Walsh v Mulherin [2008] NSWSC 61 | Case summary

(1) On an application by a party to a domestic relationship for an order under this Part to adjust interests with respect to the property of the parties to the relationship or either of them, a court may make such order adjusting the interests of the parties in the property as to it seems just and equitable having regard to: (a) the financial and non-financial contributions made directly or indirectly by or on behalf of the parties to the relationship to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of any of the property of the parties or either of them or to the financial resources of the parties or either of them, and (b) the contributions, including any contributions made in the capacity of homemaker or parent, made by either of the parties to the relationship to the welfare of the other party to the relationship or to the welfare of the family constituted by the parties and one or more of the following, namely: (i) a child of the parties, (ii) a child accepted by the parties or either of them into the household of the parties, whether or not the child is a child of either of the parties. (2) A court may make an order under subsection (1) in respect of property whether or not it has declared the title or rights of a party to a domestic relationship in respect of the property. " Introduction 3 Mr Walsh worked as a police officer until April 1993. He then took sick leave. Disciplinary proceedings were taken against him. He suffered from stress which led to anxiety, depression and paranoia. He instituted proceedings against the Police Service claiming an entitlement to a pension as a result of disabilities arising from his service. He was on sick leave from April 1993 until about October 1997. His proceedings against the Police Service were settled in 2001. As a result of the settlement, he received pension arrears from 18 March 1988 to 22 February 2001. He became entitled to a pension from 22 February 2001. 4 When the parties met, Ms Mulherin was a prostitute. She worked as a prostitute until at least 1992. She has had various other employments including as a travel consultant. 5 There were no children of the relationship. 6 According to Mr Walsh, in 1986, the parties commenced cohabitation in a rented unit at Fullerton Street, Woollahra. The unit was leased by Ms Mulherin. At that time Mr Walsh had savings of about $5,000. He owned a motor vehicle of negligible value. He owned a speed boat which he sold for $7,500 shortly after 1986, and he had sundry items of furniture and personal effects. There is no dispute about these matters. According to Mr Walsh, he also held a sum of $88,000 in cash which had been given to him in 1984 by his grandmother. His grandmother died in 1986. According to Mr Walsh, he kept this large sum of cash in his brother's garage. 7 Ms Mulherin had more financial resources at the commencement of the relationship than did Mr Walsh. She and her sister were equal shareholders in a company called S P Secretarial Pty Ltd. It was a vehicle through which Ms Mulherin and her sister directed their earnings. S P Secretarial Pty Ltd was the owner of a property in Caldedonia Street, Paddington. Although the property was subject to a mortgage, there was a substantial equity in it. 8 Ms Mulherin did not give evidence of what assets she owned in 1986 at the commencement of the first period of the relationship. She gave evidence that in 1989 (that is, at or about the commencement of the second period of the relationship) she owned a BMW motor vehicle which three years later (in 1992) had a trade-in value of $27,510. She held a share in S P Secretarial Pty Ltd. She had a life insurance policy with National Mutual of negligible value on surrender. She owned some Lladro figurines valued at less than $1,700 in 1985. She was indebted to her sister in respect of a real estate venture in which they had jointly engaged in Queensland in the early 1980s in an amount not less than $100,000. 9 In 1989, at about the time the parties' relationship was re-established, Ms Mulherin purchased a property at 141 Hargraves Street, Paddington, for $350,000. The property was purchased in her own name. Ms Mulherin obtained a loan of $100,000 from Citibank to assist with the purchase. She was the only borrower from Citibank. Mr Walsh claims that he contributed $38,000 towards the purchase of the property, and a further $7,500 to assist in the payment of stamp duty on the property. Ms Mulherin says that Mr Walsh paid $2,000 towards the purchase of the property. Following settlement of the purchase, Mr Walsh and Ms Mulherin moved into the Hargraves Street property. 10 The loan from Citibank was secured by mortgage. It was a "line of credit" loan, meaning that Ms Mulherin could reduce the principal as she saw fit, and re-draw the loan, provided that the re-drawings were within the lender's parameters for the reduction of the loan balance. It is common ground that Mr Walsh paid moneys from time to time between 1990 and 1994 to Ms Mulherin which she applied to reduce the loan. She acknowledges that in addition to the sum of $2,000 paid in 1989, Mr Walsh paid her $15,000 in calendar year 1990, $32,000 in 1991, $39,000 in 1992, $12,000 in 1993, and $1,500 in 1994. She says that during this period, there were withdrawals from the Citibank line of credit which were paid to Mr Walsh totalling $43,351. 11 Mr Walsh claims that he provided much more money to Ms Mulherin. As well as the $45,500 which he says he paid to assist with the purchase (compared with the $2,000 which Ms Mulherin acknowledges), Mr Walsh claims that between 1989 and 2005, he gave Ms Mulherin between $300 and $600 each week, and told her that those were moneys to be put on the mortgage. This was in addition to a payment of $200 per week to her which he claims to have made between 1989 and 1995. Mr Walsh also claims that in 1991, he paid $90,000 to Ms Mulherin from the balance of moneys given to him by his grandmother, and loans made to him by a Mr Bill Mulherin (no relationship to Ms Mulherin) and a Mr Van Houten. 12 All of the payments Mr Walsh alleges he made are claimed to have been made in cash. There is no record of any of them. Mr Walsh claims that, apart from the cash of $88,000 he had from his grandmother, he borrowed $48,000 from Mr Bill Mulherin, between $22,000 and $30,000 from Mr Van Houten, and that later (after 1997) he borrowed about $50,000 to $60,000 from Mr Harvey. Mr Bill Mulherin died in or about 2002. The alleged loan was not repaid to his estate. There is no corroboration of the loans allegedly made by Mr Van Houten, notwithstanding that Mr Van Houten swore an affidavit in the proceedings. There was no record of any of the loans. There was no explanation as to why all of the alleged loans were made in cash. There was no explanation as to why the moneys lent in cash were not deposited to Mr Walsh's bank account before they were lent to Ms Mulherin. In other words, apart from the moneys borrowed later from Mr Harvey, there was no corroboration of the alleged source of funds and there is no direct corroboration of any of the payments allegedly made by Mr Walsh, except in so far as they are admitted by Ms Mulherin. 13 However, undoubtedly, substantial payments were made in reduction of Ms Mulherin's loan from Citibank. The loan was reduced to a mere fourteen cents by September 1992. Ms Mulherin's tax returns and her bank account with the National Australia Bank suggest that she did not have the financial resources with which to repay the loan. While she acknowledged that some payments were made to her by Mr Walsh in cash (for which there was no record), she contended that the repayments were in part due to moneys which she had which did not reach her own bank account. These moneys were cash which she received and did not declare in her tax returns. Some unidentified amounts of cash were, she said, gifts from clients. She also claimed that a Mr Terry Barclay, who was originally a client but became a friend, lent substantial moneys to her. These loans were all in cash in amounts of up to $4,000 at a time. According to a letter which Ms Mulherin said Mr Barclay gave her in 1998, he lent her $12,000 in 1989, $48,000 in 1990, $37,000 in 1991, $42,000 in 1992, $35,000 in 1993, $28,000 in 1994, $13,000 in 1995, $15,000 in 1996, $7,000 in 1997, and $3,000 in 1998. The loans were all interest-free. They were to be repayable on demand only. According to the letter produced by Ms Mulherin, Mr Barclay stated that in the event of his death, the loans would be forgiven. Mr Barclay died in about 1999 or 2000. 