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Trusts


The court must consider the financial resources the parties have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future under section 25(2)(a) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) and Schedule 5, Part 5 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004). If a party to a marriage or civil partnership is a beneficiary or potential beneficiary under a trust, their interest may be regarded as a financial resource. The court's approach will depend on the nature of their interest and the broader circumstances of the case. A trust may be varied if it is a nuptial settlement—‘relevant settlement’ is the terminology adopted by CPA 2004, Sch 5, Pt 5. Questions of trusts or property law may also need to be determined within financial remedy proceedings.

The court has three main methods of approaching trusts within an application for a financial remedy:

  1. •

    treating trust income or assets as a resource available to either party (or declining to do so)—see: Introduction to trusts within financial proceedings — Trusts as a financial resource

  2. •

    exercising its power to vary a nuptial settlement under

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