Financial remedy orders following divorce or dissolution are principally made under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The court considers all the circumstances, with first consideration given to the welfare of any child of the family under 18, and applies the statutory section 25 factors.
1. Maintenance Pending Suit
Maintenance pending suit is temporary spousal maintenance paid while divorce and financial remedy proceedings are continuing. The civil-partnership equivalent is interim maintenance.
Its purpose is usually to meet immediate income needs until the financial claims are finally determined.
What it does not mean
It is not the final financial outcome and does not guarantee that maintenance will continue after the final hearing.
An interim maintenance decision is usually based on short-term needs and the information available at that stage. It should not automatically be interpreted as the court’s final decision about income, capital or fairness.
2. Periodical Payments Order
A periodical payments order requires one party to make regular payments to the other. This is commonly called spousal maintenance.
It may be ordered:
- for a fixed term;
- for a term that can be extended;
- for a non-extendable term; or
- in some cases, until death, remarriage or further order.
The amount may later be capable of variation, depending on the terms and applicable law.
What it does not mean
Spousal maintenance is not an automatic lifelong entitlement. Nor is it a punishment for the breakdown of the marriage.
It is different from child maintenance. Remarriage generally ends entitlement to spousal periodical payments, whereas cohabitation does not automatically terminate the order, although it may be relevant to needs and any variation application.
3. Secured Periodical Payments Order
A secured periodical payments order requires regular payments to be secured against specified assets or through another financial arrangement.
This may be appropriate where the court is concerned about whether ordinary periodical payments will be reliably made.
What it does not mean
It does not necessarily transfer ownership of the secured asset. Its purpose is to provide security for the payment obligation.
4. Lump Sum Order
A lump sum order requires one party to pay a specified capital sum to the other. Payment may be ordered at once, by a particular date or, in some circumstances, by instalments.
A lump sum may be used to achieve an overall division of capital, meet liabilities or balance the effect of other provisions.
What it does not mean
A lump sum is not automatically an equalisation payment and is not necessarily based solely on what one party originally contributed.
It should not be interpreted in isolation. The court normally considers it as part of the complete financial settlement, including property, pensions, income, debts and future needs.
5. Property Transfer Order
A property transfer order transfers ownership of property from one party to the other.
It may relate to:
- the family home;
- another property;
- land; or
- certain other forms of property.
The transfer may be subject to a mortgage and may be accompanied by provisions dealing with responsibility for mortgage payments or attempts to secure a release from the mortgage.
What it does not mean
A transfer of legal ownership does not automatically release the transferring party from the mortgage. Only the lender can usually agree to release a borrower from contractual mortgage liability.
Nor does a transfer necessarily mean that the receiving party has been awarded more than their fair share. It may reflect housing needs, mortgage capacity, pension arrangements, lump-sum provisions or the overall balance of the settlement.
6. Settlement or Variation of Settlement Order
The court may, in appropriate cases, order property to be placed into a settlement or vary certain existing marriage-related settlements.
These are more specialised orders and may involve trusts or property held for the benefit of one party or children of the family.
What it does not mean
It does not give the court a general power to rewrite every trust or arrangement connected to either party. The legal nature of the settlement, its connection to the marriage and the court’s statutory jurisdiction must be considered.
7. Order for Sale
An order for sale requires a property to be sold. It may include directions dealing with:
- the choice of estate agent;
- the marketing price;
- acceptance of an offer;
- conduct of the sale;
- access for valuations or viewings;
- responsibility for mortgage and property expenses;
- signing documents; and
- division of the net proceeds.
The court may authorise another person or a judge to sign documents if a party refuses to cooperate, where the necessary legal powers are engaged.
What it does not mean
An order for sale does not always require an immediate sale. The order may postpone sale until a specified event or date.
It also does not necessarily require equal division of the net proceeds. The percentages or amounts payable must be taken from the actual wording of the order.
8. Mesher Order
A Mesher order postpones the sale of the family home, commonly until a specified event connected with the children—for example, the youngest child reaching a particular age or completing secondary education.
One party may remain living in the property while both retain an interest until the trigger event occurs.
What it does not mean
The occupying party does not necessarily become the sole beneficial owner. The other party’s interest may remain tied up in the property until sale.
It is also not simply “free housing”. The order should address the mortgage, repairs, insurance, outgoings and eventual division of the proceeds.
“Mesher order” is a commonly used description; the binding provisions are those written into the actual court order.
9. Martin Order
A Martin order also postpones sale, but it is generally linked to the occupying spouse’s circumstances rather than the dependency of children.
Sale may be postponed until death, remarriage, permanent vacation of the property or another specified event.
What it does not mean
It does not necessarily give the occupying party outright ownership. The non-occupying party may retain an interest in the property, although they may have to wait a considerable time before receiving it.
As with a Mesher order, the label is less important than the precise trigger events and financial responsibilities set out in the order.
10. Pension Sharing Order
A pension sharing order provides that a specified percentage of one party’s pension rights is transferred for the benefit of the other party.
The pension holder receives a pension debit and the other party receives a pension credit. The destination and treatment of that credit depend upon the rules of the particular pension scheme.
What it does not mean
A 50% pension sharing order does not necessarily give the receiving party 50% of every pension payment or 50% of all pensions. The percentage applies to the pension rights identified in the order and annex.
It is generally applied to the relevant cash-equivalent value for implementation purposes. Equal cash-equivalent values do not always produce equal retirement incomes, particularly where there are differences in age, scheme benefits, guarantees or retirement dates.
The receiving party does not normally gain control over the other person’s remaining pension.
