Lam and Lam

In *Lam and Lam*, heard before Moore J, the parties sought final property settlement orders. The dispute concerned the division of various assets, including superannuation, real estate, and other chattels, as well as the allocation of capital gains tax liabilities and a debt owed to the wife's mother.

The court was required to determine how to distribute the parties' superannuation interests, specifically a splittable payment from the wife's superannuation fund. Additionally, the court needed to make orders regarding the sale of jointly owned properties, the distribution of sale proceeds, and the responsibility for associated expenses and capital gains tax. The court also had to address the transfer of the husband's interest in a home property to the wife and the wife's indemnification of the husband against a debt owed to her mother.

Moore J made orders dividing the superannuation interest of the wife, entitling the husband to a specific amount from any splittable payment, with a corresponding reduction in the wife's entitlement. The court ordered the wife to pay a sum of money to the husband and, contemporaneously, for the husband to transfer his interest in a home property to the wife. The parties were directed to sell two other properties, with specific provisions for their sale by auction, reserve price, and the division of sale expenses. The proceeds of these sales were to be applied first to sale costs, then land tax and mortgage discharge, with the remaining balance to be divided 57.5% to the wife and 42.5% to the husband. The court also ordered that the capital gains tax liability arising from the sale of these properties be shared equally between the parties. Furthermore, the wife was ordered to indemnify the husband against any liability for repayment of a debt owed to her mother. Finally, each party was declared solely entitled to all other property in their possession or control.