14 For the reasons which appear below, between 1989 and 1992 the interest on the Citibank loan was substantially paid by Ms Mulherin, and the principal debt was effectively extinguished as at 30 June 1992. Further fees were charged to the account but as at 16 September 1992 the debt was only fourteen cents. From 6 October 1992, there were further drawings on the line of credit. Ms Mulherin drew down various lump sums which she says were used to repay moneys to Mr Walsh which he had "parked" in the account. There were other withdrawals to meet expenses including joint expenses. By 15 July 1993, the mortgage debt was $17,398.08. No bank statements were tendered after this date. Ms Mulherin gave unchallenged evidence that in April 2000, she used part of a further loan by paying about $100,000 to discharge the Citibank mortgage. There is an issue as to what drawings from September 1993 were paid to Mr Walsh. Ms Mulherin says that after 1994 until the mortgage was discharged in April 2000, she met all of the interest payments and withdrew funds from time to time to pay bills and living expenses. 15 In 1997, Ms Mulherin entered into a contract to purchase an apartment in The Wharf, Woolloomooloo. She paid a ten percent deposit of $53,400. The purchase was completed in April 2000. Mr Walsh claims that he was involved in the decision to purchase the Woolloomooloo apartment, that he was told that the unit would be put in both names, and that he paid $5,000 in cash and weekly payments averaging $500 to assist with the purchase of the Woolloomooloo property and subsequently to meet mortgage payments. Ms Mulherin denies this. In April 2000, she obtained a loan on mortgage security which was refinanced a year later. The amount of the loan taken in 2001 was $775,000. The loans were secured over both the Woolloomooloo property and the Paddington property. The loan was used to complete the purchase of the Woolloomooloo property and to discharge the mortgage to Citibank over the Paddington property. $150,000 was borrowed to repay debts owed by Ms Mulherin to her sister and her sister's husband. 16 At the hearing, it was common ground that the Paddington property and the Woolloomooloo property, both registered in the name of the defendant alone, were valued at $950,000 and $725,000 respectively. Ms Mulherin also had investments in the form of cash and shares to the value of $15,855. She owned a BMW motor vehicle valued at $15,000 and had financial resources in the form of superannuation to the value of $48,920 as a result of her employment as a travel agent. She owed $775,000, which debt was secured over the Paddington and Woolloomooloo properties. 17 Mr Walsh had cash resources of $9,000. He was entitled to a pension of $1,097 net per fortnight. Issues 18 There is no documentary corroboration of many of the contributions both parties claimed to have made to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of property, or towards their living expenses. The principal factual issue is what contributions were made by each party to the purchase of the Paddington property, the payment of interest and repayment of principal on the mortgage taken to acquire the Paddington property, and renovations to the Paddington property. For the reasons which I give below, such contributions provide the measure of the parties' beneficial interests in the Paddington property, or alternatively, provide the basis for a just and equitable adjustment under s 20 of the Property (Relationships) Act of Ms Mulherin's interest in that property. A second issue is whether Mr Walsh made any financial contribution to, or had any involvement in, the acquisition of the Woolloomooloo property. I have concluded he did not. A third issue is what other financial contributions either party made for the benefit of the other, what non-financial contributions they made, and whether, by reason of such contributions, it is just and equitable to adjust, or further adjust, the parties' interest in property. 19 There is also a preliminary issue, namely, when the parties' de facto relationship came to an end. The proceedings were commenced on 7 June 2005. Mr Walsh contends that the de facto relationship continued to December 2003. Ms Mulherin contends that the relationship ended on 19 November 1998. If the de facto relationship terminated prior to 7 June 2003, Mr Walsh needs leave to make his application for an order under s 20 of the Act (s 18 Property (Relationships) Act). Ms Mulherin did not oppose the grant of leave under s 18. The contributions of either party made after the termination of their de facto relationship are to be taken into account in the same way as if they had been made during its continuance. I adhere to the views which I expressed on this question in Hughes v Egger [2005] NSWSC 18 at [4]-[7]. Neither party contended to the contrary. Of course, whether a de facto relationship continued after 1998 will be relevant to assessing the credibility of evidence of continuing contributions. I will deal with this preliminary issue first. Period of De Facto Relationship 20 Although in her defence Ms Mulherin admitted that the parties lived together in a de facto relationship from 1986 to 1987, in her evidence she asserted that she and Mr Walsh were not living together at that time and that the relationship did not commence until 1989. No application was made for leave to withdraw the admission in the defence and it is not open to Ms Mulherin to dispute the formally admitted fact. However, this is of no real consequence. No substantially disparate contributions were shown to have been made during this period. Between 1986 and 1987 Ms Mulherin was the lessee of an apartment in Fullerton Street, Woollahra. She admitted that Mr Walsh made some contribution to the rent, but the amount of his contribution was not quantified. According to Mr Walsh, although denied by Ms Mulherin, he resided in the apartment with her. Mr Walsh accepted that the parties' significant contributions did not commence "in a serious way" until the Hargraves Street property was acquired. 21 It is common ground that the de facto relationship revived following the acquisition of the Hargraves Street property in May 1989. Both parties lived in the Hargraves Street property until Mr Walsh moved out in 2005. 22 Mr Walsh accepts that just before Christmas 2003, he ceased to have a de facto relationship with Ms Mulherin. He says that at that time, he started sleeping in the second bedroom of the Hargraves Street property, and that he and Ms Mulherin ceased to have any sexual relationship. He also says that from that time, he stopped paying moneys to Ms Mulherin, although he claims to have continued to do housework. He was evicted from the Hargraves Street property on 15 April 2005. 23 Mr Walsh claimed that the parties had sexual relations until 2003. Ms Mulherin claimed that they had not had a sexual relationship since 1989. I conclude that the parties had ceased to have a sexual relationship well prior to 1998. Mr Walsh told a Dr Dinnen, a psychiatrist, who examined him in relation to his claim for workers' compensation from the Police Force on 22 April 1999 that there had been no sexual relationship since 1993. 