Lennon & Lennon & Ors

In the matter of *Lennon & Lennon & Ors*, heard before Cronin J, the dispute concerned the division of property following the breakdown of a marriage. The applicant wife sought to set aside previous orders made on 15 November 2013, and the court was required to determine the appropriate distribution of assets, particularly the proceeds from the sale of real property held by the wife's solicitors. The third respondent, Mr Markakis, acting as trustee of the bankrupt estate of Mr Lennon, was also a party to the proceedings.

The central legal issue before the court was whether to set aside the earlier consent orders and, if so, how to re-apportion the parties' assets. This involved considering the wife's application under s 79A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) to set aside the 2013 orders, and then determining the equitable distribution of the available property, including the proceeds of the sale of real estate and other assets in which the wife held an interest.

Cronin J determined that the orders of 15 November 2013 should be set aside pursuant to s 79A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The court ordered that the proceeds of the sale of the real property, held by the wife's solicitors, be paid out with 70 per cent to the applicant wife and 30 per cent to the third respondent, Mr Markakis, as trustee of the bankrupt estate of Mr Lennon. Furthermore, the wife was to retain any other asset in which she had a legal or equitable interest, while the husband was to relinquish any such interest. All other outstanding applications were dismissed.