Background
The husband in this marriage led a dual life, maintaining a de facto relationship with his mistress while still residing part-time with his wife and raising their three children. During his de facto relationship, he had two additional children under the age of 18 with his mistress.
When their relationship turned sour, the husband and the mistress executed a financial agreement that involved transactions concerning the funds and property of the husband's family business. This agreement granted significant assets to the mistress. At the time the agreement was made, all three children of the marriage had reached adulthood. They acted as representatives of their father during the execution of the agreement but chose not to inform their mother about its existence. The wife only became aware of the deed one year later and subsequently applied to have it set aside, as she believed it prejudiced her.
Disputes and result
The wife argued that the husband's dealings with property, including her own interests, had caused her prejudice. She contended that the agreement was entered into with a reckless disregard for her interests.
On the other hand, the mistress claimed that the agreement should remain valid, asserting that the wife must have been aware of the affair and the agreement since her sons acted as executors of the deed. Furthermore, the mistress argued that the court should not exercise its discretion to set aside the agreement due to the genuine and commercially relied-upon nature of the financial agreement by all parties involved.
After careful consideration, the court accepted the wife's arguments and rejected those put forth by the mistress. Consequently, the court decided to set aside the financial agreement between the husband and the mistress.
The above case shouldn't be blindly applied, as the court has arrived at opposite outcomes in similar cases. See Cheating spouse? How much can the mistress get? #Property Dispute #Mistress entitlements
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