DABNETE & BROT

The applicants, Ms Dabnete and Mr Dabnete as Executors of the Estate of Mr Brot (Deceased), sought to enforce paragraph 1.7 of consent orders made on 30 June 1998, asserting that the respondent wife was obliged to pay any superannuation she received from SA Police Superannuation to the husband's estate. In the alternative, the applicants sought to have the 1998 order set aside or varied under s 79A(1) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The matter was heard in the Family Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine whether the wife was obligated to pay her SA Police Superannuation entitlements to the deceased husband's estate under the existing orders. It also needed to consider whether the circumstances warranted setting aside or varying the 1998 orders pursuant to s 79A(1) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), and whether to extend the time for the applicants to seek a review of the registrar's exercise of power on 30 June 1998. Finally, the court had to address the property settlement between the parties afresh, considering the wife's pension entitlement.

The court dismissed the application for enforcement, finding that the husband's entitlement to superannuation ceased upon his death and that the pension and lump sum the wife became entitled to were her own. The alternative application to set aside or vary the order under s 79A(1) was also dismissed, as the court found no miscarriage of justice and that it was not impracticable for the order to be carried out. However, the court granted an extension of time to review the registrar's exercise of power, finding adequate reasons for the delay and substantial issues to be tried. In reconsidering the property settlement, the court treated contributions up to separation as equal, but assessed the husband's subsequent contributions as greater, ultimately ordering that the husband's estate receive 52.5% of the assessed capital value of the wife's pension, with no adjustment under s 75(2) factors.

As a result of the review, the court confirmed the 1998 orders but ordered the wife to pay the sum of $82,067 to the executors of the husband's estate within two months. All other applications were removed from the pending cases list.