Guernsey Legal Resources

    Since lump sum orders and property transfer orders can be made instead, orders for security for the provision of periodical maintenance payments are nowadays rare. In determining whether to order such security, the court must consider all the circumstances of the case, including the extent to which the effective freezing of the spouse’s assets, or part of them, would hinder his or her ability to earn income; the likelihood of the spouse moving out of the jurisdiction, or moving assets out of the jurisdiction, so as to avoid making maintenance payments; the likelihood otherwise of his or her failure to honour the maintenance commitments; and the whole financial structure of the parties’ assets. The court’s discretion is unfettered, but its decision must be fair and should reflect a balancing exercise of the interests of all concerned parties.