Lakshani Perera

This trial addressed two outstanding issues from a prior settlement: whether the payor spouse's spousal support obligation should bind his estate, and if so, whether it should be secured.

The court found that the recipient spouse was in need and that the payor's death was not unanticipated given his age and declining health.

Applying principles from Katz v. Katz, the court ordered a limited spousal support obligation of $25,000 to bind the payor's estate, but declined to order security for this obligation, citing the payor's uninsurability and potential complications for future asset sales.

The parties, former common-law spouses, sought resolution regarding the sale of their jointly owned home, division of proceeds, and claims for unjust enrichment and occupation rent.

The respondent sought credit for the down payment he made, arguing unjust enrichment to the applicant.

The applicant sought immediate sale, equal division, and occupation rent.

The court found that while the respondent was initially unjustly enriched, the applicant's subsequent greater contributions to household expenses during the relationship remedied this, leading to an equal division of net sale proceeds.

The court dismissed the claim for occupation rent and ordered the immediate sale of the home with equal division of proceeds after payment of the mortgage, joint line of credit, and sale costs.