Family
Property (Rights of Spouses) Act with an equal-share presumption
The Property (Rights of Spouses) Act 2004 created a statutory presumption that each spouse is entitled to half the family home, and it extends to common-law partners who have cohabited for at least five years. Divorce is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act on the single ground of irretrievable breakdown, evidenced by twelve months' separation. Maintenance for spouses and children is dealt with under the Maintenance Act 2005.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Supreme Court for divorce and property; Family Court for maintenance and children
- Deadline — Divorce: petition available after twelve months' separation
- Deadline — Property application: made within twelve months of divorce or separation, extendable by the court
Governing law
- Property (Rights of Spouses) Act 2004
- Matrimonial Causes Act
- Maintenance Act 2005
- Child Care and Protection Act 2004
In practice
The twelve-month window for a property application under the 2004 Act is the trap: it runs from the dissolution of the marriage or the end of cohabitation, and although the court may extend it, an applicant who assumes the ordinary limitation period applies can lose the equal-share presumption. The presumption itself can be displaced, but only where it would be unreasonable or unjust to apply it.