“Domestic promises between spouses presumed to lack legal intent”
The agreement was not legally enforceable as it was a domestic arrangement made between husband and wife living in amity, lacking the intention to create legal relations.
Mr Balfour worked in Ceylon and promised to pay his wife £30 per month while she remained in England for health reasons. When the marriage broke down, Mrs Balfour sued for the promised allowance.
Whether a domestic agreement between husband and wife to pay a monthly allowance was legally enforceable, specifically whether there was intention to create legal relations.
Agreements between spouses in a happy marriage are presumed to be made without intention to create legal relations. Such domestic arrangements are based on mutual trust and affection rather than legal obligation. The law does not regulate every promise made in a household context.
This case established the fundamental principle that domestic agreements are presumed to lack contractual intention, creating an important limitation on contract formation in family contexts.
Agreements between married couples concerning domestic arrangements made while living together in amity are presumed to lack intention to create legal relations and are therefore unenforceable as contracts.
The husband's promise to pay maintenance was not legally enforceable as it was a domestic arrangement lacking contractual intention, not a binding contract.
It established the presumption that family and domestic agreements lack contractual intention, defining the boundaries between legal obligations and social/family arrangements.
Atkin LJ noted that if such agreements were enforceable, the courts would be flooded with domestic disputes and trivial matters between family members.
OSCOLA Citation
Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571 (CA)
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[2026] UKSC 1
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