| 释义 |
clean break
The principle, enshrined in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s 25A, that upon divorce, the court should exercise its powers so that that each spouse is financially independent of the other after the divorce if it is just and reasonable to do so. Generally this will involve the court requiring one spouse to pay to the other a lump sum instead of continuous periodical payments. In practice a clean break is generally imposed only where the parties are very wealthy or in a short childless marriage or where both spouses have well-established careers. Where it considers that a party could adjust without undue hardship to the termination of financial support in the foreseeable future, the court can also make a deferred clean break order under which periodical payments will terminate after a specified period. The Child Support Act 1991 makes it possible for a parent with care of a child to apply directly to the Child Maintenance Service for a maintenance assessment even when the court has achieved a clean break on divorce (see child support maintenance). |