Spouses & Property
Common Law Reformed
A married woman was not capable of owning separate property under the common law. Her property was deemed owned by her husband.
As a corollary to this, a husband was obliged to maintain his wife. She had the authority to pledge his credit for so-called necessaries.
The Married Women’s Property Act 1882 repealed the common law rules and enabled a married woman to own her own property. The Married Women’s Status Act 1957 confirmed the full legal capacity of a married woman and also provided for a mechanism to assist in the speedier determination of property disputes between husband and wife.
Cases Beneficial Interest
Prior to the 1970s, the majority of family homes were held in the husband’s sole name. The Family Home Protection Act 1976 provided incentives for transferring the family home into joint names. The transactions were made free of stamp duty and registry fees. Later, complete exemptions from stamp duty as well as capital gains and inheritance tax, and gift tax were introduced for transactions between spouses.
In the United Kingdom, from the 1970s onwards, the courts developed the law so as to find a beneficial ownership for the non-owning spouse based either on financial contributions or contributions to a family fund from which a house was purchased, or a mortgage was redeemed. A number of English cases, particularly rulings by the famous Lord Denning as Master of the Rolls,  attempted to go further but were ultimately overruled by higher court judgments in the United Kingdom.
The Irish courts broadly followed the English courts in their willingness to find beneficial interests based on financial contributions. However, the courts in Ireland stopped short of recognising a beneficial interest based on so called work in the home. Only a financial contribution would account. See, generally, our section on trusts and protector resulting trusts in relation to the law in this area.
Resulting Trust in Ireland
The resulting trust principle by which the court will recognise the acquisition of a beneficial interest by contributions, the early cases required a direct contribution to the purchase price or to a mortgage redeeming the purchase price. This was later developed to cover unpaid work within a business.
Cases developed the principle of contributions to a family fund from which the mortgage was redeemed permitted proportionate acquisition of beneficial interest. The portion would depend on the initial deposit paid and the extent of the contribution by the non-owning spouse to the family funds.
Spending money, making contributions or  undertaking improvements may also, by way of the principle of constructive or resulting trust, allow a  beneficial interest to be found. Most courts have required an implied or express agreement that the person making the contribution is to receive a benefit in return for so doing. This reflects the general principle that making improvements to another’s property does not lead to a beneficial interest in the absence of an agreement or estoppel.
With the introduction of comprehensive judicial separation and divorce legislation in the 1990s, the number of cases based on claimed beneficial interest significantly reduced. In addition, it has become an almost uniform practice that the family home is held in joint names.
Constitution
To some extent, the refusal to find a beneficial interest based on the spouse typically the female spouse working in the home, was surprising. The Constitution had pledged to protect the position of the female spouse working in the home.
The Matrimonial Home Bill was introduced in 1993 to confer equal rights of ownership of the matrimonial home and household items on each spouse. It was referred to the Supreme Court by the president and found to be unconstitutional.
The court reasoned that the legislation was overbroad and interfered with the freedom of parties who organised the affairs. See our section on Constitutional Law.
Property Rights
Where both spouses have ownership, legal or beneficial in the family home, they are equally entitled to occupy and enjoy it. Where a property is owned by one spouse, family legislation effectively gives the other spouse rights to occupy and use the property.
If the marriage breaks down and there is a judicial separation or divorce, the courts have significant powers to divide property between spouses. The pre-existing ownership of one spouse will be a factor, but not determinative, as set in our section on divorce and judicial separation.
The court may also award exclusive occupation of the house to one party and may make a whole range of orders affecting future use and occupation, with or without transferring an ownership share.
Summary Property Proceedings
As mentioned above, the Married Women’s Status Act, as amended by later family legislation, gives the court the power to make orders and or to direct enquiries in relation to property disputes between spouses.  It may order that a property be sold or divided.
A spouse or a child of a deceased spouse may apply to the court for an order where the other spouse has assets under his control, any type of assets, case or real property belonging to that spouse. The court may trace the proceeds of assets belonging to the claimant spouse into other assets and proceeds purchased by the respondent spouse.
The application may be made against the personal representatives of a deceased spouse as well as parties to a marriage which was been annulled or dissolved in accordance with Irish or foreign law. In the latter case, the application must be made within 3 years of the dissolution or annulment.