Carevetta and Carevetta

In *Carevetta and Carevetta*, heard in the Family Court of Australia, Justice Carter determined competing applications for the alteration of interests in property following the breakdown of the marriage between Mr and Mrs Carevetta. The proceedings also addressed issues concerning the parties' three children.

The court was required to determine the division of the parties' assets and liabilities, considering their respective contributions to the marriage, the financial resources and needs of each party, and the impact of any proposed orders on their future earning capacities. A significant issue was the husband's alleged failure to provide full and frank disclosure of his financial position and business dealings, which complicated the identification and valuation of the asset pool.

Justice Carter's reasoning heavily emphasised the husband's unreliability and evasiveness regarding financial disclosure, drawing adverse inferences where explanations were lacking or contradictory. The court applied the principles of section 79 of the *Family Law Act 1975*, including the assessment of contributions, consideration of section 75(2) factors, and the ultimate determination of what was just and equitable. Due to the husband's lack of disclosure, the court adopted a robust approach, limiting the asset pool to identified assets and making significant adjustments in favour of the wife under section 75(2)(o) to account for the husband's non-disclosure and the wife's role as primary caregiver.

By consent, orders were made for the children to live with the wife and for her to be solely responsible for their day-to-day care. In relation to property, the court ordered that the former matrimonial home be transferred to the wife, subject to her paying the husband a sum of $275,000, from which a debt to the Child Support Registrar would be deducted. Various other orders were made concerning the division of chattels and the husband's retention of business interests, with the husband to indemnify the wife against liabilities related to those retained interests.