Murdock and Tucker

This matter concerned orders made by Cronin J in a family law proceeding between a husband and wife. The dispute involved the division of property and the allocation of superannuation interests.

The court was required to determine how the parties' assets, including a property and a superannuation fund, should be divided. This involved determining the terms of sale for a jointly owned property, the distribution of sale proceeds, and the specific allocation of a portion of the husband's superannuation to the wife. The court also addressed the return of personal belongings and the severance of joint tenancies.

Cronin J ordered that the jointly owned property be placed on the market for sale, with the proceeds to be applied first to sale costs, then to discharge specified loans up to $250,000, and the net balance to be added to other assets. These combined assets were to be divided 57.5% to the wife and 42.5% to the husband, taking into account assets already retained by each party. The wife was also ordered to return specific personal items belonging to the husband. Crucially, pursuant to sections 90MT(4) and 90MT(1)(a) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), a base amount of $374,500 of the husband's superannuation interest was to be allocated to the wife, with the trustee to pay her entitlement from splittable payments. Further orders clarified the operative time of this splitting order and the process for creating a new interest in the wife's name. Each party was to retain other assets in their possession and be solely liable for any liabilities encumbering those assets. Joint tenancies were expressly severed. All extant applications, save for issues of costs, were dismissed.