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Resulting Trusts and the Presumption of Advancement in Parent–Child Property Transactions
Resulting Trust (General Rule): A resulting trust is said to arise where: a. one person pays the purchase price of a property but is not recorded on title; or b. two or more persons advance the purchase price of property in different shares, it is presumed that the person or persons to whom the legal title is transferred holds or hold the property upon resulting trust in favour of those who provided the purchase price in the shares in which they provided it ( Calverley v G
katherineguilfoyle
Mar 75 min read


Recent Cases on Costs (After the June 2025 Amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth))
The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) came into effect on 10 June 2025 and had the effect of replacing the former section 117 costs provision with Part XIVC of the FLA (see sections 114UA–114UE). The provisions most often engaged in practice since commencement are section 114UB (general costs power and mandatory considerations) and section 114UC (ICL costs). Decisions Applying the New Costs Framework Appellate Jurisdiction Tekla & Tekla [2025] FedCFamC1A 245 (“Tekla”)
katherineguilfoyle
Mar 18 min read


Family Law Case Examples Involving Risk
Sometimes a parent alleges the child or children are at an unacceptable risk of harm due to the other parent's behaviour. Risk of harm issues may involve substance misuse, family violence, child abuse, neglect or exposing the children to other dangerous or harmful situations. In relation to unacceptable risk, see the (five-member) seminal Full Court decision of Isles & Nelissen [2022] FedCFamC1A 97, whcih provides that If risk issues are present, the Court will seek to: Iden
katherineguilfoyle
Feb 204 min read


Review of a Registrar's Decision (family law)
Senior Judicial Registrars (“SJR”) and Judicial Registrars (“JR”) hold delegated powers as listed within Clause 2 of Schedule 4 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth) (“the Rules”). The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 (Cth) (“the FCFCOA Act”) provides for the review of the exercise of such delegated power pursuant to section 100 of the FCFCOA Act for matters within Division 1 of the FCFCOA and section 256 of
katherineguilfoyle
Feb 172 min read


The Court's Discretion to make a 102NA(1)(c)(iv) Order - Relevant Cases
Statutory Framework Section 102NA of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (“FLA”) aims to shield victims of alleged family violence from being...
katherineguilfoyle
Sep 6, 202511 min read


Can a Step Child Make a Family Provision Claim in NSW?
Pursuant to section 57(1) of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) (“the Act”), only certain “eligible” people can make a family provision claim...
katherineguilfoyle
Sep 5, 20258 min read


Valuing the Asset Pool in Family Law Matters
Sometimes clients are surprised when I explain that in family law property matters we identify and value the asset pool at the current time. A common misconception I hear from people is that they believe the asset pool at the time of separation is what will be valued and considered and that assets acquired post-separation are automatically excluded from the available asset pool (incorrect). One of the reasons we consider the asset pool at present is because contributions cont
katherineguilfoyle
Sep 1, 20254 min read


Orders for Indefinite Supervised time between a Parent and a Child
Orders for Indefinite Supervised time between a parent and child, at [300] of Gorman & Huffman and Anor [2016] FamCAFC 174 the Court summarised the guideline to be followed if final orders for supervised time are being contemplated: "In summary, what emerges from the authorities by way of guideline when orders for supervised time are in contemplation is that: a. Consideration of a time or condition by which supervised time should cease is a relevant consideration in the exe
katherineguilfoyle
Sep 1, 20252 min read


Quarantining a Particular Asset When Assessing Contributions Can be Dangerous
Quarantining a particular asset when considering and assessing contributions in the context of family law property settlement proceedings...
katherineguilfoyle
Sep 1, 20252 min read


Sunny - Our Newest Court Comfort Dog
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting one of our friendly Court comfort dogs at the Hunter Valley Family Law Practitioners Conference!...
katherineguilfoyle
Sep 1, 20251 min read
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