Chapter 3 of 6 · Money and the home · 2 of 5
Divorce settlement in Ireland: how courts decide proper provision
Last verified2026-10-07There is no divorce settlement calculator in Ireland because there is no formula. The court must make proper provision by weighing twelve factors in section 20 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996.
This guide covers the Republic of Ireland.
People searching for a "divorce settlement calculator" in Ireland are looking for something that does not exist, and cannot exist under the current law. There is no formula, no percentage and no table. Instead, the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 says the court must make "proper provision" for the spouses and any dependent children, and section 20 lists twelve factors the judge must weigh. This guide sets out those factors in plain English, explains how they interact, deals with the clean-break question and describes the affidavit of means.
Why there is no calculator
Section 20(1) requires the court, before granting a divorce or making any financial order, to ensure that such provision as it considers proper exists or will be made for the spouses and dependent children. Section 20(2) then says the court "shall, in particular, have regard to" twelve matters. It does not rank them, weight them or say how they combine. That is deliberate: every family's circumstances differ, and the judge has discretion to reach a fair result on those facts.
The same test applies to judicial separation under the Family Law Act 1995. The only State calculator in this area is the child maintenance calculator, which covers children only and describes itself as a guide.
The twelve section 20 factors in plain English
| Factor | What it means in practice | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources each spouse has or is likely to have | Everything each of you owns and earns now, and what you could reasonably earn in future. Inheritances in prospect and assets held through companies count |
| (b) | Financial needs, obligations and responsibilities each has or is likely to have | What each of you must pay for: housing, children, debts, dependants from a new relationship |
| (c) | Standard of living the family enjoyed before the proceedings | The court tries, where resources allow, not to leave one spouse at a very different standard from the other |
| (d) | Age of each spouse, duration of the marriage and time lived together | A long marriage, and years of cohabitation before it, point to a closer sharing of what was built up. A short marriage with no children points the other way |
| (e) | Physical or mental disability of either spouse | A disability that limits earning or increases costs raises that spouse's needs |
| (f) | Contributions each made or is likely to make to the welfare of the family, including looking after the home and caring for the family | The Act puts unpaid work in the home on the same footing as earning. Who paid the mortgage is not the test |
| (g) | Effect on each spouse's earning capacity of the responsibilities taken on during the marriage | A spouse who gave up a career to raise children has a smaller earning capacity now, and the court must account for that |
| (h) | Income or benefits either spouse is entitled to under statute | Social welfare and State pension entitlements, which affect what each needs from the other |
| (i) | Conduct, only where it would be unjust to disregard it | A high bar. Ordinary fault in a breakdown is ignored; dissipating assets or serious harm can count |
| (j) | Accommodation needs of either spouse | Both of you need a home. See who gets the house in a divorce |
| (k) | Value of any benefit, such as a pension, a spouse will lose because of the divorce | Widow's or widower's pension rights and death-in-service cover disappear on divorce. See pension adjustment orders |
| (l) | Rights of any other person, including a new spouse | If either of you has remarried or has new dependants, their position is weighed too |
Section 20 also tells the court to consider the terms of any separation agreement still in force between you.
How the factors interact
The factors are not a checklist to be scored. A judge typically works through something like this:
- What is there? The pool of assets, income and pensions disclosed in the affidavits of means (factor a).
- What does each spouse and each child need? Housing first, then income (factors b, e, j).
- Can the resources meet both sets of needs? Often not in full, so the shortfall has to be divided. Where they can, the court looks beyond needs to standard of living and contribution (factors c, d, f, g).
- What is being lost and who else is affected? Pension rights that fall away on divorce (factor k), State entitlements (factor h) and any new family (factor l).
- Is there conduct the court cannot ignore? (factor i).
The orders that carry the result into effect are periodical payments and lump sums (section 13), property adjustment orders (section 14), orders about occupying or selling the family home (section 15) and pension adjustment orders (section 17). A judge can trade one against another: a larger share of the home instead of a pension order, or a lump sum instead of ongoing spousal maintenance.
