Dividing property in the aftermath of a failed relationship can unleash powerful emotions and can drive people to say and do things they would not normally do.
When our client ended her marriage she was prepared for unpleasantness, but she never anticipated the ferocity with which her husband would seek to deny her the ability to rebuild her life. He made vicious allegations, concealed assets and altered documents. Correspondence went unanswered for weeks and her health suffered terribly.
The dispute in this case centred upon the control of a family trust and a management company.
At one point our client received a letter from her husband’s law firm informing her that the other trustees (her husband and a trust company appointed by him) had decided to remove her as a trustee and director. This would have allowed him to gain access to the company’s bank accounts and to remove relationship property.
We secured urgent court orders to prevent this from happening. That gave our client time to pursue her relationship property claim and gain a share of the trust assets.