should be noted that each case will be assessed on the merits that are presented to the courts and taking into account the above-mentioned factors.
Therefore, Section 9 may seem clear-cut and many of the questions have been answered through case law, however, there are still many issues that remain and that need to be answered.
Contact ann-sue@mostertlegal.com for any questions with regard to the merits of your case with regard to forfeiture.