Repayment of excess payments: MCA 1973 s. 33
Repayment of excess maintenance payments when circumstances change or payer dies. Applies to pending suit, interim, periodical, secured periodical orders.
Where on an application made under this section in relation to an order to which this section applies it appears to the court that by reason of— a change in the circumstances of the person entitled to, or liable to make, payments under the order since the order was made, or the changed circumstances resulting from the death of the person so liable, the amount received by the person entitled to payments under the order in respect of a period after those circumstances changed or after the death of the person liable to make payments under the order, as the case may be, exceeds the amount which the person so liable or his or her personal representatives should have been required to pay, the court may order the respondent to the application to pay to the applicant such sum, not exceeding the amount of the excess, as the court thinks just. This section applies to the following orders, that is to say— any order for maintenance pending suit and any interim order for maintenance; any periodical payments order; and any secured periodical payments order. An application under this section may be made by the person liable to make payments under an order to which this section applies or his or her personal representatives and may be made against the person entitled to payments under the order or her or his personal representatives. An application under this section may be made in proceedings in the High Court or the family court for— the variation or discharge of the order to which this section applies, or leave to enforce, or the enforcement of, the payment of arrears under that order; but when not made in such proceedings shall be made to the family court , and accordingly references in this section to the court are references to the High Court or the family court , as the circumstances require. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An order under this section for the payment of any sum may provide for the payment of that sum by instalments of such amount as may be specified in the order.
Text in force at .
Source: legislation.gov.uk — The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), reproduced under licence Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it actually says
This section allows a court to order the repayment of overpaid sums under certain maintenance orders when the circumstances of the payer or recipient have changed since the order was made, or when the payer has died. The application can be made by the person who pays (or their personal representatives) against the person who receives the payments (or their personal representatives).
The court can order repayment of the excess amount, but only up to what was overpaid. It may also allow the sum to be paid in instalments. The application can be made as part of proceedings to vary or enforce the order, or separately to the family court.
When it applies
- Your income dropped and you kept paying the same maintenance, so you want the overpaid money back.
- Your ex-spouse died but you continued receiving maintenance payments that should have stopped.
- You are the personal representative of a deceased payer and discover that payments continued after death.
- A variation order reduced payments, but the recipient still received the old higher amount for a period after the change.
- An interim order was later replaced by a final order with lower payments, and the recipient got more than the final order required.
What this section does not say
- This section does not apply to property adjustment orders or lump sum orders.
- It does not allow repayment of arrears that were properly due under the order.
- It does not apply to child support orders made under the Child Support Act.
- It does not cover variation of the order itself (that is dealt with under s.31) or avoidance of transactions (s.37).
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This page reproduces the text of MCA 1973 s. 33 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.