5. What approach does the court adopt to determining maintenance pending suit?
Maintenance pending suit applications are usually dealt with on a broad-brush basis. This means that the court takes a practical and realistic view of the parties’ financial positions without carrying out a full and detailed investigation at the interim stage. This also means the court will decide the application based on documentary and affidavit evidence only. The parties are not required to testify in court for MPS applications.
The court is not expected to reach a perfect calculation. Interim maintenance is often described as “rough and ready” justice because it is intended to deal with immediate needs quickly.
The court will not normally conduct a detailed examination of every item of income and expenditure, or every asset and liability when deciding maintenance pending suit. That level of scrutiny is more appropriate at the final ancillary relief hearing.
It is important to note that both parties have the duty to make full and frank disclosure of his/her finance to the Court. If either or both party’s financial disclosure is obviously deficient, the court will not hesitate to make robust assumptions about his or her finance including ability to pay.
Print
Email