11. Pension Attachment Order
A pension attachment order—formerly called earmarking—requires part of a member’s future pension benefits, lump sum or death benefits to be paid to the former spouse when those benefits become payable.
Unlike pension sharing, it does not immediately divide the pension into two independent pension arrangements.
What it does not mean
The receiving party does not own a separate pension fund simply because an attachment order exists. Payment can depend on when the pension member chooses or is entitled to draw benefits.
Some attachment benefits may be affected by death or remarriage, depending on the type of order. Specialist advice is particularly important.
12. Pension Offsetting
Pension offsetting means that one party keeps more of their pension while the other receives a larger share of different assets, such as equity in the family home.
What it does not mean
Pension offsetting is not itself a pension order. It is a method of structuring the overall settlement.
A pound of pension is not necessarily equivalent to a pound of immediately available cash or property equity. Tax, accessibility, age and the form of the pension benefits may affect the comparison.
13. Child Maintenance Order
In many cases, ordinary child maintenance is dealt with through the Child Maintenance Service rather than the Family Court.
The court retains jurisdiction in certain situations, which may include:
- agreed child-maintenance provisions in a consent order, subject to statutory rules;
- school fees;
- costs connected with disability;
- “top-up” maintenance where the statutory conditions are met;
- stepchildren in appropriate circumstances; and
- cases where the paying parent or child is outside the usual statutory scheme.
What it does not mean
Including child maintenance in a financial order does not always prevent a later application to the Child Maintenance Service. The interaction between a court order and the statutory scheme requires careful consideration.
Child maintenance is also not payment in exchange for contact. A child’s relationship with a parent and the financial duty to support the child are separate matters.
14. Legal Services Payment Order
A legal services payment order can require one party to contribute towards the other party’s legal costs in specified family proceedings where the statutory conditions are met.
The applicant normally needs to show that they cannot reasonably obtain appropriate legal services without the order and cannot secure suitable funding by other reasonable means.
What it does not mean
It is not automatic simply because one party earns more or has greater assets. It does not determine the final financial outcome and is not necessarily a finding that the paying party has behaved improperly.
15. Clean-Break Order
A clean-break order dismisses specified future financial claims between former spouses or civil partners.
It may take effect immediately or after particular obligations—such as a lump-sum payment, property transfer or pension share—have been completed.
What it does not mean
A divorce Final Order alone does not create a financial clean break. Financial claims can remain open unless they are dismissed by an approved financial order.
A clean break also does not usually remove a parent’s obligation to support their child, prevent claims that legally belong to the child, cancel arrears already due, or override obligations that remain under the order.
The exact claims being dismissed must be checked carefully.
16. Consent Order
A financial consent order records an agreement reached by the parties and approved by a judge.
Once approved, it becomes legally binding and may deal with property, lump sums, pensions, maintenance, debts, costs and dismissal of future claims.
The judge is not required to approve an agreement merely because both parties have signed it. The court must consider whether the proposed outcome falls within the range of fairness.
What it does not mean
A consent order does not necessarily mean the parties received equal shares or that a judge would have imposed precisely the same settlement after a contested final hearing.
Agreeing to an order is not ordinarily an admission of every allegation made during negotiations. However, once approved, a party cannot simply change their mind because they later regret the agreement.
Setting aside or appealing an order requires proper legal grounds; dissatisfaction alone is not enough.
17. Contested Final Order
Where the parties cannot agree, the judge may determine the financial outcome at a final hearing after considering the evidence and applying the statutory factors.
The order may combine several provisions, including sale, transfer, lump sums, maintenance, pension sharing and dismissal of claims.
What it does not mean
A contested decision does not necessarily declare one party the winner and the other the loser. Financial remedy proceedings are not intended to punish marital behaviour.
Conduct is relevant only in limited circumstances. The court’s focus is on achieving a fair outcome under the statutory framework, not allocating moral blame for the end of the relationship.
18. Costs Order
A costs order requires one party to pay some or all of the other party’s legal costs.
In financial remedy proceedings, the general starting point is that each party pays their own costs, but the court may make a costs order because of a party’s conduct in relation to the proceedings.
What it does not mean
A costs order does not automatically change the substantive division of assets, and it is not necessarily proof that every aspect of the paying party’s case was dishonest.
Conversely, receiving no costs order does not establish that a party’s conduct was reasonable. The court considers costs under the applicable procedural rules and circumstances.
The Importance of Reading the Whole Order
Whether proceedings concern children or finances, the title of an order provides only part of the answer.
Every party should check:
- who must do what;
- the date or event by which it must be done;
- whether the provision is temporary or final;
- whether conditions are attached;
- what happens if a party does not comply;
- whether the order includes recitals as well as operative provisions;
- whether liberty to apply is included; and
- whether the order dismisses, preserves or postpones any claims.
A recital records background, an agreement, an intention or an assurance. An undertaking is a formal promise to the court. An operative order is a direction made by the court. These are not interchangeable, and the consequences of breaching them may differ.
Court orders should not be expanded through personal interpretation. If an order says collection is from school, it should not be treated as permission to collect from anywhere. If it awards 40% of one identified pension, it should not be described as 40% of every pension. If it provides that a child lives with both parents, it should not automatically be presented as an equal-time order.
The wording on the sealed order is what governs the parties.
This guide relates to family law in England and Wales and provides general information only. It is not legal advice. Every order depends on its precise wording and the circumstances of the case. Existing court orders must be followed unless they expire, are varied, discharged, set aside or successfully appealed.
Official references: Children Act 1989, section 8, HMCTS guidance on children applications, Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, GOV.UK financial orders guidance, GOV.UK consent-order guidance and MoneyHelper pension guidance.