1972-HKRS28-16-20_Part03 — Page 5

Alteration of agreements by court during lives of parties. 1970 c. 41, 1. N

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(2) In this section and in section 15—

"maintenance agreement" means any agreement in writing made, whether before or after the commencement of this Ordinance. between the parties to a marriage, being-

(a) an agreement containing financial arrangements, whether made during the continuance or after the dissolution or annulment of the marriage; or

(6) a separation agreement which contains no financial arrangements in a case where no other agreement in writ- ing between the same parties contains such arrangements; "financial arrangements” means provisions governing the rights and liabilities towards one another when living separately of the parties to a marriage (including a marriage which has been dissolved or annulled) in respect of the making or securing of payments or the disposition or use of any property, including such rights and liabilities with respect to the maintenance or education of any child, whether or not a child of the family.

15. (1) Where a maintenance agreement is for the time being subsisting and each of the parties to the agreement is for the time being either domiciled or resident in Hong Kong, then, subject to subsection (3), either party may apply to the court for an order under this section.

(2) If the court to which the application is made is satisfied either-

(2) that by reason of a change in the circumstances in the light of which any financial arrangements contained in the agreement were made or, as the case may be, financial arrangements were omitted from it (including a change foreseen by the parties when making the agreement), the agreement should be altered so as to make different, or. as the case may be, so as to contain, financial arrange-

ments, or

(b) that the agreement does not contain proper linancial arrangements with respect to any child of the family.

then, subject to subsections (3), (4) and (5), that court may by order make such alterations in the agreement-

(i) by varying or revoking any financial arrangements con-

tained in it, or

(ii) by inserting in it financial arrangements for the benefit

of one of the parties to the agreement or of a child of the family,

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as may appear to that court to be just having regard to all the circumstances, including, if relevant, the matters mentioned in section 7(3); and the agreement shall have effect thereafter as if any alteration made by the order had been made by agreement between the parties and for valuable consideration.

(3) The District Court shall not entertain an application under subsection (1) unless both the parties to the agreement arc resident in Hong Kong, and shall not have power to make any order on such an application except-

(a) in a case where the agreement includes no provision for periodical payments by either of the parties, an order inserting provision for the making by one of the parties of periodical payments for the maintenance of the other party or for the maintenance of any child of the family: (8) in a case where the agreement includes provision for the making by one of the parties of periodical payments, an order increasing or reducing the rate of, or terminating. any of those payments.

(4) Where a court decides to alter, by order under this sec- tion, an agreement by inserting provision for the making or securing by one of the parties to the agreement of periodical payments for the maintenance of the other party or by increasing the rate of the periodical payments which the agreement provides shall be made by one of the parties for the maintenance of the other, the term for which the payments or, as the case may be. so much of the payments as is attributable to the increase are or is to be made under the agreement as altered by the order shall be such term as the court may specify, but that term shall not exceed-

(a) where the payments will not be secured, the joint lives of the parties to the agreement or a term ending with the remarriage of the party to whom the payments are to be made, whichever is the sborter;

(8) where the payments will be secured, the life of that party or a term ending with the remarriage of that party, whichever is the shorter.

(5) Where a court decides to alter, by order under this sec- tion, an agreement by inserting provision for the making or secur- ing by one of the parties to the agreement of periodical payments for the maintenance of a child of the family or by increasing the rate of the periodical payments which the agreement provides shall be made or secured by one of the parties for the maintenance of such a child, then, in deciding the term for which under the