24 Ms Mulherin claimed that they separated in November 1998. She said that from that time, he and she lived their lives separately under the one roof. She said that this was preceded by Mr Walsh spending increasing periods of time away from the Paddington property from about October 1997. She said that in the second half of 1998, she and Mr Walsh discussed the possibility of travelling to Cable Beach in Western Australia to try to reconcile. The trip was unsuccessful. Mr Walsh left the day after they arrived and returned to Sydney. She returned a day later. When she returned, Mr Walsh was not at the Paddington property. From that date, she considered their relationship was at an end. She said that from that time, she and Mr Walsh ceased to have any verbal communications, but communicated through notes left in the house. Mr Walsh stopped sleeping regularly in the Paddington house. Frequently, he did not sleep at Paddington on weekends, and would be absent for nights or weeks at a time. She rarely ate at home. If they did meet in the house, Mr Walsh would turn away from her and go to his bedroom. She said that they had occupied separate bedrooms since November 1997. I accept this evidence, which is corroborated in important respects by documentary evidence, and the evidence of an unimpeachable witness. 25 Ms Mulherin's evidence that they ceased to talk to each other, rarely saw each other and communicated by notes is corroborated by the events concerning the death of their dog. Both Mr Walsh and Ms Mulherin were attached to the dog, who was called Sam. One of the reasons Ms Mulherin did not try to force Mr Walsh to leave the house was because she was afraid he would take Sam away with him. In November 2001, Mr Walsh left a note for Ms Mulherin saying "Sam lethargic, panting heavily. Took to Nigel. Needle - 1pm. Died peacefully in my arms." 26 Ms Mulherin left a note for Mr Walsh, "Where is Sam's body?". He replied by a note "Cremated. Ashes two weeks". 27 There is further corroboration that the parties' relationship had broken down by 1999 in information provided by Mr Walsh to treating psychiatrists. Mr Walsh took sick leave in April 1993 from the New South Wales Police Service. He faced a disciplinary hearing in 1995. He suffered from anxiety, depression and paranoia. In 1996, Dr Westmore reported to Mr Walsh's solicitors that Mr Walsh had a very caring, supportive partner who had made many attempts to assist him in different ways over the previous year or so. Dr Westmore reported that Mr Walsh's relationship was not a significant element in his therapy. His observations as to the relationship were based upon information provided to him by Mr Walsh. On 7 August 1998, Dr Westmore reported that Mr Walsh's relationship had suffered because of his mental state disturbances. Dr Westmore reported that whilst Mr Walsh's partner was extremely supportive of him, it seems she eventually became overwhelmed with Mr Walsh's symptoms, his preoccupation, and his inability to get his life back on track. 28 In May 1999, Dr Dinnen reported that Mr Walsh had said to him that "his girlfriend, Pamela, is 40 and they are now living apart." Dr Dinnen then provided an elaboration of what Mr Walsh told him. This included that Mr Walsh had ridden away on a motorbike for ten days. Mr Walsh also told Dr Dinnen that "for the last six months he has been living at Eastlakes with his brother and before that he was with a nephew in Woolloomooloo for six months. He continues to make contact with Pamela … ". 29 On 20 June 2000, Mr Walsh had a consultation with another psychiatrist, Dr Hampshire. Dr Hampshire had previously treated him from late 1993 to around mid 1994. Dr Hampshire reported that when he had first met Mr Walsh, "he was in love with a woman who had been his long-term live-in lover for some years." Dr Hampshire reported that "this is no longer the case. He still retains a friendship with the lady but no longer lives with her and is no longer her lover. He sees her as a supporting and caring friend who he sees infrequently." 30 On 10 July 2000, Dr Westmore reported that he gathered that Mr Walsh's relationship had "effectively broken down." 31 There is further corroboration of Ms Mulherin's evidence on this topic in application forms prepared and signed by Mr Walsh to Centrelink for social security benefits. On 4 November 1998, he completed a form used by Centrelink to assess persons' eligibility for employment assistance and "Job Network" assistance. In the form, he advised that he was single and not in a de facto relationship. He gave his permanent home address as the address of his brother in Helena Parade, Eastlakes, although he gave his postal address as the Hargraves Street property. On 10 October 1999, he completed another form for Centrelink. Again, he gave his brother's Eastlakes address as his permanent address and the Hargraves Street, Paddington address as his postal address. Again, he described his current marital situation as single. He answered "no" to a question whether he had a partner. He stated falsely that he was paying $150 per week in rent to his brother. He stated he was sharing his accommodation with one other person who was not his partner. 32 Mr Walsh provided an elaborate explanation for having completed the Centrelink applications in this way. In substance, he said that the reason he gave his home address as the address of his brother at Eastlakes was because he feared persecution from persons in the Police Force or revenge from criminals, and he believed that such persons could obtain access to his personal information on Centrelink's records. He said that he was concerned also for the safety of Ms Mulherin and did not disclose his de facto relationship with her, or nominate the Hargraves Street property as his place of residence, because he believed it had no impact on his eligibility for benefits, and might avoid Ms Mulherin being questioned, either by the Police or any third persons who bore a grudge against him and who might wish to exact revenge against him by attacking her. He said that he obtained his belief that the questions which he says he answered wrongly (for example, his residential address and whether he was in a de facto relationship) had no impact upon his eligibility because Ms Mulherin had told him so. According to him, Ms Mulherin told him that he could still claim the benefits and get rental assistance if he was not on the title on any property. He said that Ms Mulherin assisted him to complete the forms to obtain the benefits. 33 I do not accept this evidence. On each form, he ticked "no" to the question "Did someone help you fill in this form?". I do not accept his evidence that this was an oversight. Nor is his nominating the Hargraves Street property as his postal address consistent with his asserted desire to protect Ms Mulherin from unwanted attentions of third parties. 34 Whilst I accept that at this time he continued to suffer from paranoia, I do not accept that his paranoia led him to falsify the Centrelink application forms. I consider that apart from his statement that he was paying $150 per week rent to his brother, the answers he provided were accurate. They are consistent with the statements made at about that time to his psychiatrists. 