Family Law- Be Realistic

We can’t help but think that the case of Stanford and Stanford is rather sad. Not only did the case take more than 3 years to complete, with it starting in August 2009 and finishing in November 2012. This case involved Property Settlement Proceedings between an elderly couple whose marriage was intact. The proceedings were initiated on behalf of the wife, who unfortunately was affected by dementia, by her daughter from her first marriage as her Case Guardian.

The Proceedings were continued by the Case Guardian after the wife passed away (in 2011) and the final decision was eventually made by the High Court of Australia, who had heard the matter on an appeal from an Order made earlier by the Full Court of the Family Court who in turn had heard the matter as an appeal from the Magistrates Court of Western Australia.

The decision made by the High Court at the end of that process was that there should be no Orders for Property Settlement at all. This means that the end result of more then 3 years of Litigation was no Orders for Property Settlement whatsoever.

This case really serves to highlight the vital importance of a realistic and practical appraisal from the outset of what you want to achieve from any legal action that you take, but also whether the outcome that you are looking to achieve is one that you can realistically expect the court to adopt.