Horleck and Horleck and Ors

The case of *Horleck and Horleck* involved an application by the applicant wife to set aside previous orders made by Butler J on 8 December 1995, pursuant to section 79A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The primary dispute concerned the division of property between the parties, with the wife seeking to recover a sum of $220,000. The court was required to determine whether to set aside the earlier orders and make new orders regarding the property settlement, including the potential setting aside of property transfers and the declaration of beneficial interests.

Forrest J considered the application under section 79A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), which allows for the alteration of property settlement orders in certain circumstances, and section 106B of the same Act, which permits the setting aside of transactions intended to defeat an order. The court's reasoning focused on ensuring a just and equitable distribution of property, particularly in light of the husband's alleged actions to defeat the wife's entitlements. The principles applied involved the court's power to redistribute property and to unwind transactions that prejudiced a party's claim.

The court ordered that the previous orders be set aside and that the husband pay the wife $220,000 by a specified date. In default of this payment, several properties were to be vested in the wife as trustee for sale to satisfy the debt, with specific declarations of beneficial interests in one property. Injunctions were also granted to restrain the husband and other respondents from dealing with various properties and the husband's superannuation interests pending the wife's full payment. Upon full payment, the husband was to retain his remaining property interests.