MARTINELLI & DE LUCA

The parties, Martinelli and De Luca, were before Berman J of the Family Court of Australia concerning property adjustment following the dissolution of their de facto relationship. The wife sought a division of property under s 90SM of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), and neither party disputed the existence of a de facto relationship, which the Court declared to have subsisted from January 2000 until 12 June 2013.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether it was just and equitable to alter the property interests of the parties, and if so, what form that alteration should take. This involved considering the nature of the parties' financial relationship, their respective contributions to the acquisition, conservation, and improvement of their assets, and the conduct of the parties.

Berman J found that despite the wife's contentions of separate finances, the parties had in fact intermingled their finances. The Court determined that the wife's ability to repay loans was significantly facilitated by the husband's financial contributions and the income generated by his business. While acknowledging the complexities created by the parties' conduct, including the wife's misappropriation of funds from the husband's business, the Court concluded that a global approach to property adjustment would achieve a just and equitable outcome. Notwithstanding the misappropriation, the Court found the wife had made the greater contribution to the conservation and improvement of the parties' assets.

The Court ordered an adjustment of property interests in favour of the wife.