Family Law

The Family Law (Property and Maintenance) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons at the end of 2005. It abolishes the common law duty of a husband to maintain his wife and the presumption of advancement as it applies between married and engaged couples. The abolition of the common law duty of a husband to maintain his wife has no practical effect as there is no remedy by which to enforce it in any event. The Bill amends s 1 of the Married Women's Property Act 1964 so that money and property derived from a housekeeping allowance will be treated in the same way whether the allowance is made by a husband to a wife or a wife to a husband. The Bill also provides for housekeeping allowances made by civil partners to be treated in the same way as housekeeping allowances made by spouses. See June [2006] Fam Law 431 for the full news article.

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