Essa & Azghar [2024] FedCFamC2F 255

Case Review: Essa & Azghar [2024] FedCFamC2F 255

Relationship Details

• Type: Marriage
• Duration: Married in 2008, separated on a final basis in February 2020. Not yet divorced. Total duration is 12 years.
• Ages at Judgment: Husband 56, Wife 46

Children

• Children from Relationship: Two children, currently aged 14 and 9.
• Children from Previous Relationships: Husband has one adult son living in Country D. Wife has a daughter, aged 20, who lived with the parties during the marriage.
• Special Needs: The younger child has high needs and attends a special needs class.

Initial Financial Positions

• Husband:

  • $200,000 in savings across various international accounts.
  • An overseas pension policy he valued at about $60,000, which the court found was not a contribution by him.
  • Superannuation balance of $12,519.
  • Motor Vehicle valued at $34,000.

• Wife:

  • $45,000 in savings.
  • Motor Vehicle valued at $8,000.
  • Superannuation balance of $23,000.
  • Furniture and personal effects.

Contributions During the Relationship

• Financial Contributions:

  • Husband made significant financial contributions, including a $105,000 deposit on a property.
  • Wife contributed extensively to homemaking and parenting, staying out of the workforce for seven years due to childcare responsibilities.
  • Both contributed to each other's child from previous relationships in various forms.

• Non-Financial Contributions:

  • Wife as primary caregiver and homemaker.
  • Husband as primary income earner.

Post-Separation Contributions and Actions

• Financial Contributions:

  • Husband continued to fund some family expenses post-separation.
  • Wife solely responsible for mortgage payments since October 2022.

• Non-Financial Contributions:

  • Wife remains the primary caregiver.

Current Financial Position & Property Pool

• Current Assets and Debts:
  • Total property pool: $1,630,793 (Non-superannuation: $1,169,292, Superannuation: $461,501).
  • Before any adjusting order, the husband held property worth $897,828 and the wife $732,965.

Assessment of Contributions and Future Needs

• Contributions:

  • Non-superannuation: 57.5% to Husband, 42.5% to Wife.
  • Superannuation: Assessed equally.

• Future Needs Adjustments:

  • 10% adjustment of the non-superannuation pool in the wife's favour, because the husband's income is significantly higher and the wife will remain the main carer of the two children, one of whom has high needs.

• Final Division:

  • Non-superannuation: 47.5% to Husband, 52.5% to Wife.
  • Superannuation equalised by a splitting order of $118,775 in the wife's favour.

Unique Aspects or Factors Affecting Decisions

• The court weighed the stability of the younger child, who has high needs.
• Acknowledgment of the difficulties faced by the Wife in rehousing due to property retention requirements.
• Husband’s extensive international financial dealings raised disclosure challenges.
• The wife was given the first option to retain the former matrimonial home by paying the husband $522,683; failing that, the husband could retain it by paying her $508,461, and otherwise it was to be sold.

Conclusion

This case involved a thorough analysis of financial and non-financial contributions, current needs, and the impact on the children's welfare, especially given the special needs of one child. The court's approach was to create the possibility for one parent to retain the home for the children's stability while ensuring a fair division of property and future financial security for both parties.

The law since this decision

This case was decided before 10 June 2025. From that date the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) sets out the steps for a property settlement in s 79(3) to (5), and the court must consider the effect of family violence on each party's contributions (s 79(4)(ca)) and on their current and future circumstances (s 79(5)(a)), and any material wastage of property (s 79(5)(d)). In Western Australia, a property case between married couples is decided under that Act in the Family Court of Western Australia. A case between de facto partners in Western Australia is decided under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA), which has not adopted those 2025 changes.