Samuel and Gray and Ors

In the matter of *Samuel and Gray and Ors*, Young J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the wife seeking orders, and a response by the husband seeking dismissal of those orders. The proceedings concerned the property settlement between the husband and wife, with a third party, Mr M Gray, involved in his capacity as trustee of rental income from a property.

The court was required to determine whether to grant leave to the husband to orally apply for dismissal of the wife's application. It also had to consider the division of surplus rental income from a property, the punctual payment of rental monies by the trustee, the filing of updated financial statements by both parties, and the valuation of a hotel in Greece. Further issues included the procedure for the husband to object to property valuations and the dismissal of the wife's application if certain conditions were not met.

Young J granted leave for the husband's oral application. The court varied previous consent orders regarding the division of surplus rental income, allocating fifty per cent to Mr M Gray and twenty-five per cent each to the husband and wife. The trustee was directed to pay rental monies punctually to the parties. The court ordered both parties to file updated financial statements within specified timeframes and directed the wife's solicitors to file an affidavit of a jointly retained valuer for the Greek hotel. The husband was given a further period to file any application for an adversarial valuation if he objected to the initial valuation. The wife's application was to be dismissed if these conditions were not met. The court also ordered the husband to pay the wife's costs of the interim hearing.