Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989
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Retrospective maintenance orders. |
21.—(1) The court may when making a periodical payments order under section 14 (1) (a) provide that the sum ordered to be paid by it be backdated to the date when the separation application was issued, but no earlier, where it is deemed appropriate that such order be made having regard to all the circumstances of the case and may in so doing order that any arrears of maintenance it accordingly deems to have accumulated be paid by way of a lump sum by a specified date and may in ordering the payment of such lump sum give credit to the spouse ordered to make such payment for any relevant moneys paid by him to the spouse to whom such payment is to be made in the period between the dates when the separation proceedings were issued and a decree of judicial separation was granted. | |
(2) The jurisdiction conferred on the court to make a lump sum order under subsection (1) of this section is without prejudice to the generality of the jurisdiction to make such order arising under section 14 (1) (c) and 14 (1) (d). |