Wills and Re-marriage

 When you get married, any Will you already have is (generally) automatically revoked. This seems like a pretty simply proposition.  But here’s an interesting case which illustrates the problems that can arise. Husband and wife were married 40 years and...

Wife gets payout Order years after Separation

Failing to formalise a property agreement properly can lead to very serious consequences. There are many examples in the case law of this happening. In one particular instance, a wife was ordered to pay her estranged husband about $25,000 more than seven years after...

Who Stays in the House

A common problem when parties separate is working out who gets to stay in the house until a final property settlement is resolved. There have been numerous Court decisions on this question over many years. The basic principle is that each of the parties have the right...

What comes first – divorce or property settlement?

A common misconception that I frequently come across is that people believe that they need to get divorced prior to sorting out their property rights. Not only is this incorrect, but it can often be dangerous to delay sorting out your property entitlements whilst you...