One can refer to the landmark case LKW v DD (2010) which contains the basic principles that the courts in Hong Kong shall follow in exercising their discretion under section 7 Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Ordinance (Cap. 192 MPPO).
The said judgment provides guidelines representing an attempt to balance flexibility and legal certainty in the handling of ancillary relief in divorce cases.
In particular, those principles only apply where there is a surplus of assets over needs. The five steps (section 7 MPPO) are:
- Ascertain the financial resources of parties;
- Assess the parties’ financial needs;
- Apply the sharing principle if assets exceed needs (surplus assets);
- Consider whether there are good reasons for departing from equal division (equal sharing should not be applied mechanically);
- Decide the outcome.
Noted that in applying the above steps, the following shall be bear in mind:
- Fair distribution;
- Rejection of discrimination;
- Yardstick of equality;
- Rejection of minute retrospective investigations.
