And thanks Verdad for your continued assistance within the Forum . Tis great that you have chosen to speak here and keep up with proceedings. Each of us have areas of strengths and areas of little understanding , and as folk join as a team ,the better can be the outcomes for those who call for help , when their needs are the greatest.... and their feet often stumble,...they often need help to see clearly,.... through the assistance of many.

Colin S

Thanks, mates.

Application for Leave [AL]. AL is very unlikely to be approved by the Family Court because of the considerable length of time (7 yrs) that has passed since the divorce. My ex-wife herself admitted this when she told me that she also planned to do the same, but, after seeking legal advice from a number of lawyers, was discouraged from doing so. I believe this is why she's not hiring a lawyer. Instead, she proposed a mediation at her expense. I refused. We've had mediation on property settlement in 2000 right after divorce with Relationships Australia at my expense. 9 months later, she wanted this transferred to UniFam and start all over again.

My lawyer's plan is to apply with the NSW Supreme Court [SC]. The SC will appoint a trustee who will assign an auctioneer to sell the house at auction. How much I'm gonna get is another story.

As it stands, I'd say that I have a good chance of winning. But whatever path I'm gonna take will cost me money. Now, here comes the multi-million dollar question: where will I get the money? I'm poor as a rat. I'm surviving on disability pension.

At first, I thought it was just a matter of simply selling the house and getting 50% share. I should have known better and bowed to Murphy's Law before taking on my ex-wife.




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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

You may have already checked this out AT, but some area's have sources to help Invalid Pensioners with legal advice, there are also community lawyers.

Being in a simlar circumstance the only option open to me was to self rep, which saw me basicaly decide to let everything go except my home and my time with my daughter.

It's blood money and ransom money, if it wasn't for my child I may well have used the property itself to fund probono and screw her to the wall.

Truth is you have to really consider if the fight is worth the reward.

The way I look at it is if she want's you off the mortgage, and the mortgage was paid in full before you left then 50% is yours.

Any claim she makes to increase her percentage you counter with 50% of the full rental value for that period, for example rent should be $180.00 you claim $90.00 reduce this by deducting 50% of rates then deduct 50% major maintinance. As support for your ownership of the property introduce your declaration on your Pension that the house is registerd as 50% and on your assets.

As a partnership you would both be responsible for costs as you would both be reciepiants of profit.

Of course this is just an example of how much would have been owed to you if you had not of agreed for her to live there being responsible for costs with the understanding that when the property was sold you would both have an equal share. And the fact that was agreed upon is shown by you recieving no payment in regards to her living there.

Because there is no formal agreement that has been made and signed by both parties what proof could she bring forward that she is entitled to more than you ?????

I don't know if the SC will appoint a trustee to sell as quick as that or weather they will suggest an offer to buy out your share at market price to your X, as she is living in it, but I do know I don't trust anyone in the legal profession and think it would be better to try and confirm his suggested action.

Best of luck AT, please remember this is only opinion I've already proven I'm not so hot on the legal stuff.

To confuse everybody further .......

From the information I've gathered so far, I think this is what the situation is.

Application for Leave [AL]. This can be approved only if a justifiable reason can be shown to explain the considerable delay - 7 yrs. I don't have any. My ex-wife doesn't have either. So, this becomes a civil law matter [clm] - not a family law matter [flm]. It goes to the NSW Supreme Court [SC] - not the Family Court [FC].

The SC cannot treat this as flm. If it does, my lawyer will challenge this. Any topic related to flm will raise an objection from my lawyer. If this is a flm, then, it has to go to the FC. And we're back to the argument that the FC cannot act on it unless an AL is approved. Hence, it will remain strictly a clm.

clm. This is what D4E mentioned as partnership. Now that the partnership's dissolved, the asset(s) must be sold and the money split 50/50.

Why auction? Market price is only the real estate agent's estimate. The real price is the price after the property is sold. My ex-wife is keen on keeping the house. She has to buy my half share at a price acceptable to me. It was not acceptable. The other option, then, is to sell the house at auction. She can be one of the bidders. If she wins the bid, she keeps the house after giving me half of the final price.

