Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010

Discharge, variation and termination of maintenance order.

46.— (1) The court may discharge a maintenance order at any time after one year from the time it is made, on the application of the maintenance debtor, where it appears to the court that, having regard to the maintenance debtor’s record of payments pursuant to the order and to the other circumstances of the case, the maintenance creditor will not be prejudiced by the discharge.

(2) The court may discharge or vary a maintenance order at any time, on the application of either party, if it thinks it proper to do so having regard to any circumstances not existing when the order was made (including the conduct of each of the civil partners, if that conduct is conduct that the court believes is conduct that it would in all the circumstances be unjust to disregard), or, if it has been varied, when it was last varied, or to any evidence not available to that party when the maintenance order was made or, if it has been varied, when it was last varied.

(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the court shall, on application to it, discharge the part of a maintenance order that provides for the support of a maintenance creditor where it appears to it that the maintenance creditor has deserted and continues to desert the maintenance debtor unless, having regard to all the circumstances (including the conduct of the maintenance debtor) the court is of the opinion that it would be unjust to do so.