Nuptial trust — dissolution — jurisdiction — Property (Relationships) Act 1976, ss 1M, 1N, 8, 13, 18, 44, 44C — Family Proceedings Act 1980, s 182 — Clayton v Clayton (Claymark Trust) [2016] 1 NZLR 590 (SC) — Preston v Preston & Ors [2021] NZSC 154 — Ward v Ward [2010] 2 NZLR 31 (SC) — K v H F Trust (No. 2) [2010] NZFLR 177 — Van den Brink v Kidd & Ors, FC Papakura FAM-2007-055-000073, 16 October 2010. The parties had been in a relationship for some 16 years and had one child together. For determination at this hearing was the distribution of the family trust. The respondent submitted an 80/20 split in his favour, and the applicant sought a 50/50 split. The Court noted this was a post-nuptial trust settlement as envisaged by s 182 of the Family Proceedings Act. The respondent submitted that the Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the claim as the application was filed prior to the dissolution of the marriage. The Court noted that proceedings could be filed prior to dissolution, but that an inquiry or substantive hearing could not occur until after dissolution. The marriage had been dissolved between the filing of the application and this hearing, therefore the Court had jurisdiction to hear the claim. The Court considered the respective positions of the parties, their contributions during the course of the relationship and ongoing support of their son, and determined that a 50/50 split was fair. The Court ordered that the remaining trust assets held on deposit were to be distributed equally between the parties, that the trust was to be dissolved following the distribution, and that any cost associated with the distribution and winding up were to be paid from the funds prior to distribution to the parties. Judgment Date: 7 December 2023.