The clean-break point
Irish law has no automatic clean break. That phrase describes a settlement after which neither spouse can make any further financial claim on the other. The 1996 Act does not provide for one. Section 22 lets either spouse (and, after a death, a person with sufficient interest) apply to vary, discharge, suspend or revive maintenance pending suit, periodical payments, secured periodical payments and lump sums payable by instalments, among other orders, "having regard to any change in the circumstances of the case and to any new evidence".
In practice, couples who want finality get as close as the law allows: a lump sum or property transfer rather than periodical payments, maintenance orders for a nominal sum or discharged by consent, and pension adjustment orders for each scheme so the pensions are closed off. Courts have respected such arrangements, but the power to revisit maintenance remains. Two hard limits do exist: a periodical payments order to a spouse ends on that spouse's remarriage, and the court cannot make a new maintenance, property adjustment or pension adjustment order in favour of a spouse who has remarried. Divorce also ends your automatic succession rights in each other's estates, a loss the court can weigh under factor (k).
The affidavit of means
The court can only weigh what it can see. Each spouse in divorce or judicial separation proceedings must swear an affidavit of means (Form 37A in the Circuit Court; online applications use a statement of truth instead). The Courts Service describes it as a sworn statement of your income, assets, debts, outgoings and pensions. In practice it is set out in schedules:
- Assets: the family home and any other property, with estimated values and mortgages; bank and credit union accounts; shares and investments; vehicles; business interests; money owed to you.
- Income: salary, self-employment, rental income, social welfare payments and any other income, with payslips or accounts to back it up.
- Debts and liabilities: mortgages, loans, credit cards, tax owed.
- Outgoings: a weekly or monthly schedule of what you actually spend on housing, utilities, food, children, transport and insurance.
- Pensions: every scheme, PRSA or personal pension you hold, with the latest statement, because a pension adjustment order is needed for each one.
The duty is one of full and frank disclosure. Each side can seek further details and documents from the other, and a court that finds an asset was hidden can set aside orders and award costs against the spouse who hid it. The divorce documents guide lists what else goes with the affidavit.
Agreeing it yourselves
Nothing in section 20 stops you reaching your own settlement. Most Irish divorces are granted on consent, with the court making orders in the agreed terms after checking that proper provision has been made. Agreements reached through the Family Mediation Service or between solicitors are drafted with the section 20 factors in mind. For what each route costs, see how much a divorce costs and legal aid for divorce.
Where this leaves you
You cannot calculate your settlement, but you can prepare for it. Work out honestly what is in the pool, what each household needs to be housed and fed, and what each of you would lose on divorce in pension and succession terms. Then run the realistic outcomes through the cost planner to see what each would mean for you month to month. When you want someone to argue your side of the twelve factors, the solicitor page explains how to choose a family law solicitor.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a divorce settlement calculator for Ireland?
No official one exists and none could be accurate, because Irish law has no formula. Section 20 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 requires the court to make proper provision by weighing twelve listed factors, and the weight each gets depends on the facts. The only State calculator is the child maintenance calculator, which deals with children only and is a guide, not a rule.
Is everything split 50/50 in an Irish divorce?
No. Nothing in the Act says assets are shared equally. An equal division is one possible result of weighing the section 20 factors, and courts have made very unequal divisions where one spouse's needs, contributions or earning capacity justified it.
Does it matter who caused the marriage to end?
Rarely. Factor (i) in section 20 says the court may take conduct into account only where it would be unjust to disregard it. Ordinary relationship breakdown, including a new relationship, does not normally change the financial outcome. Conduct that has dissipated family assets or caused serious harm is the kind of thing that can.
Can a divorce settlement be reopened later in Ireland?
Partly. Irish law has no automatic clean break. Section 22 lets either spouse apply to vary or discharge maintenance orders (and some other orders) where circumstances change or new evidence emerges. A spouse who has remarried cannot be given a new maintenance, property or pension order. An outright transfer of property that has been completed is not revisited in the ordinary course.
What is an affidavit of means?
A sworn statement each spouse must file in divorce or judicial separation proceedings (Form 37A in the Circuit Court) listing income, assets, debts, outgoings and pensions. Online applications use a statement of truth instead. The court relies on it to apply the section 20 factors, and leaving things out can lead to orders being set aside and to costs orders.