On 17th December 2024, the Law Commission released the much-awaited Scoping Report titled Financial Remedies on Divorce and Dissolution. The aim was not to make recommendations on how the current law should be changed but to identify existing issues, assess whether reform is necessary, and consider potential methods for future reform.
At present, most decisions in financial remedy cases following the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership are based on the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. This Act, now over 50 years old, contains some outdated concepts and provides a great deal of uncertainty due to the broad judicial discretion it affords. This means that the same case could have two very different outcomes depending on which judge hears it.
One problematic area identified in the Scoping Report is spousal maintenance. Under the 1973 Act, the concept of spousal maintenance was developed to ensure that, in the event of a marriage breakdown, each party was left in the same or as close to the same financial position as they were before the marriage ended. To this day, although rare, it is possible for one party to pay maintenance to the financially weaker party for life, a scenario often referred to as a “meal ticket for life.” Over time, changes in case law have shifted perceptions of spousal maintenance, with courts and individuals generally seeking a clean break sooner rather than later to avoid ongoing financial ties to an ex-spouse.
The Scoping Report references a Fair Shares study, which involved an online survey of 2,415 people to assess how spousal maintenance is applied in practice. The survey found that 22% of respondents had a maintenance arrangement in place, and of those, 88% were for a fixed period.
In line with case law, these figures suggest a societal shift away from the traditional meal ticket for life concept. As a result, the Scoping Report considers whether the law should explicitly reflect this shift by mandating that spousal maintenance be awarded for a fixed period where necessary. If adopted, this could bring English law more in line with Scottish law, which imposes a five-year cap on spousal maintenance.
It will be interesting to see how the Government approaches this area of law based on the findings in the Scoping Report. If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this article or need advice regarding marriage breakdown, please contact Ellie Straughan at ellie.straughan@swinburnemaddison.co.uk or call our Family team on 0191 384 2441.
