Donald and Donald

In *Donald and Donald*, Dessau J of the Family Court of Australia was required to make final property settlement orders between a husband and wife. The dispute concerned the division of the parties' assets, including real property and various financial accounts.

The court was tasked with determining how the parties' property, including a jointly owned home and significant financial assets, should be divided. This involved considering the appropriate mechanism for transferring ownership of the real property and the distribution of funds held in different accounts.

Dessau J ordered that the husband pay a specific sum to the wife by a set date. Contemporaneously, the wife was to transfer her interest in the real property to the husband, who would then assume sole liability for any encumbrances. The orders also stipulated a fallback mechanism: if the husband failed to make the payment by the due date, the property would be transferred to the wife for sale, with the proceeds applied first to sale costs, then to discharge any mortgage or encumbrances, followed by payment of the outstanding sum to the wife with interest, and any remaining balance to the husband. Further orders addressed the division of other assets, including funds held in a solicitor's trust account and a credit co-operative, and prohibited further encumbration of the real property without consent. The court also made orders regarding costs and the attendance of counsel.