De facto woman's assets share cut

A woman awarded a quarter of the $1.8 million in assets she built up with her de facto partner cannot get the share she would have received if they had married, says the Court of Appeal.

The court ruled yesterday that because Alexandra Anne Watson (known as Lexi Taylor) had not married Ross Lionel Taylor, her partner of 13 years, it could not be assumed she would get half the assets.

They had also separated before the Property (Relationships) Amendment Act, which covers asset splits of de facto couples, came into force.

The court noted a big difference between what Ms Watson received and what she would have received as a wife or under the new law.

But the court could not stretch or anticipate the law.

Ms Watson and Mr Taylor were challenging the award made by the High Court.

Mr Taylor said the award unduly favoured Ms Watson, and the judge had wrongly taken the asset value as at the date of the hearing last year instead of the date of their separation, in 1997.

The assets were estimated to have increased from $1.078 million to $1.857 million over the four years.

Ms Watson said her entitlement should have got greater recognition.

Both appeals were dismissed.

The Court of Appeal said it was difficult to find a just outcome after a de facto relationship ended.

A narrow focus on contributions of finance and direct dealing with assets, disregarding human contributions, was a flawed economic perception and unjust.

The court tried to make an award that reflected the parties' reasonable expectations, taking into account the contributions each made.

Realistically, after a long relationship, a just result could be arrived at "only in primary colours employing a broad brush", the court's judgment said.

The High Court had found Mr Taylor had played the major part in increasing their assets.

They had lived around Te Puke, in the Bay of Plenty, most recently on kiwifruit orchards, and managed a motel and operated a service station.

- NZPA