In proceedings for divorce, nullity of marriage or judicial separation, the court may make an order or orders requiring one party to the marriage to pay to the other ("the applicant") an amount for the purpose of enabling the applicant to obtain legal services for the purposes of the proceedings.
The court may also make such an order or orders in proceedings under this Part for financial relief in connection with proceedings for divorce, nullity of marriage or judicial separation.
The court must not make an order under this section unless it is satisfied that, without the amount, the applicant would not reasonably be able to obtain appropriate legal services for the purposes of the proceedings or any part of the proceedings.
For the purposes of subsection (3), the court must be satisfied, in particular, that—
An order under this section may be made for the purpose of enabling the applicant to obtain legal services of a specified description, including legal services provided in a specified period or for the purposes of a specified part of the proceedings.
An order under this section may—
An order under this section may direct that payment of all or part of the amount is to be deferred.
The court may at any time in the proceedings vary an order made under this section if it considers that there has been a material change of circumstances since the order was made.
For the purposes of the assessment of costs in the proceedings, the applicant's costs are to be treated as reduced by any amount paid to the applicant pursuant to an order under this section for the purposes of those proceedings.
In this section "legal services", in relation to proceedings, means the following types of services—
and they include, in particular, advice and assistance in the form of representation and any form of dispute resolution, including mediation.
In subsections (5) and (6) "specified" means specified in the order concerned.