An ancillary relief consent order provides for equal division by agreement of the parties’ chattels...
An ancillary relief consent order provides for equal division by agreement of the parties’ chattels and determination by the court in default of agreement. The parties cannot agree. On determination, will s 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 factors be engaged or are they displaced by the agreement for equality?
The section 25 factors will be engaged and that is why such an order is so unsatisfactory as it purports to hive off one element of the application whereas the court’s duty relates to the parties’ affairs generally. Therefore, it is not inconceivable that the district judge will refuse to approve such an order which leaves chattel sharing unresolved. An arguably ingenious practice adopted by one court was to direct a Scott Schedule requiring each item to be listed with the parties inserting the monetary value for it for which they contended on the basis that the item went to the party giving the higher figure but that party had to account to the other for their valuation figure.
