The most expensive divorce case in Australian history took 12 years to settle (Australian newspaper Photo)
After 33 hearings, the legal fees totaled A $35 million, and the longest and most expensive divorce in Australia`s history was finally closed, the Australian newspaper reported. But it is not ruled out that the wife in the lawsuit will also make a final appeal.
For 12 years, the Australian Family Court finally ruled on divorce proceedings in Mr. Stern v. Mrs. Stern (Strahan v Strahan). In the ruling, Judge Kronin (Paul Cronin) singled out the couple`s divorce lawsuit, which lasted almost as long as their marriage, "at a significant cost."
The Stern couple met in the late 1980s, married in 1994, and finally divorced in 2006. Their only son, autistic, is now adult. The Sterns began the divorce battle at the age of nine.
In the long-running divorce proceedings, Mrs. Stern "changed 15 law firms one after another to fight for the matrimonial property she deserves."
In spite of Mrs Stern`s application for a further adjournment, the family court held a final hearing last month, or the lawsuit will be postponed until next year.
Mrs Stern had originally asked for at least A $ two hundred and seventy eight thousand a week in alimony, including the cost of her son`s care. The "little prince" is surrounded by several full-time caregivers, along with autism specialists, private chefs and bodyguards, in addition to immediate family members, court documents show. Mrs Stern said the child had a variety of other problems besides autism, which cost about A $70,000 a week.
It is reported that Mr. Stern has borne these costs for many years. Mr Stern has a wide range of operations in Asia and Australia, earning as much as A $90,000 a week. When he broke up in 2005, Mr. Stern gave Mrs. Stern about A $7 million. He then moved to Asia and met his second wife, who had a daughter. But after years of litigation, Mr Stern`s finances have fallen short.
The Stern couple`s marriage assets are valued at A $48.4 million. Given that most of the assets come from Mr Stern, judge awarded him a bigger share. In addition to the A $13 million already received, Mrs Stern will share five properties, cash and other assets totalling A $11 million. Mr Stern will receive about 38 million of the remaining assets, including a Swiss house.
