In the Marriage of Robb & Robb

The facts

This matter involved property proceedings between the Husband and Wife.

The Wife had two children from her first marriage. The children were aged 7 years and 4 years when the Husband moved into the Wife’s home. During the course of the marriage, the Wife’s two daughters lived with the parties. The parties had one child together.

The Wife’s daughters lived with the parties for 11 years and 10 years. Both daughters were adults and had left the family home by the time proceedings were started.

In the original decision the Husband sought, and received, an adjustment in his favour for making financial and non-financial contributions to the Wife’s daughters. The adjustment in favour of the Husband was made under section 75(2)(o) of the Family Law Act which provides the Court the power to consider “any fact or circumstance which, in the opinion of the court, the justice of the case requires to be taken into account”. 

On appeal the Wife argument, amongst other grounds, that the Court did not give adequate weight to the financial and non-financial contributions she made to her two children from her first marriage.

The Courts decision

The Family Court considered what acts undertaken by a party would be a relevant factor under section 75(2)(o) of the Act. The Court held that the Wife had a legal duty to maintain her daughters, whereas the Husband had no such legal duty. At 66-67 of the judgement the Court stated:

In this case, the wife had a legal duty to maintain the children of her prior marriage, which duty had primacy over the duty of any other person, other than the children's father, to so maintain them….The husband, on the other hand, had no legal duty to maintain these children at any time during the marriage… [66]

Accordingly, in contributing to the support of these children the wife was merely honouring a legal obligation which she owed to the children, whilst the husband, in making his contribution, was acting essentially as a volunteer assisting the wife in the discharge of her legal obligations. [67]

The Court found “the justice of the case” required them to consider the Husband’s contributions to the Wife’s daughters as a relevant factor under section 75(2)(o).

The Court also looked at whether, under the notion of justice and equity, any adjustment should be made to the Wife for maintaining her daughters. At 68 the court said:

….we are of the view that such notions do not call for any allowance to be made in the wife's favour, in the property proceedings between the husband and wife, because she honoured her legal obligation to maintain her own children of a prior marriage. We believe that a failure to make such an allowance would not offend the ordinary reasonable man or woman's notions of justice. [68]

Significance of this decision

Robb & Robb gives the Court precedent to take into considerations contributions made by one party to a non-biological child. In order to establish an adjustment in favour of the party detailed evidence needs to be obtained to show that they have made financial and non-financial contributions to the non-biological children. 

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