Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996

Miscellaneous ancillary orders.

15.—(1) On granting a decree of divorce or at any time thereafter, the court, on application to it in that behalf by either of the spouses concerned or by a person on behalf of a dependent member of the family, may, during the lifetime of the other spouse or, as the case may be, the spouse concerned, make one or more of the following orders:

(a) an order—

(i) providing for the conferral on one spouse either for life or for such other period (whether definite or contingent) as the court may specify of the right to occupy the family home to the exclusion of the other spouse, or

(ii) directing the sale of the family home subject to such conditions (if any) as the court considers proper and providing for the disposal of the proceeds of the sale between the spouses and any other person having an interest therein,

(b) an order under section 36 of the Act of 1995,

(c) an order under section 5 , 7 or 9 of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976 ,

(d) an order under, section 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the Act of 1996,

(e) an order for the partition of property or under the Partition Act, 1868, and the Partition Act, 1876,

(f) an order under section 11 of the Act of 1964,

and, for the purposes of this section, in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d), a reference to a spouse in a statute referred to in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) shall be construed as including a reference to a person who is a party to a marriage that has been dissolved under this Act.

(2) The court, in exercising its jurisdiction under subsection (1) (a), shall have regard to the welfare of the spouses and any dependent member of the family and, in particular, shall take into consideration—

(a) that, where a decree of divorce is granted, it is not possible for the spouses concerned to reside together, and

(b) that proper and secure accommodation should, where practicable, be provided for a spouse who is wholly or mainly dependent on the other spouse and for any dependent member of the family.

(3) Subsection (1) (a) shall not apply in relation to a family home in which, following the grant of a decree of divorce, either of the spouses concerned, having remarried, ordinarily resides with his or her spouse.