Preservation of assets

Securing assets

Where there are concerns that a party intends to dispose of assets in a way that will defeat a claim for financial provision, or has already done so, immediate action may have to be taken to secure the assets. There are various ways in which this may be done:

1. •

   under section 37 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or the equivalent Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004) provisions

2. •

   by an application for an interim order under the provisions of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 20, or

3. •

   under the inherent jurisdiction of the court

Such applications may be expensive and high risk. Consideration should be given to other available options and the value of the assets in question in the context of the overall value of the parties assets, ie whether the applicant's claim may be satisfied from other assets.

See Practice Notes: Interim orders under FPR 2010, Pt 20 and Procedure for an interim remedy under FPR 2010, Pt 20.

Where a respondent in family proceedings is