Tomaras & Tomaras & Anor (No.2)

In *Tomaras & Tomaras & Anor (No.2)*, Purdon-Sully J of the Family Court of Australia considered a dispute between a husband and wife concerning property settlement and spousal maintenance. The husband was an undischarged bankrupt at the time of trial.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether certain payments made by the husband pursuant to an Income Protection Policy constituted "property" for the purposes of division under the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), and whether the wife had established a need for spousal maintenance.

Purdon-Sully J reasoned that the payments from the Income Protection Policy were not "property" in the relevant sense, as they were designed to replace income lost due to illness or injury and were not assets that could be divided between the parties. Furthermore, the court found that the wife had failed to demonstrate a need for spousal maintenance, a key requirement for an order to be made under the Act.

Consequently, the court ordered that all previous orders be discharged and that the wife's application for final orders be dismissed. The parties were to file and serve any submissions regarding costs by a specified date.