The question is, why do I have to go through all that hassle of taking this matter to SC?

Will I recover the money I spent? Unlikely. Punitive cost? Forget it. I'm not taking on a large insurance company. The Court will take into consideration the hardships my ex-wife's gonna go through. In a nutshell, she's got everything to gain and nothing to lose.

The ultimate question is: where is justice in keeping me away from my own house?

Claims. This is treated as a separate issue. If I want to claim back rent, I have to file another case with the small claims tribunal (?). She will then file counter-claim for home improvements, council rates, whatever. Whether it's worth the hassle, I don't know.

Now, back to the multi-million dollar question. Can I request Dids Inc to sell tickets to get me money to fund this superexciting Court war of the millenium? I'm sure it'll sell like hot cakes.





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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

i would buy a ticket for such a cause

If you can get Federal Magistrate Halligan (Parramatta Registry) to agree to hear it as a State Civil Matter, I would be happen to watch.

Halligan FM has a reputation such that even solicitors in search of entertainment during a day in court will sit in his court and observe.

The reputation is well deserved. Halligan FM has on occasions been know to question a solicitors qualifications. He dislike disorganisation, particularly from the legal profession. And "BS" - well lets just say any solicitor who tries "BS" in his court will most likely end up hating him.

I should comment - Halligan also has a reputation for being FAIR.

Thanks, OneAdad.

The first question is: how do I get this judge to preside over my case?

The second question is: is it legal? I would've thought that judges have to draw straws for cases assigned to them. I wouldn't think that a judge can simply say, "I'll take this case. I love this case. It'll make me become a celebrity".




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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

"They were not listening,
they are not listening still.

Perhaps, they never really will." (from the song 'Vincent')




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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

Just got news that my ex-wife has found a lender. She can now raise the price of my half share to 40% of the market price.

Somebody, the lender, is trying to make money at my expense. Can anybody guess who that lender might be? I won't be surprised if he's someone who's sharing the family home with my ex-wife for their own private use. Who else would be interested?

Don't you really love this system?




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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

Just an update.

My ex-wife is engaging a NEW lawyer. I said new because this is not the first time. But when I did not agree to the terms she dictated, she simply terminated her lawyer and went back to dealing directly with my lawyer.

Will history repeat itself again? I won't be surprised.





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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

Just got news that my ex-wife has raised her offer to buy my half-share of the matrimonial home to 45% of the market price of the house. I ought to accept it, shouldn't I? And give her and her lender 10% profit on goods she stole from me. After all, strictly speaking, she did not really steal, did she? How can it be called stealing when it has the blessing of the authorities?

And how about the unpaid rent accumulated since 4th January 1998, the day she threw me out of the house? Forget it.

So, I have 2 options: (1) agree to the terms she dictates; (2) go to Court and, unless I'm very lucky, receive leftover for my share.

Until then, she continues to enjoy free rent at my expense.




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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

yep, forget the rent, you were never going to get it anyway, take option 1, avoid option 2, the sooner you settle the sooner her free ride stops also.

the property market is not booming, in fact it is close to declining if not already, take it and run if you can live with it.

it's not about getting back what you had but comming out of it the best you can in order to be able to move on and build again.

cheers

I tend to agree with Aussie on this, you could hold out but the way things are will it be advantageous for you.

You know the score pretty well and it all ends up to the perception of the judge as to what will be the percentage in the end.

You can live with it.

Make sure you check conditions though.

Do It

My ex-wife and her lender win, right?

************************************************************************

To all knights in shining armour,

Indifference ia a weapon of mass destruction.

Get involved. Perform acts of chivalry. Plant your seeds in your neighbours' ......

You will surely be rewarded for your noble deeds.

From great sacrifice comes great opportunity.

Yes, indeed! Australia is a land of great opportunity.



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The bottom line is, why should the mother be dictating the terms and the father has to go through all that hassle of fighting every step of the way in Court?

Yes

But this is the way society is at this point in time and there are still many out there working towards changing it.

Cut your loses.