Hampton & Farley & Ors

The case involved Ms Hampton, the de facto wife, and Mr Farley Snr, the de facto husband, in a property settlement dispute. The proceedings also involved Mr Farley Jnr, the son of Mr Farley Snr, and Farley and Son Pty Ltd, a corporation owned by Mr Farley Snr and his son, who intervened seeking orders in the Court's accrued jurisdiction. The central dispute concerned the division of property, including assets held by the partnership and the corporation, and the assertion of trusts in favour of the son.

The Court was required to determine several legal issues. Firstly, it needed to ascertain whether the determination of the property of the de facto parties necessitated the exercise of the Court's accrued jurisdiction, given the involvement of third parties and their claims. Secondly, the Court had to consider whether an alteration of property interests between the de facto parties would be just and equitable. Thirdly, the Court was asked to determine whether Mr Farley Snr held his legal interests in the partnership and corporation on trust for his son, Mr Farley Jnr, and whether equitable and proprietary estoppel principles could be invoked to declare such a trust, particularly in light of representations made by Mr Farley Snr to his son.

Coleman J concluded that an order altering the property interests of the de facto parties was just and equitable. The Court found that the day-to-day contributions of Ms Hampton during the de facto relationship were to be viewed as equal, and her entitlement was adjusted by approximately 15 per cent to account for the disparity in financial resources between the parties. The Court also found that while Ms Hampton was not estopped from departing from an assumption created by Mr Farley Snr regarding the son's future inheritance, Mr Farley Snr was estopped in equity from departing from his representation to his son that the farming properties would one day be his. Consequently, the Court declared that Mr Farley Snr held his legal interest in the farming properties on trust for Mr Farley Jnr in remainder, with Mr Farley Snr as life tenant, excluding property held as trustee for the superannuation fund. The Court made a splitting order in favour of Ms Hampton regarding Mr Farley Snr's superannuation interest and ordered interim spousal maintenance in her favour.