Property transfer divorce nullity separation MCA 1973 s.24
Under s.24 MCA 1973, court may make property adjustment orders: transfer property, settle, or vary nuptial settlements on divorce, nullity, judicial separation.
Official text
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MCA 1973 s. 24 — United Kingdom
On making a divorce, nullity of marriage or judicial separation order or at any time after making such an order (whether, in the case of a divorce or nullity of marriage order, before or after the order is made final), the court may make any one or more of the following orders, that is to say— an order that a party to the marriage shall transfer to the other party, to any child of the family or to such person as may be specified in the order for the benefit of such a child such property as may be so specified, being property to which the first-mentioned party is entitled, either in possession or reversion; an order that a settlement of such property as may be so specified, being property to which a party to the marriage is so entitled, be made to the satisfaction of the court for the benefit of the other party to the marriage and of the children of the family or either or any of them; an order varying for the benefit of the parties to the marriage and of the children of the family or either or any of them any ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlement (including such a settlement made by will or codicil) made on the parties to the marriage ,other than one in the form of a pension arrangement (within the meaning of section 25D below) ; an order extinguishing or reducing the interest of either of the parties to the marriage under any such settlement , other than one in the form of a pension arrangement (within the meaning of section 25D below) ; subject, however, in the case of an order under paragraph (a) above, to the restrictions imposed by section 29(1) and (3) below on the making of orders for a transfer of property in favour of children who have attained the age of eighteen. The court may make an order under subsection (1)(c) above notwithstanding that there are no children of the family. Without prejudice to the power to give a direction under section 30 below for the settlement of an instrument by conveyancing counsel, where an order is made under this section on or after making a divorce or nullity of marriage order, neither the order under this section nor any settlement made in pursuance of it is to take effect unless the divorce or nullity of marriage order has been made final. See also section 52A (interpretation of certain references to divorce orders, nullity of marriage orders and judicial separation orders).
Section 24 is the power that makes ownership on paper largely beside the point in a divorce. The court may order a party to transfer to the other, to a child of the family, or to a person specified for a child's benefit, "such property as may be so specified, being property to which the first-mentioned party is entitled, either in possession or reversion". It may order property to be settled for the benefit of the other party and the children. And it may vary, or extinguish or reduce an interest under, any ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlement made on the parties - including one made by will or codicil.
The first of those is why "the house is in my name" is not the answer people expect it to be. A house, a share in a company, a plot of land, an interest in a trust: if a party is entitled to it, the court can order it transferred. The second and third are the powers used where assets are held in a structure rather than owned outright, and the nuptial settlement jurisdiction is what allows a court to reach a family trust set up for the couple.
Two express limits appear in the text. The nuptial settlement limbs, paragraphs (c) and (d), do not extend to a settlement in the form of a pension arrangement - pensions are dealt with by sections 24B and 25B instead. And subsection (3) provides that an order made on or after a divorce or nullity order does not take effect unless that order has been made final. Orders in favour of children over eighteen are restricted by section 29. As with everything in this part, what the court should do is decided under section 25.
When it applies
A family home bought and registered in one spouse's sole name.
A couple deciding whether the house should be transferred or sold and the proceeds divided.
Assets held in a family trust set up during or in contemplation of the marriage.
A transfer of the home to one parent with a charge back in favour of the other.
Property inherited by one spouse during the marriage that the other says should be shared.
What this section does not say
×It does not depend on legal ownership. Property to which a party is entitled can be transferred whatever the title deeds say.
×It does not reach pension arrangements through the settlement limbs. Paragraphs (c) and (d) exclude them, and pensions are dealt with under sections 24B and 25B.
×It does not itself order a sale. That is section 24A, and it is available only alongside one of the listed orders.
×It does not decide the outcome. The section is a list of powers; how they are exercised is governed by section 25 and the clean-break duty in section 25A.
×It does not apply to unmarried couples, who instead use section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.
×It cannot be varied afterwards. Property adjustment orders sit largely outside the variation power in section 31.
Worked examples
Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.
Illustrative example
A house was bought before the marriage and is registered in one spouse's sole name. The other lived there for fifteen years and raised the children in it. The owner says it is simply not part of the divorce.
How the wording applies
Section 24 lets the court order a party to transfer property to which they are entitled, and legal ownership is not a limit on the power - which is why 'it is in my name' is not the answer people expect. The fact that matters is not whose name is on the title but that the party is entitled to the property, after which how the power is exercised is a section 25 question in which the length of the marriage and the contributions each made are weighed.
How the parties settled it
They agree the house is transferred to the parent the children live with, with a charge back in favour of the other for an agreed percentage, realised when the youngest finishes full-time education.
Illustrative example
Assets sit in a family trust set up during the marriage, from which the couple and their children have been supported for years. One spouse says the trust is untouchable because they do not own it.
How the wording applies
Paragraphs (c) and (d) let the court vary, or extinguish or reduce an interest under, any ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlement made on the parties. The fact that decides whether the trust is reachable is whether it is a nuptial settlement - broadly, one made on the parties in their character as spouses - rather than whether either of them owns the assets outright. The same limbs expressly do not extend to pension arrangements, which go down the sections 24B and 25B route instead.
How the parties settled it
The couple agree a variation of the trust to carve out a defined fund for the non-owning spouse, with the trustees joined to the consent order so the arrangement binds them.
The same problem elsewhere
The other legal systems in this collection answer the same everyday problem with their own provisions.
The comparison and these one-line summaries are in English.
Who stays in the family home: separation and the house in six legal systems
Say what is happening. A neutral mediator hears your side and the other party's, and walks you both to a written agreement. In the advanced settings you can ask for the decision to be reasoned on the Acts of Parliament that apply in England and Wales.
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This page reproduces the text of MCA 1973 s. 24 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.