the Acts of Parliament that lie at the core of how the court is empowered and required to deal with the applications that are made to it. These may be fleshed out by Regulations and then guidance is given on the application by prior cases in senior courts, called the doctrine of precedent. Key statutes are: the MCA 1973 (the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973), which lays down the law as regards divorce and allied financial claims the I(PFD)A 1975 (the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, defining the claims that can be pursued against the estate of a deceased person the CA 1989 (the Children Act 1989) lays down the approach to resolving parenting disputes and, in its Schedule, the financial claims that can be made in relation to children the CSA 1991 (the Child Support Act 1991), with its myriad formulae and rules defining who pays what for children under the DWP’s system administered by the Child Maintenance Service ToLATA 1996 (the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996), confirming how the court is to approach financial claims raised on an equitable basis independent of the discretion that exists where there is a marriage