HEWORTH & HEWORTH

In the matter of *Heworth & Heworth*, Stevenson J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application concerning property settlement and legal costs. The husband was ordered to pay a sum of $20,000 to the wife's solicitors on account of her legal costs.

The central legal issue before the court was the appropriate disposition of funds in the context of a property settlement, specifically whether a payment towards legal costs could be characterised as a partial property settlement.

Stevenson J reasoned that the payment of $20,000 was to be made by the husband to the wife's solicitors within 14 days of the court's orders. This payment was explicitly characterised by the court as a partial property settlement, indicating the court's approach to addressing the wife's legal expenses within the broader financial division of the parties' assets. The court's order stipulated that the form of the order was subject to its formal entry into the Court's records.