Hong Kong Ordinances

MATRIMONIAL PROCEEDINGS AND PROPERTY ORDINANCE - SECT 17

Avoidance of transactions intended to defeat certain claims

Caution: This is a past version. See the current version here.

(1) Where proceedings for relief under any of the relevant 
provisions of this Ordinance (hereafter in this section referred to as
"financial provision") are brought by a person (hereafter in this section
referred to as "the applicant") against any other person (hereafter in this
section referred to as "the other party"), the court may, on an application by
the applicant-

   (a)  if it is satisfied that the other party is, with the intention of
        defeating the claim for financial provision, about to make any
        disposition or to transfer out of the jurisdiction or otherwise deal
        with any property, make such order as it thinks fit for restraining
        the other  party from so doing or otherwise for protecting the claim;

   (b)  if it is satisfied that the other party has, with the intention
        aforesaid, made a disposition to which this paragraph applies and that
        if the disposition were set aside financial provision or different
        financial  provision would be granted to the applicant, make an order
        setting aside the disposition and give such consequential directions
        as it thinks fit for giving effect to the order (including directions
        requiring the making of any payment or the disposal of any property);

   (c)  if it is satisfied, in a case where an order under the relevant 
        provisions of this Ordinance has been obtained by the applicant
        against the other party, that the other party has, with the intention
        aforesaid, made a disposition to which this paragraph applies, make
        such an order and give such directions as are mentioned in paragraph
        (b); and an application for the purposes of paragraph (b) shall be
        made in the proceedings for the financial provision in question.

(2) Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) apply respectively to any
disposition made by the other party (whether before or after the commencement
of the proceedings for financial provision), not being a disposition made for
valuable consideration (other than marriage) to a person who, at the time of
the disposition, acted in relation to it in good faith and without notice of
any such intention as aforesaid on the part of the other party.

(3) Where an application is made under this section with respect to a
disposition which took place less than three years before the date of the
application or to a disposition or other dealing with property which is about
to take place and the court is satisfied-

   (a)  in a case falling within subsection (1)(a) or (b), that the
        disposition or other dealing would (apart from this section) have the
        consequence, or

   (b)  in a case falling within subsection (1)(c), that the disposition has
        had the consequence, of defeating the applicant's claim for
        financial provision, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is
        shown, that the other party disposed of the property with the
        intention aforesaid or, as the case may be, is, with that intention,
        about to dispose of or deal with the property.

(4) In this section- "disposition" (財產處置) does not include any
provision contained in a will or codicil but, with that exception, includes
any conveyance, assurance or gift of property of any description, whether made
by an instrument or otherwise; "the relevant provisions of this Ordinance"
(本條例的有關條文) means any of the provisions of sections 3, 4, 5, 6,
8, 11 (except subsection (6)) and 15; and any reference to defeating an
applicant's claim for financial  provision is a reference to preventing
financial provision from being granted to the applicant, or to the applicant
for the benefit of a child  of the family, or reducing the amount of any
financial provision which might be so granted, or frustrating or impeding the
enforcement of any order which might be or has been made at the instance of
the applicant under the relevant provisions of this Ordinance.

(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a disposition made more
than three years before the commencement of this Ordinance. [cf. 1970 c.45
s.16 U.K.] "disposition" (財產處置) "the relevant provisions of this
Ordinance" (本條例的有關條文)