35 I conclude that his de facto relationship with Ms Mulherin had ceased by the end of 1998, even though he continued to occupy the Hargraves Street property from time to time, and kept his bedroom in that property. Ms Mulherin gave a number of reasons for not seeking to force him to leave until 2004. These included fears for her own safety and sympathy for his position, in that he was involved in proceedings against the Police Service to seek to obtain a pension. Those proceedings were not resolved until 2001. Ms Mulherin did make requests or demands for Mr Walsh to move. On 13 April 2003, she left a typed note for him. The note contained bitter recriminations, and included the following: " I asked you a couple of years ago to move out so I could fix the house up and put it on the market. Now I am further in debt and if I don't sell it, it will be taken over by the mortgagee anyway. I spent three weeks of my holiday last year working in the house cleaning and doing maintenance in readiness to sell and when you came back it only took a couple of weeks to be back in the same condition - cockroach infested pigsty. … I expect that you will start arranging to move out asap. Take whatever you like, all I want is peace of mind. … Overdue for a total change and of course I cannot afford a holiday and have been ordered to get out of this environment so have had to go up to my parents' for a week. I expect that you immediately start to move on to a new life. Our life together is well and truly expired. " 36 Mr Walsh took the view that he was entitled to stay. On 16 February 2004, Ms Mulherin's solicitors wrote to Mr Walsh requiring him to leave the property and remove his possessions within 28 days. There followed negotiations between the solicitors under which it was agreed that there would be a round table conference and that Mr Walsh could remain in the property until 28 days had expired after that conference. That was in February 2004. It was not until 18 March 2005 that Mr Walsh, through his solicitors, confirmed that he would move out of the property. He agreed to leave by a particular day. He did not do so. Ultimately, Ms Mulherin obtained vacant possession of the property only by changing the locks. 37 I do not consider that Mr Walsh's continued residence in the property indicated a continuation of the de facto relationship. 38 Evidence was given by friends of Mr Walsh of attending a barbecue at the Paddington property with Mr Walsh and Ms Mulherin in about 2003 in which they conducted themselves as a de facto couple. Mr Fowler deposed that in the summer of 2003 at the barbecue, he observed them holding hands and giving each other a cuddle and that neither of them said anything to indicate that they were not a couple. Mr Fowler placed this barbecue as having occurred in the summer in late 2003, but he also said that they chatted about the recent death of the dog Sam. Sam died in 2001. Mr Fowler also said that it was about a year later that he was told by Mr Walsh that Pamela and he had just split up. I was not impressed with Mr Fowler's evidence. I considered that he was doing his best to try to assist a friend. His description of the parties' conduct towards each other at the barbecue is inconsistent with Mr Walsh's own description given to his doctors of his relationship with Ms Mulherin and such contemporaneous documentary records as have survived. If the barbecue happened at all, it could not have taken place in late 2003 because that is when, even on the plaintiff's case, the parties separated. It may be that Mr Fowler made a mistake in his oral evidence and, consistently with his affidavit, the event occurred about a year after the dog died, which would place it in 2002. On the other hand, in his oral evidence, Mr Fowler would say only that the barbecue occurred either a year, or two, or three, after the dog had died. 39 According to Mr Fowler, other persons who attended the barbecue were a Mr Blake and a Mr Delaney. Mr Delaney was not called to corroborate this evidence. Mr Blake was called. He swore two affidavits, only one of which was read. In that affidavit, he gave no evidence of attending such a barbecue. He said that he had been invited to a barbecue for the Christmas of 2002 which he could not attend. He gave evidence of having had a cup of coffee with Mr Walsh and Ms Mulherin in the new year of 2003 where they acted as if they were a couple. Notwithstanding that he gave no evidence in the affidavit which was read of attending a barbecue, he gave oral evidence that he "certainly" attended a barbecue at the Paddington property in 2003 which was also attended by Mr Delaney and Mr Fowler, as well as Mr Walsh and Ms Mulherin. There is a serious risk that the evidence of the barbecue was confabulated. In any event, I am not persuaded that any such event occurred. 40 Mr Walsh's brother, Mr John Walsh, gave no evidence on the subject, whereas he could be expected to have known whether or not his brother and Ms Mulherin continued to present themselves as a de facto couple after 1998. Ms Mulherin's sister, Sharon Mulherin, corroborated Ms Mulherin's evidence, but I do not consider that much weight should be placed on her evidence. Ms Mulherin relied on the evidence of her niece Hannah, who stayed at the Paddington property from time to time during the week and on weekends when a schoolgirl. She observed a significant change to Mr Walsh and Ms Mulherin's relationship in 2000 or 2001 including that they did not speak to each other, that they left notes for each other about the dog, that they did not eat meals together, that they did not go out together and that they did not have visitors together. They avoided each other in the house while she was there. I accept that evidence. 41 I conclude that the parties' de facto relationship expired by the end of 1998. Mr Walsh requires leave pursuant to s 18(2) of the Property (Relationships) Act to apply to the Court for an order under s 20. That leave is not opposed. I am satisfied as to the matters in s 18(2). Accordingly, there will be a grant of leave nunc pro tunc to the plaintiff's application for an order under Pt 3 of the Property (Relationships) Act.

6 October 1992 $5,000.00* 13 October 1992 $2,000.00* 15 October 1992 $1,780.00* 20 October 1992 $5,000.00* 21 October 1992 $954.00 21 October 1992 $1,500.00* 23 October 1992 $657.00 27 October 1992 $3,000.00* 4 December 1992 $350.00 14 December 1992 $350.00 14 December 1992 $1,335.40 15 December 1992 $454.90 16 December 1992 $1,680.79 Total $23,172.09 69 The asterisked sums total $18,280. Ms Mulherin deposed that these were moneys which she withdrew and gave to Mr Walsh. I accept that evidence. I infer that the balance of the withdrawals were used to meet joint expenses, although, for the reasons to which I will come to in due course, it matters not to the outcome of these proceedings whether the balance of the withdrawals were applied to joint expenses or were for Ms Mulherin's personal use. 70 For the 1993 financial year, up to 15 July 1993, there were further withdrawals of $5,021.89. Ms Mulherin deposes that she withdrew $5,885 in 1993 which she gave to Mr Walsh. That evidence was given in summary form by reference to the 1993 calendar year. Neither party tendered any Citibank bank statements from 15 July 1993. It is impossible to say what, if any, of those instalments Ms Mulherin contends were paid to Mr Walsh. 71 During the period from 15 September 1992 to 15 July 1993, there were deposits to the Citibank account against the reference 92034 totalling $12,176.17. During the same period, Ms Mulherin made payments of interest, fees and taxes totalling $1,238.56. 72 As at 15 July 1993, the mortgage debt was $17,398.08. As I have said, no later bank statements were tendered. Ms Mulherin deposed that by April 2000, the mortgage debt was about $100,000. She was not challenged on this evidence. I find that from July 1993 she drew down moneys on the line of credit account which she used for her own purposes (in which description I include her making loans to others including Mr Walsh), and that she serviced the interest on the debt. Her borrowing moneys under the line of credit on security of the Paddington property after July 1993 should not alter the parties' beneficial interest in the property, or, the adjustments which should be made to the parties' property interests to reflect Mr Walsh's contributions to the acquisition, conservation and improvement of the Paddington property. 73 Between 16 September 1992 and 15 July 1993, Mr Walsh was repaid $6,104 more than he contributed to the account. That sum should be deducted from the contribution of $51,458 which he made towards renovations during this period, giving a net additional contribution by him to the capital value of the property of $45,354. 