Egan and Egan

This matter concerned orders made by Macmillan J in the Family Court of Australia between a husband and a wife. The dispute involved the distribution of funds held in trust by the husband's solicitors and the settlement of a property in the United Kingdom, as well as the division of the husband's superannuation interests.

The court was required to determine the specific amounts to be paid to the wife from the solicitors' trust account and upon the sale of the UK property. Crucially, the court also had to determine how the husband's superannuation interests would be divided, specifically addressing the allocation of a base amount to the wife and the mechanism for future payments from the superannuation fund pursuant to the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) and its associated regulations.

Macmillan J ordered the immediate distribution of funds held in trust by the husband's solicitors to the wife. The court further ordered that upon the settlement of the sale of the UK property, the husband was to pay a specified sum to the wife, adjusted by the amount she received from the trust funds. The court also made orders binding on the trustee of the husband's superannuation fund, allocating a base amount of $300,000 to the wife and stipulating that she would be entitled to a calculated portion of future splittable payments from the fund, with a corresponding reduction in the husband's entitlement. These superannuation orders were to take effect four business days after service of the orders on the trustee. The court also made general orders regarding the parties' sole entitlement to other property, insurance policies, liability for encumbrances, and the severance of any joint tenancies. All extant applications, except for costs, were dismissed.