Groves & Groves

In *Groves & Groves*, the applicant wife sought spousal maintenance from the respondent husband, claiming an inability to access her superannuation funds. The husband had agreed to orders allowing the wife to access their jointly held self-managed superannuation fund. The matter came before Harper J in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the husband should be ordered to pay $3,000 per week as spousal maintenance. This question was to be determined in light of the wife's asserted inability to rely on her superannuation and the husband's consent to orders facilitating her access to those funds.

Harper J determined that the wife's application for spousal maintenance should be dismissed. The court's reasoning appears to have been that the wife's financial needs could be met through the property settlement and the access to her superannuation, as facilitated by the orders made. The court ordered the husband to pay the wife $325,000 by way of partial property settlement, with specific provisions for the use of these funds, including legal costs and other identified expenses. Further orders were made to enable the wife to draw down on her member entitlement from the Groves SMSF, including the transfer of an ANZ share trading account and the removal of a hold placed by the wife on the SMSF's Westpac account, with the exclusion of shares held in D Company. The wife's application for spouse maintenance was dismissed, and each party was ordered to bear their own costs.