Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 Explained: Your Divorce Guide

Part of: Divorce Specialists

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 is the Act of Parliament that governs divorce in England and Wales. It sets the sole ground for divorce and the process the court follows. In its second half, it also holds almost every power a court has to divide money, property and pensions between divorcing couples. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (the “no-fault divorce” reform, in force from 6 April 2022) rewrote part of it. However, the financial provisions, including the checklist judges use to decide who gets what, are still the 1973 Act. Our divorce specialists page shows how the whole process fits together.

If you are starting a divorce, or trying to agree the money, you will keep hearing about “the 1973 Act”. This guide explains what it says and what it means for you. It covers England and Wales only, because Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own divorce laws.

Reviewed by: Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist, Kabir Family Law

What is the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973?

The MCA 1973 is the main statute governing divorce and the financial consequences of divorce in England and Wales. It brought earlier, separate statutes together by consolidating them into one Act, as its long title says. Parliament has amended it many times since. The most significant change came from the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which rewrote how you obtain a divorce but left the court’s financial powers largely as they were.

Two parts of the 1973 Act matter for anyone going through a divorce:

• Part I (sections 1 to 20): divorce, nullity and judicial separation, including the ground for divorce and the procedure for getting one.
• Part II (sections 21 to 40A): financial relief. These are the orders a court can make for property, maintenance, lump sums and pensions, and the factors it must weigh before making them.

Most family law content refers to one section or the other. This guide is the missing overview: what the Act actually contains, and what each part means for your case.

How does the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 govern getting divorced?

The sole ground: irretrievable breakdown (section 1)

Since 6 April 2022, section 1 of the MCA 1973 says the only ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Either party can apply, or both of you can apply jointly. The application must come with a statement that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, and the court must take that statement as conclusive evidence.

So there is no need to prove adultery, unreasonable behaviour or separation. Your spouse also cannot contest the divorce on the basis that the marriage hasn’t broken down. Our no-fault divorce guide covers the full step-by-step process.

The Act also builds in two minimum waiting periods, and they shape your whole year.

1. You apply. One of you applies, or both of you do together. The clock starts when proceedings start.
2. You wait 20 weeks. Only after 20 weeks from the start of proceedings can you confirm that you want to go ahead to a conditional order (section 1(5)).
3. The court makes a conditional order. This is the first stage of the divorce order (section 1(4)).
4. You wait a further 6 weeks. The court cannot make the conditional order final before 6 weeks have passed.
5. The order becomes final. The marriage ends here. Even so, the final order does not sort out the money on its own.

That’s a minimum of 26 weeks in the usual case. In a particular case, a court can shorten either wait (section 1(8)). Applying for a divorce costs £628, according to GOV.UK. Court fees change from time to time, so always check the current figure before you apply.

The one-year rule (section 3)

Section 3 is short and absolute: nobody can apply for a divorce order before one year has passed from the date of the marriage. There is no discretion to shorten this. If you married less than a year ago, the court cannot accept a divorce application yet, whatever the circumstances.

How does the Matrimonial Causes Act decide money, property and pensions?

This is the part of the Act that actually decides how much money each of you ends up with. It’s also the part many explainers skip.

Which financial orders can the court make?

Part II of the MCA 1973 gives the court a toolkit of financial orders. The court can mix and match them, depending on the case.

Pension sharing arrived later than the rest, through the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999. Our guide to a pension sharing order explains how the split works. A court doesn’t have to choose one order. A settlement might combine a property transfer, a pension share and a time-limited maintenance order, all made under different sections of the same Act.

Which eight factors must the court weigh?

Before making any of the orders above, section 25 of the MCA 1973 requires the court to have regard to “all the circumstances of the case”. First consideration goes to the welfare of any child of the family who is under 18 (section 25(1)).

Section 25(2) then sets out eight specific factors the court must particularly consider:

1. (a) Income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources each party has now or is likely to have in the foreseeable future. This includes any increase in earning capacity it would be reasonable to expect someone to take steps to acquire.
2. (b) Financial needs, obligations and responsibilities each party has or is likely to have.
3. (c) The standard of living the family enjoyed before the marriage broke down.
4. (d) The age of each party and the duration of the marriage.
5. (e) Any physical or mental disability of either party.
6. (f) Contributions each party has made or is likely to make to the welfare of the family, including looking after the home or caring for the family.
7. (g) Conduct, but only if it would be inequitable, meaning unfair, for the court to disregard it. That wording sets a deliberately high bar. We explain the threshold, and how people argue it in court, in our section 25 conduct argument guide.
8. (h) The value of any benefit either party will lose the chance of acquiring because the marriage has ended, such as pension rights.

