Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996
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PART V Miscellaneous | ||
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Powers of court in relation to transactions intended to prevent or reduce relief. |
37.—(1) In this section— | |
“disposition” means any disposition of property howsoever made other than a disposition made by a will or codicil; | ||
“relief” means the financial or other material benefits conferred by an order under section 12 , 13 or 14 , paragraph (a) or (b) of section 15 (1) or section 16 , 17 , 18 or 22 (other than an order affecting an order referred to in subsection (1) (e) thereof) and references to defeating a claim for relief are references to— | ||
(a) preventing relief being granted to the person concerned, whether for the benefit of the person or a dependent member of the family concerned, | ||
(b) limiting the relief granted, or | ||
(c) frustrating or impeding the enforcement of an order granting relief; | ||
“reviewable disposition”, in relation to proceedings for the grant of relief brought by a spouse, means a disposition made by the other spouse concerned or any other person but does not include such a disposition made for valuable consideration (other than marriage) to a person who, at the time of the disposition, acted in good faith and without notice of an intention on the part of the respondent to defeat the claim for relief. | ||
(2) (a) The court, on the application of a person (“the applicant”) who has instituted proceedings that have not been determined for the grant of relief, may— | ||
(i) if it is satisfied that the other spouse concerned or any other person, with the intention of defeating the claim for relief, proposes to make any disposition of or to transfer out of the jurisdiction or otherwise deal with any property, make such order as it thinks fit for the purpose of restraining that other spouse or other person from so doing or otherwise for protecting the claim, | ||
(ii) if it is satisfied that that other spouse or other person has, with that intention, made a reviewable disposition and that, if the disposition were set aside, relief or different relief would be granted to the applicant, make an order setting aside the disposition. | ||
(b) Where relief has been granted by the court and the court is satisfied that the other spouse concerned or another person has, with the intention aforesaid, made a reviewable disposition, it may make an order setting aside the disposition. | ||
(c) An application under paragraph (a) shall be made in the proceedings for the grant of the relief concerned. | ||
(3) Where the court makes an order under paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2), it shall include in the order such provisions (if any) as it considers necessary for its implementation (including provisions requiring the making of any payments or the disposal of any property). | ||
(4) Where an application is made under subsection (2) with respect to a disposition that took place less than 3 years before the date of the application or with respect to a disposition or other dealing with property that the other spouse concerned or any other person proposes to make and the court is satisfied— | ||
(a) in case the application is for an order under subsection (2) (a) (i), that the disposition or other dealing concerned would (apart from this section) have the consequence, or | ||
(b) in case the application is for an order under paragraph (a) (ii) or (b) of subsection (2), that the disposition has had the consequence, | ||
of defeating the applicant's claim for relief, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is shown, that that other spouse or other person disposed of or otherwise dealt with the property concerned, or, as the case may be, proposes to do so, with the intention of defeating the applicant's claim for relief. |