74 Up to 15 July 1993, Ms Mulherin paid further interest and charges of $1,239 and there was a mortgage debt as at that date of $17,398 which she eventually discharged. That debt arose because of the withdrawals from the account. As those withdrawals go to reduce the credit to be given to Mr Walsh for his contributions, they should not also be taken into account to enhance the value of Ms Mulherin's contributions on the basis that she later discharged the debt. 75 The jointly shared expenses of renovation should also be taken into account in reflecting the parties' contributions to the acquisition of the property in its improved state, but they are not substantial and do not materially affect the proportions of the parties' respective contributions. 76 The fact that Mr Walsh was meeting some of these expenses and sharing others, as well as paying off the principal of the mortgage, together with his contribution of a reasonably substantial sum towards the purchase of the property, strongly suggests that it was the common intention of the parties that he should have some beneficial interest in the property. In his amended statement of claim Mr Walsh claimed relief by way of the imposition of constructive trust of a 50% beneficial interest in the Paddington property in his favour. He pleaded no facts in support of that claim and, in opening, counsel said that the only claim being pursued was a claim for an adjustment of property interests pursuant to Pt 3 of the Property (Relationships) Act. On the face of things, Mr Walsh would have a strong claim to a beneficial interest in the property on the basis of Bloch v Bloch, or on the basis that it was the common intention of the parties that he have an interest in the property and that he acted to his detriment on the basis of that common intention (Green v Green (1989) 17 NSWLR 343; Grant v Edwards [1986] Ch 638), or on the basis that there was a joint endeavour between the parties which failed in which expenditure on the Paddington property was shared for their common benefit, where it was not specifically intended, or specially provided, that the other party should enjoy the benefit of the contribution if the substratum of the joint relationship or endeavour was removed without attributable blame, to the extent that it would be unconscionable for the party enjoying the benefit of the contribution to retain it (Baumgartner v Baumgartner (1987) 164 CLR 137). 77 Rather than seek to explain by reference to equitable principle what beneficial interest in the property Mr Walsh had, counsel was content to rely upon an exercise of the more general discretion under s 20 of the Act to adjust the parties' property interests without first identifying what those interests were. There is powerful support for that approach. In Evans v Marmont (1992) 42 NSWLR 70, Gleeson CJ and McLelland CJ in Eq said (at 84) that the Court was not obliged to ascertain in full detail the property rights and interests of the parties by reference to the general law, in particular the law of constructive trusts, before applying the statute to the interests as found (cf Jones v Grech (2001) 27 Fam LR 711 per Davies AJA at 722-723). 78 Whether or not the Court makes a finding as to the beneficial interests in property, it must, so far as possible, make a reasoned conclusion as to whether, and if so, why, a financial contribution by one party to another, or to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of property, should result in an adjustment of property interests. Where the contributions are financial and therefore commensurate, merely to identify all contributions on each side of the ledger and then make an "holistic value judgment" as to how the property of the parties to the relationship should be shared runs the danger of expressing a bare conclusion without reasons as to why any adjustment of the parties' property interests is thought to be just and equitable having regard to the contributions (see also Manns v Kennedy [2007] NSWCA 217 at [65]-[67]). 79 Although there was little evidence as to Ms Mulherin's subjective intentions, it can be inferred from the matters referred to above, and also from the further evidence referred to below as to Mr Walsh's payments for renovations in 1992 and early 1993, that it was the common intention of the parties that he should have some beneficial interest in the Paddington property. Whether or not it was the parties' common intention that that interest should be measured not at the time the property was acquired but by reference to their subsequent contributions (Gissing v Gissing [1971] AC 886 at 909; Burns v Burns [1984] Ch 317 at 327), it is just and equitable that Mr Walsh's entitlement to an order under s 20 be assessed on that basis. That of course is subject to any further adjustment either in his favour or against him in respect of other financial contributions not referable to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of the Paddington property, or to the non-financial contributions of either party. 80 If the payments for improvements made by Mr Walsh in 1992 and early 1993 were not treated as expenses for which he was entitled to a 70% reimbursement (reflecting his 30% beneficial interest in the property or an order under s 20 which would treat him as so entitled), but as contributions to the capital of the property, his beneficial interest in the property, or entitlement to an order under s 20, would increase to approximately 37% ($119,477 (para [64]) + $45,354 (para [73])) ($119,477 + $283,532 (para [64]) + $45,354 (Para [73]) = 36.7%) . Adjustment for the Provision of Accommodation 81 It was submitted for Ms Mulherin that the contributions made by Mr Walsh were substantially matched by his having rent-free accommodation in the Paddington property from 1989 to 2005. This submission raises the issue as to how far, if at all, under claims for an adjustment of property interests under s 20 of the Act, the provision by one partner of rent-free accommodation to the other can be taken into account as a contribution by the partner supplying the accommodation. Assuming, as a matter of principle, that such a claim can be advanced, the next question is how it should be dealt with if the partners are equitable co-owners of the property in different shares. In the absence of a contrary agreement, co-owners are both entitled to occupy the whole of the property. Where one co-owner has been in occupation of the property and claims reimbursement for the cost of improvements and lasting repairs, he or she may be charged with an occupation fee to be set off against the claim for improvements and repairs. 82 Bilous v Mudaliar [2006] NSWCA 38; 65 NSWLR 615 (at [116]-[118]) does not lay down a principle of law that a party who provides his or her house as accommodation for his or her partner does not make a contribution which can be taken into account under s 20 (Ross v Elderfield [2006] NSWCA 192 at [30]). Indeed, in Bilous v Mudaliar itself, Ipp JA recognised (at [122]) that the provision of the family home was a contribution of the defendant to be accorded appropriate weight, although so far as appears, no weight was accorded to it (at [183], [184], [190]-[194]). 83 It would be an error to double count the benefit of provision of accommodation. However, there is no double counting in recognising that a contribution by A provides a reciprocal benefit to B. To recognise that dual character is not to double count. 84 Were Ms Mulherin the legal and beneficial owner of the Paddington property, I would have no hesitation in accepting the submission of her counsel that the provision of accommodation in the Paddington property should be treated as a contribution by her to be weighed when considering an adjusting order under s 20, or, to put it another way (but not to count it twice), Mr Walsh would have received a benefit or advantage of rent-free accommodation to be weighed against his contributions. 85 However, the position is not so simple. Although counsel for Mr Walsh did not put or argue a case that he was a beneficial owner of the Paddington property, the evidence suggests that he was. As a co-owner, he was entitled to occupy the property. That is not to say he did not receive a benefit from his occupancy. He did, in that he enjoyed the occupancy of the Paddington property for sixteen years equally with Ms Mulherin, although he did not make equal contributions to the purchase of the property. That should be weighed under s 20 by recognising that her greater contributions to the purchase price were of benefit to him in providing him with a residence for which he did not make equal contribution. 