Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Civil partnership definition

What does Civil partnership mean? A civil partnership is a legally recognised relationship formed by registration that gives a couple rights and obligations broadly equivalent to marriage, including in property ownership, succession, pensions, tax treatment, immigration status and parental responsibility. It is commonly used as an alternative to marriage in family, private client and pensions practice. In England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, civil partnerships are created and dissolved under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (as amended). Since 2019–2020, both same-sex and opposite-sex couples may register. In Scotland, civil partnerships are governed by the 2004 Act as adapted and the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020;...

Income and Earning Capacity in Financial Remedies: Statutory Framework, Quantification, Evidence and Key Authorities (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note

This Practice Note explains the statutory duty in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) and in Schedule 5, Part 5 of the Civil partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004), requiring the court, on an application for a financial order, to evaluate the parties’ income and earning potential. It also outlines how to assess income figures, the position of primary carers, choices about employment, income in the past and future, those who are out of work, and earning capacity. Under MCA 1973, s 25(2)(a), the court is obliged to consider each party’s income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources available now or likely to arise in the foreseeable future, including, in relation to earning capacity, any enhancement it would, in the court’s view, be reasonable to expect a party to take steps to obtain. A corresponding rule appears in the CPA 2004: see CPA 2004, Sch 5, Pt 5, para 21(2)(a). The weight and importance attached to income and earning capacity may differ with the parties’ ages and overall circumstances. For instance, a spouse or civil partner who has not...

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Web page updated on 29/05/2026

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