Matrimonial Causes Act 1965

24 Alteration of agreements by court during lives of parties

(1) Where a maintenance agreement (other than an agreement made more than six months after the dissolution or annulment of the marriage) is for the time being subsisting and the parties to the agreement are for the time being either both domiciled or both resident in England and on an application by either party the High Court or, subject to the next following subsection, a magistrates' court is satisfied either—

(a) that by reason of a change in the circumstances in the light of which any financial arrangements contained in the agreement were made or, as the case may be, financial arrangements were omitted from it, the agreement should be altered so as to make different, or as the case may be so as to contain, financial arrangements ; or

(b) that the agreement does not contain proper financial arrangements with respect to any child of the marriage,

the court to which the application is made may by order make such alterations in the agreement by varying or revoking any financial arrangements contained in it or by inserting in it financial arrangements for the benefit of one of the parties to the agreement or of a child of the marriage as may appear to that court to be just having regard to all the circumstances or, as the case may be, as may appear to that court to be just in all the circumstances in order to secure that the agreement contains proper financial arrangements with respect to any child of the marriage; and the agreement shall have effect thereafter as if any alteration made by the order had been made by agreement between the parties and for valuable consideration.

(2) A magistrates' court shall not entertain an application under the foregoing subsection unless both the parties to the agreement are resident in England and at least one of the parties is resident in the petty sessions area (within the meaning of the [1952 c. 55.] Magistrates' Courts Act 1952) for which that court acts, and shall not have power to make any order on such an application except—

(a) in a case where the agreement includes no provision for periodical payments by either of the parties, an order inserting provision for the making by one of the parties of periodical payments—

(i) for the maintenance of the other party, at a rate not exceeding seven pounds ten shillings a week;

(ii) for the maintenance of any child of the marriage, at a rate not exceeding fifty shillings a week in respect of each such child ;

(b) in a case where the agreement includes provision for the making by one of the parties of periodical payments at rates not exceeding those aforesaid, an order increasing to such higher rate not exceeding the appropriate rate aforesaid, or reducing the rate of, or terminating, any of those payments.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that nothing in this or the last foregoing section affects any power of the court before which any proceedings between the parties to a maintenance agreement are brought under any other enactment (including a provision of this Act) to make an order containing financial arrangements or any right of either party to apply for such an order in such proceedings.