86 One approach would be to treat Mr Walsh as entitled to a charge over the property to recover the moneys spent on improvements to the extent they exceeded his 30% beneficial interest, and to adjust the value of his contribution to improvements by notionally charging an occupation rent of half the rental value of the property (effectively crediting Ms Mulherin with twenty percent of the rental value of the property to be off-set against his claim in respect of improvements and for work done about the property). 87 The evidence does not allow a precise calculation. The only evidence as to the rental value of the property was as to its rental value in 1999. The property was then valued at $600,000 and the rental value was $600 per week. There is no evidence as to its rental value at other times, and it cannot be assumed that its rental value would always have been about five percent of its capital value. Nor was there evidence of its capital value save as at 1989, 1999, and its agreed value at the hearing. If its rental value were about 5% of its market value at 1989, that is, about $350 per week, the setting off of a notional 20% of rental value against the cost of improvements would reduce the net further contribution made by Mr Walsh to $33,104. 88 Mr Walsh's expenditure on improvements in 1992 and early 1993 would have increased the market value of the property. In my view, that expenditure should be treated not as giving rise to a debt for reimbursement, but as increasing his beneficial interest in the property - or at least as justifying an order under s 20 which put him in the position as if he were a beneficial owner for an increased proportion. The appropriate adjustment at the end of 1992 to reflect his contribution to the purchase price, the mortgage, and the improvements in 1992, and also to recognise the benefit he obtained from living in the property although he had not contributed equally to its purchase, would be to adjust Ms Mulherin's interest in the property by treating him as a 35% beneficial owner (($119,477 + $33,104) ($403,009 + $33,104)). 89 There remained a further twelve years of benefit enjoyed by Mr Walsh from Ms Mulherin's greater contribution to the purchase and improvement of the Paddington property in his occupying the property without having made an equal contribution to its purchase and improvement. If the 1999 rental valuation represented the average over the next twelve years, the value of that benefit would be about $54,000. However, the evidence as to the rental value of the property is meagre. Moreover, notwithstanding that Ms Mulherin was the registered proprietor of the Paddington property and Mr Walsh did not assert a beneficial interest, no claim was made for him to pay rent. At the time, Ms Mulherin must not have regarded his sharing the occupancy of the house (although he did not contribute equally to the purchase and improvement of the property), as giving rise to any disproportionate benefit which warranted making a request or demand for rent. Later Contributions to the Paddington Property 90 Following the hailstorm of 1999, Mr Walsh made various payments totalling $8,260 towards repairs. These moneys were recouped from an insurance policy. He deposed that he gave the cheques from the insurer to Ms Mulherin to be credited against the mortgage for the Woolloomooloo property. She denied that. I do not accept Mr Walsh's evidence that he paid the insurance proceeds to Ms Mulherin with a direction or request that they be applied to any mortgage. Ms Mulherin said, and I accept, that from about January 1999 she received no moneys from Mr Walsh towards mortgage or interest payments or household expenses. Non-Financial Contributions 91 Mr Walsh gave evidence of doing various pieces of handiwork around the home. Although his claims were exaggerated, there was no dispute that he did do some such work. He also deposed that he carried out household chores of vacuuming, cleaning, cooking and washing. From 1993 when he was unemployed, and up to 1997, Ms Mulherin accepted that he did most of the cooking. Otherwise, his description of his homemaking contributions was exaggerated. 92 Ms Mulherin also contributed to household repairs. She kept copies of invoices and receipts totalling $24,579.96 for payments she made for repairs and the purchase of household items. I accept that she also met some other expenses for which she does not have records. She acknowledges that between 1994 and 1997 Mr Walsh did the majority of the grocery shopping and cooking. However she also attended to household duties. She employed a cleaner until 1993 and otherwise did most of the cleaning. 93 I do not accept that either party's homemaking contributions was so disproportionate to that of the other that it warrants any adjustment under s 20. Nor do I consider that any such adjustment is warranted in respect of the handiwork carried out by Mr Walsh. In determining what adjustments should be made under s 20, it is not sufficient simply to identify what contributions falling within the terms of the section were made. It is necessary to identify why it is just and equitable, having regard to such contributions, for there to be an adjustment to the parties' interests in property. No doubt it seemed appropriate to Mr Walsh at the time to do the work he did about the house. It is impossible to know what was happening day to day throughout the course of the relationship. It is likely there were reciprocal benefits, such that the doing of work about the house and the carrying out of repairs, even lasting repairs, did not give rise to any disproportionate burden which makes it just and equitable to effect any further adjustment of the parties' property interests (Evans v Marmont at 76). Purchase of Furniture 94 Mr Walsh purchased some of the furniture that was used in the property. Where Ms Mulherin has identified the purchase as being made by Mr Walsh, she has agreed to his taking the item of furniture in question. I do not think that any further adjustment to the parties' property interests is required from the fact that the furniture was used by them both during their relationship. 95 There were various items in respect of which there was a simple assertion on the part of Mr Walsh and denial by Ms Mulherin that he had bought furniture or paid cash to Ms Mulherin in order for her to buy furniture. Having regard to my adverse views as to the credibility of Mr Walsh, I am not persuaded that he bought the furniture which he claims to have bought except where Ms Mulherin has admitted the purchase. The items which Mr Walsh is not to take are de minimis. 96 Mr Walsh claimed to have purchased five or six Lladro figurines for amounts varying between $300 and $1,200 each. Ms Mulherin denied that he purchased these pieces. It is her evidence that they were purchased by her before the relationship commenced. Whilst I do not accept Ms Mulherin as being an entirely reliable witness, where her evidence conflicts with that of Mr Walsh and there is no corroborating evidence or objective circumstances making one account more probable than the other, I prefer her evidence. In reaching that conclusion I have had particular regard to the fact that she made admissions about Mr Walsh's cash contributions where, in the absence of such admissions, Mr Walsh would have been unable to establish those contributions. Whilst there are parts of her evidence which I have not accepted, in particular her claim to have received $276,500 from her sale of shares in SP Secretarial Pty Ltd, I consider she was endeavouring to give honest evidence. She kept some records, whereas Mr Walsh kept none. For the reasons given elsewhere in the judgment dealing with his evidence in relation to the period of their de facto relationship and his source of cash, I do not accept Mr Walsh's evidence as being reliable. 