In the property settlement, the malicious manoeuvrings of the husband will most likely be taken against him by the court.

The wife can apply for property settlement for any remaining assets. An Injunction can be sought to protect party and property to a marriage. Intervention orders and child protections orders are also available against a violent husband and father.

Divorce can be unpleasant enough. In the case of one wife, her separation with her husband took a turn for the worse when he donated to different charities the proceeds from the sale of the family home. The amount donated was $395,000. The husband claimed that greed was the cause of his divorce. The husband was left with $2000 in the bank, a car worth $1000 and land worth $10,000.

Magistrate Norah Hartnett of the Federal Circuit Court in Victoria ordered the husband to be placed on a 12 month good behaviour bond because he breached the court’s order to produce documents pertaining to the family home sale.

So what else can the wife do?

Well, she can go after the assets left with the husband. The rule is that within 12 months from the time the divorce became final a party can institute an action for property settlement. So, within 12 months from the time the court granted the divorce, the wife can apply for property settlement. However, before the court will entertain the application the parties need to undergo a family dispute resolution (FDR) and get a certificate from the FDR practitioner.

In the property settlement, the malicious manoeuvrings of the husband will most likely be taken against him by the court. The wife can expect to get a bigger share of the assets than the husband, maybe even all of the remaining assets considering that the amount he donated is way higher than the value of the remaining assets.

What if the wife and husband have not yet received a court order granting the divorce? What is the remedy of the wife? Under Section 114 of the Family Law Act 1975, the wife can apply for an injunction in relation to the property of a party to a marriage. In the case of the wife, the proceeds of the family home were also her property.

Based on the given facts of the case, it appears that there has yet been no property settlement between the parties. Thus, there was no division of the properties yet, no declaration as to the specific shares of the parties. This is probably the reason why the husband was easily able to dispose of the proceeds because it was left in his possession. The wife can apply for an injunction with the court to restrain the husband from disposing the remaining assets.

The wife alleged that the husband was violent towards her and the children. The wife can also apply for an injunction under Section 114 which can provide personal protection to a party of the marriage. An injunction can also serve the purpose of restraining a spouse from coming near the other spouse.

The wife can also apply for a family violence order or a child protection order to protect herself and her child from the violent husband. A family violence order in Victoria is called an Intervention Order. These two orders will state specific conditions which the violent husband must obey.