Spousal/civil partner periodical payments

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General principles

On an application for financial provision the court may order a party to a marriage or civil partnership to make periodical payments to the other party.

The court’s power to order periodical payments is contained in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004), namely an order that either party to the marriage or civil partnership shall make to the other such periodical payments (commonly known as maintenance orders), for such term, as may be specified in the order.

In determining whether or not a periodical payments order is appropriate regard must be had to the checklist set out in MCA 1973, s 25 and CPA 2004, Sch 5, Pt 5. 

See Practice Note: General principles—spousal/civil partner periodical payments. The following Precedent letters may be sent by practitioners to their clients: Financial applications to the court—client guide, Financial disclosure and Form E—client guide and Spousal and civil partner maintenance—client guide.

Quantum of periodical payments

Although the quantification of child maintenance is governed by the

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Family weekly highlights—17 April 2025

This edition includes details of the most recent View from the President’s Chambers and updated guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) released by the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Recent judgments, including the Supreme Court's dismissal of an appeal against the discharge of injunctions prohibiting identification of the clinicians involved in treating gravely ill children, consideration of intermediary assistance in care proceedings and the use of a Hadkinson order are also set out.

The Supreme Court holds that anonymity for clinicians in withdrawal of treatment cases involving children should normally be of limited duration (Abbasi v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Haastrup v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust)

The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the hospitals’ appeals in these cases concerning withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment for children. There was no basis on which anonymity injunctions in relation to clinicians could be continued indefinitely. If anonymity is sought in such cases beyond a cooling-off period following the child’s death or withdrawal of treatment, the application should be made by the clinicians concerned. Such applications should be supported by specific evidence and the need for any restriction of freedom of expression must be established convincingly. Hannah Markham KC and Madeleine Whelan of 36 Family, Louise Sivey and Eloise Carey of Bates Wells, and Professor Carmen Draghici of the University of London comment on the judgment.

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