Who gets the couch? How the Court deals with the furniture
Dividing personal items after separation and divorce can be a difficult process. Who gets the new lounge? What about the dinner set your mother gave you? And what happens when you can’t agree?
In a property settlement, “property” has a broad definition, and it includes the furniture, no matter who bought it during the relationship.
At the same time, the court is also very reluctant to be involved in how furniture and household items are divided.
If you can’t reach an agreement, the court will often adopt a “two list” approach, where one party will draft two lists dividing the items, and the other party will choose one of the lists.
There are some family lawyers who will also simply not engage on this issue, refusing to write letters about the furniture, the white goods, the tools, and other small items.
The court may intervene for particular items where it is clear they belong to one person – as a gift or inheritance – but in nearly all cases, both people involved need to agree.
A recent case (Barstow & Barstow) highlights the need to make an agreement and to also have a backup plan.
The husband and wife had a long marriage and had also been in business together. The husband was made bankrupt, and their company was put into liquidation.
Both went through a protracted litigation, with numerous hearings, focussing on the few items that were left. The husband in particular wanted items from a storage container that he insisted were his personal, important, belongings.
The wife told the court: “I refuse to open the storage containers that can be of no interest to the trustee in bankruptcy or to you.”
The husband simply insisted the items were his but didn’t ask for any sum of money as an alternative if he could not get the items.
His application was dismissed with costs.
It’s important to remember the court values furniture and contents on a second-hand dealer basis, and that is significantly lower than the insurance value.
The total contents of the average home – excluding antiques and collections – would therefore rarely be valued at more than $10,000. And if a couple cannot agree, the court might order every item to be sold and the proceeds divided.
You can get a qualified valuer to value items, and the valuer needs to provide an affidavit attaching their report.
The court will normally require evidence of the value of property, and market appraisals cannot usually be used as evidence of value.
If you have questions about the division of property, property settlements, separation or any other aspect of family law, call Michael Lynch Family Lawyers on: (07) 3221 4300 or email: [email protected] We’re here to help you through this time.
