Taveray & Wedgewood & Anor (No. 2)

The Family Court of Australia considered a property settlement and spousal maintenance dispute between a husband and wife who had been in a relationship for 11 years. The parties were unable to reach an agreement regarding the division of their property. The husband had made the majority of the financial contributions to the marriage, while both parties meticulously managed their shared expenses and contributed as homemakers. The wife suffered from poor health and had no income apart from spousal maintenance from the husband, who was in good health and capable of full-time employment.

The court was required to determine whether it was just and equitable to make a property settlement order and, if so, how the property pool should be divided. Additionally, the court had to consider the wife's application for a lump sum spousal maintenance payment, given her serious medical condition, potential future inability to work, and current inability to adequately support herself. The court also needed to assess the husband's capacity to pay spousal maintenance.

His Honour, Carew J, found that it was just and equitable to make a property settlement order, allocating 75 per cent of the property pool to the husband. Regarding spousal maintenance, the court noted that while the wife was to receive a cash sum by way of the property order, she was still unable to adequately support herself at that time. Consequently, the court ordered the husband to pay spousal maintenance to the wife on a weekly basis until 14 March 2021, reflecting his financial capacity to do so.