The wording of the 1973 Act itself does not rank any of the eight factors above the others, and it does not make any one of them decisive. So a judge weighs all eight against the specific facts of the case. That’s why two divorces with similar assets can end in very different settlements.

Does the court have to consider a clean break?

Yes. Section 25A sits alongside section 25 and adds a separate duty. The court must consider whether it can end your financial obligations to each other as soon after the divorce order as it considers “just and reasonable”. This is a clean break.

Where the court does order ongoing periodical payments, section 25A(2) requires it to consider a fixed term rather than payments that run indefinitely. The term should be long enough for the receiving party to adjust, “without undue hardship”, to the end of their financial dependence.

Can a spouse hide or move assets out of reach?

Section 37 lets the court set aside a transaction, such as a transfer, gift or other disposal of property, where your spouse made it with the intention of defeating your financial claim. The court can also restrain a transfer that is about to happen. This is a targeted anti-avoidance power, not a general power to unwind ordinary spending.

Timing matters too. If the disposal took place less than three years before your application and it would defeat your claim, the court presumes that intention unless your spouse shows otherwise (section 37(5)).

How do you turn a settlement into a binding order?

A written agreement between two people cannot stop either of you applying to the court later. In fact, the Act makes any term that tries to do so void (section 34). So once you agree a financial settlement, you ask the court to make a consent order in the terms you agreed (section 33A). We cover what happens once a judge approves and seals that order in our guide to sealed consent orders.

Did the 2022 divorce reform change the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973?

Yes, but mainly the divorce half. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 rewrote Part I of the MCA 1973: the ground for divorce and the procedure for getting one. In Part II, it updated wording to fit the new divorce orders. However, it did not amend section 25, and the types of financial order a court can make stayed the same.

Getting a divorce and sorting out the money are two separate legal processes under the same Act, and they run on separate tracks. Reaching a conditional or final divorce order does not itself resolve the finances. Nor does it require the court to resolve them. You can be divorced with no financial order in place at all. That’s why it pays to deal with the finances through a court order, however straightforward the divorce itself is.

What does the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 mean for your case?

If you’re starting a divorce, section 1 and section 3 tell you whether, and how, you can apply. If you’re negotiating money, property or pensions, section 25 and the clean break duty in section 25A form the checklist a court would use if your case ended up in front of a judge.

That is worth knowing even if you’re negotiating outside court. After all, a judge still decides whether to make any consent order you agree under the 1973 Act.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 actually do?

It’s the main statute governing divorce in England and Wales. Part I sets the ground and process for getting divorced, which has been no-fault since 6 April 2022. Part II gives the court its powers to make financial orders, such as periodical payments, lump sums, property adjustment and pension sharing. It also sets out the factors the court must weigh before making them.

Is the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 still in force today?

Yes. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 amended Part I of the 1973 Act (the divorce process itself) from 6 April 2022, but it did not replace the Act. The financial provisions in Part II, including section 25, still govern financial settlements today.

What factors does a court weigh under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973?

Section 25 lists them. The court looks at income and resources, needs, the standard of living, age and length of marriage, and disability. It also weighs contributions to the family, conduct (only if it would be inequitable to ignore it) and any benefit lost because the marriage ended, such as pension rights. First consideration goes to the welfare of any child of the family under 18.

Does bad behaviour affect how the money is divided?

It can, but only where it would be “inequitable to disregard” it, which is a high threshold. See our separate guide to the section 25 conduct argument for how that threshold works in practice.

Do I need a court order if we’ve already agreed the finances between ourselves?

Yes, if you want the agreement to close off future claims. A written agreement cannot stop either of you applying to the court later, because the Act makes any term that tries to do that void. To finish things, you ask the court to make a consent order in the terms you agreed. See our guide to what happens once a consent order is sealed.

How much does it cost to apply for a divorce under the Act?

The court fee to apply for a divorce order is £628, according to GOV.UK. Fees change from time to time, so always check the current figure before applying. Our no-fault divorce guide covers the timings and the step-by-step process.

Worried about what you will be left with? Get advice before you agree terms

The 1973 Act gives a judge eight factors to weigh before deciding what you keep and what you don’t. Knowing what they are is not the same as knowing how a judge will apply them to your specific assets, income and pension. If you want to understand where you’re likely to stand before you agree to anything, book a free initial consultation, where one of our specialists gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. You can also read about our divorce specialists.

Expert Tip

We are commonly asked whether the money is sorted once the final divorce order arrives. It is not. The final order ends the marriage, but it does not deal with money, property or pensions, and financial claims can stay open afterwards. So start the financial side while the divorce is running. A court order with a clean break is what closes those claims.

Garry Steedman, Family Law Consultant (Divorce, Children & TOLATA)