Liakos and Zervos & Anor

In this matter before Loughnan J, the wife sought property settlement orders against the husband. A significant issue in dispute was the husband's father's claim that certain advances made to the husband constituted a resulting trust, and whether this alleged liability to his father should be deducted from the net asset pool available for division between the parties. The wife also contended that the husband had made far greater financial and non-financial contributions to the marriage than she had.

The court was required to determine the extent of the parties' respective contributions to the marriage, the just and equitable division of their property, and whether the husband's father's claim created a debt that should be recognised and deducted from the asset pool. The court also considered the treatment of superannuation entitlements as part of the matrimonial property.

Loughnan J found that the husband had made substantially greater contributions than the wife. The court did not find that the advances made by the husband's father created a resulting trust or a debt that should be deducted from the asset pool. The court ordered that the husband pay the wife $220,000 within 21 days. In the event of default, the property at M Street, Suburb 1 was to be sold, with the proceeds applied first to agent fees, legal costs, valuation fees, then to the wife in satisfaction of the $220,000 plus interest, and any balance to the husband. The wife was ordered to remove caveats from the titles of the M Street and C Street properties upon payment or sale, and to vacate the Suburb 1 property within 14 days of payment or sale. All other property was declared to be the sole property of the party in whose possession it was.