$250,000 “gift” lost in botched marital reconciliation….

A recent decision has held that a payment from an ex-husband to his former wife, in an attempt to encourage reconciliation, was a gift and did not have to be paid back.

Following the marriage breakup, the man’s former wife was ordered to pay over $300,000 to him as part of the relationship property division.

After judgment and payment, the man attempted to reconcile the relationship.  While the parties were out at dinner together, he transferred $250,000.00 from his settlement proceeds into his ex-wife’s account in the hope they would get back together again.  The ex-wife subsequently became involved with somebody else, and refused to reconcile with the man or pay the money back.   

The Court of Appeal decided that the payment of $250,000.00 back to the ex-wife after the relationship property division was a gift and held that the man made a decision to transfer the money of his free will. There was no legal requirement on the ex-wife to pay the money back.    

Making hasty decisions without knowing the implications has cost the ex-husband a very large sum of money. It pays to know where you stand before acting.




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Shaun Cousins
Associate