Faust and Faust and Ors

In the matter of *Faust and Faust*, Hannam J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application concerning the distribution of proceeds from the sale of a property. The dispute involved the Applicant wife and the Respondent husband, who were engaged in proceedings that required the court to make orders regarding the division of marital assets.

The primary legal issue before the court was how the proceeds of the sale of the property located at I Street, Suburb B, NSW, should be distributed pending further orders. Specifically, the court needed to determine the priority of payments, including expenses related to the sale, discharge of a mortgage, and the allocation of a significant sum to the Applicant wife and a lesser sum to the Respondent husband, with any remaining balance to be paid to the wife. The court also had to consider whether these payments would form part of the parties' property settlement, maintenance, or cost orders.

Hannam J ordered that upon settlement of the sale of the Suburb B property, the Respondent husband was to distribute the proceeds in a specific order of priority. This included payment of sale expenses, discharge of the ANZ mortgage, a payment of $400,000.00 to the Applicant wife, a payment of $100,000.00 to the Respondent husband, and any remaining balance to the Applicant wife. The court adjourned the determination of whether these payments would be treated as part of the property settlement, maintenance, or costs to the final hearing. Additionally, certain interim applications by the wife were dismissed, and the Respondent husband was granted an extension of time to provide outstanding financial disclosure. The wife's application for costs was also adjourned to the final hearing.