Financial relief after an overseas divorce: Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (“Part III”)

Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 may allow a person whose divorce was finalised abroad to apply for financial relief in England and Wales. Although most Part III cases are heard in London, we have received an increasing number of enquiries about such applications in recent months.

A Part III application is not available in every case involving an overseas divorce. The applicant must first establish the necessary connection with England and Wales and obtain the court’s permission before the substantive claim can proceed.

Part III is intended to enable individuals with a substantial connection to England and Wales to apply to the court for financial relief for one or more of the following purposes:

prevent real financial injustice
to alleviate the adverse consequences of the foreign order, or
make financial provision where no or insufficient provision has been made to meet needs.

Part III is not intended to provide a “second chance” to obtain a larger award by “topping up” foreign provision, nor to allow a party to select the perceived “best” court after the event—a practice often described as forum shopping or divorce tourism.

Section 13 requires an applicant to obtain the court’s permission, known as leave, before making a substantive application for financial relief under Part III. The applicant must satisfy strict jurisdictional requirements, which may include habitual residence, domicile or a beneficial interest in a matrimonial home in England and Wales.

There must have been a legal marriage recognised by English law. This may be a marriage celebrated in England and Wales or an overseas marriage that complied with the law of the jurisdiction in which it was celebrated. The overseas divorce must also have been obtained through judicial or other proceedings and must be recognised as valid in this country

The leading authority is Agbaje v Akinnoye-Agbaje which was decided by the Supreme Court in March 2010. The judgment established three principal considerations for the court when determining what, if any, financial relief should be granted:

1. Primary consideration should be given to the welfare of any child of the marriage.

2. It will never be appropriate to make an order which gives the Claimant more than they would have been awarded had all proceedings initially taken place in England and Wales.

3. Where possible the order should have the result that provision is made for the reasonable needs of each spouse.

The equal sharing principle does not apply, and the court’s role is not to replicate a domestic award but to remedy a substantial injustice or unmet need.