Shafton and Shafton (No.3)

In *Shafton and Shafton (No.3)*, Judge Terry of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered a dispute between an applicant wife and a respondent husband concerning outstanding financial orders. The wife sought to enforce orders made on 12 September 2012, which required the husband to pay her a sum of money. The proceedings involved the distribution of proceeds from the sale of a property and the husband's potential inheritance from an estate.

The court was required to determine the precise amount owing by the husband to the wife, including principal and accrued interest, and to establish a mechanism for the wife to recover these funds. This involved considering how to access and distribute monies held in a solicitor's trust account from a property sale, as well as funds due to the husband from an estate. The court also had to address the husband's conduct in relation to these assets and the potential need for injunctive relief and the appointment of an officer of the court to effectuate the orders.

Judge Terry declared that the husband owed the wife $85,000.00 in principal, plus $365,892.06 in interest accrued to 1 May 2018, with further interest accruing at 7.5% per annum. To secure payment, the court ordered the husband to facilitate the payment of property sale proceeds from his solicitors' trust account to the wife, after satisfying a mortgage. The husband was also ordered to pay any monies due to him from a specific estate directly to the wife, up to the total amount owing. The court further imposed injunctions restraining the husband from dealing with his inheritance or property sale proceeds, except as directed for payment to the wife. The court also authorised the executors of the estate to provide information to the wife's solicitors and to pay the wife's entitlement from the husband's share of the estate. Finally, the court ordered the husband to execute a charge over his interest in the estate as security and, in the event of his non-compliance, appointed the Registrar of the Federal Circuit Court to execute necessary documents on his behalf.