B.L. v. M.L., 3 October 1988
Annual Review of Population Law 15: 74
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0364-3417 PMID: 12289673 Document Number: 383636
The court held that a wife who had not made either a direct or indirect contribution to the family home would be given a 50% beneficial interest in that home upon divorce a mensa et thoro. It based its ruling on Article 41.2 of the Irish Constitution, under which the State has a specific duty to try to ensure that mothers are not obliged by economic necessity to engage in work to the neglect of their duties in the home. It ruled that a woman should have her work as a homemaker and mother taken into account in calculating her contribution toward acquisition of the home.