DIVISION OF ASSETS IN BARBADOS
Section 57 of the Family Law Act of Barbados is the section that is of critical concern concerning the division of property in Barbados upon a divorce. It provides as follows:
57.(1) In proceedings in respect of the property of the parties to a marriage or union, or of either of them, the court may make such order as it thinks fit altering the interests of the parties in the property, including:
(a) an order for a settlement of property in substitution for any interest in the property; and
(b) an order requiring either or both of the parties to make, for the benefit of either or both of the parties or a child of the marriage or union, such settlement or transfer of property as the court determines.
(2) The court shall not make an order under this section unless it is satisfied that, in all the circumstances, it is just and equitable to make the order.
(3) In considering what order should be made under this section, the court shall take into account the following:
(a) the financial contribution made directly or indirectly by or on behalf of a party or a child to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of the property, or otherwise in relation to the property;
(b) the contribution made directly or indirectly to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of the property by either party, including any contribution made in the capacity of home-maker or parent;
(c) the effect of any proposed order upon the earning capacity of either party;
(d) the matters referred to in section 53(2) in so far as they are relevant; and
(e) any other order that has been made under this Act in respect of a party.”
Since Section 57(3) requires the courts to take into account matters referred to in Section 53(2), it is important also to examine the matters provided for in Section 53(2). These are:
(a) the age and state of health of each of the parties;
(b) the income, property and financial resources of each of the parties and the physical and mental capacity of each of them for appropriate gainful employment;
(c) whether either party has the care or control of a child of the marriage or union other than a marriage, who has not attained the age of 18 years;
(d) the financial needs and obligations of each of the parties;
(e) the responsibilities of either party to support any other person;
(f) the eligibility of either party for a pension, allowance, or benefit under any Act or rule, or under any superannuation fund or scheme, or the rate of any such pension, allowance, or benefit being paid to either party;
(g) where the parties have separated or the marriage has been dissolved, a standard of living that in all the circumstances is reasonable;
(h) the extent to which the payment of maintenance to the party whose maintenance is under consideration would increase the earning capacity of that party by enabling that party to undertake a course of education or training or to establish himself or herself in a business or otherwise to obtain an adequate income;
(i) the extent to which the party whose maintenance is under consideration has contributed to the income, earning capacity, property and financial resources of the other party;
(j) the duration of the marriage or union other than a marriage, and the extent to which it has affected the earning capacity of the party whose maintenance is under consideration;
(k) the need to protect the position of a woman who wishes only to continue her role as a wife and mother;
(l) if the party whose maintenance is under consideration is cohabiting with another person, the financial circumstances relating to the cohabitation;
(m) the terms of any order made or proposed to be made under section 57 in relation to the property of the parties; and
(n) any fact or circumstance that, in the opinion of the court, the justice of the case requires to be taken into account.