97 My conclusion with respect to the furniture is that, except in respect of those pieces of furniture which Ms Mulherin acknowledges were paid for by Mr Walsh and should be taken by him, and except insofar as the parties have agreed upon the division of particular items, the furniture should either be divided between them by lot, or sold and the proceeds divided equally. Motor Vehicles 98 Mr Walsh made substantial contributions to the purchase of BMW motor vehicles. Ms Mulherin owned a 1986 BMW vehicle at the commencement of their relationship. It was subsequently traded in for a 1991 BMW. The total price of the new vehicle was $51,301. The trade-in allowance for Ms Mulherin's existing vehicle was $27,510. Mr Walsh paid $22,791 towards the purchase of the new vehicle and Ms Mulherin contributed a further $1,000. 99 That vehicle in turn was traded in in 1995. The next vehicle cost $67,474. There was a trade-in allowance of the 1991 vehicle of $38,500. The balance of the purchase price was drawn against Ms Mulherin's line of credit account with Citibank. Mr Walsh deposed that he paid about $39,000 on the purchase of this vehicle, but I do not accept that evidence. Nonetheless, he paid Ms Mulherin about $21,000 over the following six to twelve months in repayment of the moneys she had withdrawn from the Citibank mortgage. 100 It is common ground that in September 2004, that is, after the termination of their relationship, the parties agreed on a value of $20,000 for the BMW and that Ms Mulherin purchased Mr Walsh's share of that vehicle and paid him $10,000 for that share. It is unclear what use both parties made of the BMW when they were living together. No separate submissions were made in respect of Mr Walsh's contribution to the motor vehicle. I take it that the reason for that was that is was common ground that those matters were dealt with by the post-separation agreement under which Ms Mulherin paid Mr Walsh to acquire his interest in the vehicle. Contributions to Living Expenses and Gifts 101 Mr Walsh claimed that from 1989 to 1995, he gave Ms Mulherin about $200 per week over and above the moneys that he paid her weekly for mortgage and living expenses. This was disputed. Ms Mulherin deposed that between May 1989 and 2004, Mr Walsh periodically gave her lump sums for household and living expenses which were paid against the Citibank line of credit account. She acknowledged some specific payments from Mr Walsh, in particular a payment of just over $5,000 for the cost of dental work in July 1994, and $2,000 as reimbursement for costs of a holiday paid in April 1994. This was at a time when Ms Mulherin was out of work and Mr Walsh was meeting various expenses. On the other hand, Ms Mulherin also contributed to living expenses both from her employment either as a prostitute or as a travel agent, from loans she received from her brother-in-law and her sister, from payments made to her by clients which she claimed were gifts, and, after September 1993, by drawing down on the Citibank line of credit. She also surrendered insurance policies between 1993 and 1997 which were a source of cash and which were applied towards, amongst other things, household and living expenses. 102 It is impossible to quantify what sums were paid towards living expenses by each of the parties. I do not consider that any adjustment to the parties' property is warranted in respect of those contributions. Even if there is an imbalance in favour of one or other of the parties, it is not an imbalance which would warrant an adjustment of the parties' property interests. To the extent there may have been such an imbalance, it would represent, in effect, gifts made by one of the partners in favour of the other at the time. I see no reason why justice or equity would require that payments which the parties then treated as a gift should be subsequently treated as giving one of the parties an entitlement to property of the other. The Woolloomooloo Property 103 I do not accept Mr Walsh's evidence that he had any involvement in the purchase of the Woolloomooloo property, or that he made any financial contribution to it. Mr Walsh deposed that he was told by Ms Mulherin that she had bought the unit off the plan and that she agreed that the unit would be put in both their names. According to Mr Walsh, she told him in 1995 or 1996 that they would need to make regular payments towards the purchase price. As noted above, he claimed to have made cash payments of about $5,000 towards the purchase price and weekly payments of about $500. In his oral evidence, he acknowledged that his reference to 1995 or 1996 was a mistake and said that the conversation occurred in 1997, which was the year Ms Mulherin entered into the contract to buy the unit. He deposed that he inspected the property. I reject this evidence. There is no corroboration of it and it is contradicted by the evidence of other witnesses. According to Mr Walsh, he made no inquiries as to the terms of the contract, or how much had to be paid, but trusted Ms Mulherin. According to Mr Walsh, he believed that he was a purchaser under the contract, even though he had not seen the contract and had not signed any contract. This evidence was not credible. There was no corroboration of the general evidence Mr Walsh gave of making payments towards the purchase of the Woolloomooloo property. 104 I accept Ms Mulherin's evidence that Mr Walsh was not involved in the purchase of the Woolloomooloo property and did not make any payment towards it. Sharon Mulherin corroborated her evidence that Mr Walsh was not involved in any of the discussions about the planning or purchase of units in The Wharf development. The investment was discussed by Ms Mulherin with a Mr Peter Dick who also gave evidence. He also deposed that to his perception Mr Walsh had no involvement. My conclusion that Mr Walsh was not involved and made no payments towards the purchase or to meet mortgage payments does not depend upon that corroborative evidence, but it nonetheless supports the conclusion to which I have otherwise come. 105 Although the point was not emphasised in the submissions for Mr Walsh, and although his counsel did not seek to establish at the hearing that he had a beneficial interest in the Paddington property, if, as I think was probably the case, he was beneficially a part-owner of the Paddington property, the mortgaging of the entirety of the property by Ms Mulherin to secure the loan raised (in part) to buy the Woolloomooloo property may be regarded as an indirect contribution by Mr Walsh to the acquisition of that property. The contribution would have taken the form of his not asserting a beneficial interest in the Paddington property; thereby allowing Ms Mulherin to mortgage it. 106 The difficulties with this are that Mr Walsh did not seek to establish that he had a beneficial interest in the Paddington property and there was no evidence as to whether Ms Mulherin could still have raised the loan had Mr Walsh asserted a beneficial interest in the Paddington property at that time. Payments in 1997 to 1999 107 Mr Walsh deposed that he gave Ms Mulherin $11,000 in cash in 1997 including two payments of $5,000 made for the purpose of being applied towards the mortgage over the Paddington property. Ms Mulherin denied that Mr Walsh paid such moneys to her. There is no corroborative evidence that he did. I do not accept his evidence that he made such payments. 