10 November 2017
Dear Mentor,
I act for a wife in a family property proceedings.
The husband has failed to make disclosure and it appears that he has been using fraudulent accounts to take monies from her companies.
The police are currently investigating the husband's frauds.
To stay the family proceedings pending the police's investigations, do I file an application in a case?
Is the fact of the police investigations sufficient to justify the stay?
Thank you for the question.
Yes, an application in a case is the correct form. An affidavit in support as to why there ought to be an adjournment is also needed.
Pursuant to s 79(5) of the Family Law Act, it must be established that there is likely to be a significant change in the financial circumstances of the parties or either of them and that, having regard to the time to establish those changes, it is reasonable to adjourn the proceedings.
As to the merits of such an application, see Pisani [2012] FamCA 532 (2 July 2012) where the court adjourned the matter until the ATO had investigated the allegations of tax evasion against the husband.
Regards
Mentor
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