108 It is common ground that in 1998 Mr Walsh paid moneys which he received when he cashed in his life insurance policy with MLC to Ms Mulherin. She acknowledged receipt of $19,352.92. Ms Mulherin deposed that the payment was made by way of repayment of a loan of $20,000 made by her to Mr Walsh in October 1997. Although the bank statements of the account for the relevant period were not tendered, Ms Mulherin conceded in cross-examination that there was no withdrawal shown on the bank statement consistent with her making an advance of $20,000 to Mr Walsh in October 1997. Ms Mulherin gave oral evidence that Mr Walsh had asked for a drawdown of his funds from the line of credit account. She said in oral evidence that she had always considered that the moneys he paid into the line of credit accounts were his, and that he would request them from time to time. Of course, if this evidence were correct, it would not be correct to say that a payment of $20,000 from the line of credit account was a loan, as distinct from a repayment. In her affidavit, Ms Mulherin described the October 1997 payment as a loan. 109 Although Ms Mulherin did not identify any withdrawal from the Citibank account in October 1997, a cheque butt was tendered showing a $20,000 cash withdrawal from the account on 7 August 1997. I accept Ms Mulherin's evidence that that withdrawal represented funds requested by Mr Walsh. Although the evidence is confused, and although there were no words of loan, I conclude that the payment of $19,352.92 in February 1998 was in substance a repayment of funds provided to Mr Walsh by Ms Mulherin from the line of credit account in August 1997. 110 Mr Walsh deposed that he paid $1,500 to Ms Mulherin to be put towards the mortgage at an unspecified time from reimbursement he received from a third party for repairs to the BMW. I do not accept that evidence. I accept Ms Mulherin's evidence that he did not pay for the repairs, that the repairs were paid for by insurance, and that she paid the excess. 111 Mr Walsh paid Ms Mulherin $1,000 in September 1988 and $4,000 in January 1999. She described the latter as being a contribution to car insurance premiums and household expenses. I infer that the payment of $1,000 was also towards household expenses. Those payments are in the same category as the payments to household expenses dealt with in paras [101] and [102] above. 112 Mr Walsh made a deposit of $18,000 to Ms Mulherin's account on 4 June 1999. There had been a cheque drawn for cash on 22 May 1999 of $15,000. I accept Ms Mulherin's evidence, which is supported by the cheque butt (which noted that the cheque was drawn for "T" (i.e. Tony)), that the $15,000 withdrawal was provided to Mr Walsh. Mr Walsh denied receiving $15,000 in April 1999. The payment was made in May 1999, but I took him as having denied having received such moneys in either April or May 1999. However, I prefer Ms Mulherin's evidence. Given that the parties' de facto relationship had come to an end by this time, I think it more likely that the payment of $18,000 was in repayment of funds previously advanced than that it was a further gift to Ms Mulherin or payment towards a mortgage. 113 Ms Mulherin explained the difference between the advance of $15,000 and the repayment of $18,000 as being attributable to interest. That is a possible explanation although the rate of interest would be extortionate. On the other hand, there had not been a full repayment of the 1997 advance of $20,000. I do not consider that the discrepancy between the advance of $15,000 in May 1999 and the payment of $18,000 on 4 June 1999 should lead me to reject Ms Mulherin's evidence that the latter was a repayment of the former. In any event, whether or not there were individual loans and repayments, there were mutual debits and credits to be set off. 114 Accordingly, these payments do not warrant any further adjustment under s 20. 115 If I am wrong in my conclusion that the payments made by Mr Walsh were in substance a repayment of moneys advanced to him, the question would be: what was the nature of those payments? The payments were not made for the purpose of purchasing property or discharging a mortgage debt incurred in order to purchase property. There is no evidence that they were paid by way of loan. There is no evidence of any agreement for repayment. There is no presumption that the moneys were paid by way of loan. The presumption is rather that the moneys were a gift (Haydon v Perpetual Executors Trustees and Agency Co (WA) Ltd (1930) 45 CLR 111 at 113; Schmierer v Taouk [2004] NSWSC 345; (2004) 207 ALR 301 at 312-313 [59]; Gray v Gray [2004] NSWCA 408; 12 BPR 22,755 at 22,757 [15], [16]). While such gifts would be financial contributions by Mr Walsh to the property of Ms Mulherin under s 20(a), some reason would need to be shown why it is just and equitable to adjust the interests of the parties in property by reason of such gifts. If money is paid as a gift, prima facie, it is not just or equitable that it should be treated in any other way. The position might be different if the gifts were made in the expectation of the parties' relationship as de facto partners continuing, but there was no evidence to that effect. It is not necessary to decide this question, but, were it necessary to do so, I do not consider that any further adjustment to the parties' property interests would be warranted by reason of such gifts, if gifts they were. Conclusion 116 For the reasons given earlier, the parties' financial contributions to the acquisition and improvement of the Paddington property up to the completion of renovations in late 1992 and early 1993 warrant an order under s 20 which treats Mr Walsh as if he were then entitled to a 35% beneficial interest in the property. I do not consider that any further adjustment to the parties' interests in property is warranted having regard to their other contributions. The benefit derived by Mr Walsh from being able to live in the Paddington property without making a contribution to rent, even though he was not a 50% beneficial owner, did not give Ms Mulherin any legal or equitable rights at the time, and there is no reason in justice or equity to create such rights now. As with the case of possible unequal contributions to joint living expenses referred to in para [102] the fact that one party made a contribution to the welfare of the other is not itself a reason for adjusting the parties' interests in property. 117 The position may be different after the relationship terminated, and particularly after Ms Mulherin asked Mr Walsh to leave the property, which was "a couple of years" before April 2003. But against Ms Mulherin's claim for rent or an occupation fee which reflected her greater contribution to the acquisition and improvement of the Paddington property, there is to be balanced the fact that Mr Walsh did not press a claim, when he could have done so, to a beneficial interest in the Paddington property, and Ms Mulherin was able to mortgage that property to borrow the funds to complete the purchase of the Woolloomooloo property. The value of that contribution was not quantifiable. 118 I have earlier explained why I do not consider the other claimed financial and non-financial contributions warrant an order under s 20 adjusting the interests of the parties with respect to the property of either of them. 119 For these reasons I am of the view that there should be an order adjusting the interests of the parties in their property which has the effect of recognising that Mr Walsh should receive 35% of the value of the Paddington property. Considering the matter in the round, and making an holistic value judgment, or impressionistic assessment, of their respective contributions under s 20(a) and (b), that appears to me to be a just and equitable adjustment. The property had an agreed value of $950,000. The appropriate order is for payment of a lump sum of $332,500 to be secured by a charge over the property. The furniture should be dealt with as indicated in para [97] above. 120 I direct counsel for the plaintiff to bring in short minutes of order in accordance with these reasons. The orders should provide for leave to be given nunc pro tunc to Mr Walsh to bring the application. I will hear the parties on costs. ******

Walsh v Mulherin

At a glance

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Decision date

Before

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Judgment (19 paragraphs)

Parties

Legislation Cited (1)

Cases Cited (13)

Cited By (1)