This was despite a 1992 matrimonial financial settlement that would ordinarily provide a clean break, the judge said, except for child support obligations, which Dr Lodin had "punctiliously performed". The money will be deducted from what their daughter Rebecca is entitled to under the law. "[T]here is something unbecoming about an arrangement under which the plaintiff is left in circumstances of considerable need, reliant on a social security pension, while the daughter whom she raised inherits in excess of $5 million," Brereton said. The judge conceded it was "not an easy case, and I confess that judicial minds may differ on it". "The plaintiff's attitude to the deceased since the end of their relationship has been one of relentless hostility," he said, "and she carried into effect as best she could her stated aim of making his life a misery, pursuing him and his resources in every way she could – through reviews of child support, professional discipline, and actions for damages."

Ms Lodin began a sexual relationship with the deceased in December 1984 after attending his Bangor surgery in southern Sydney earlier that year. Their daughter Rebecca was born in 1986 and the couple married and began living together in 1988 until Dr Lodin moved out in 1991. A matrimonial financial settlement was made by the Family Court in 1992, which Ms Lodin unsuccessfully appealed against. In 1993, Ms Lodin telephoned her estranged husband and told him: "If you don't give me an additional $60,000 I will destroy your life and make a complaint to the NSW Health Department Complaints Unit about you." Ms Lodin's complaint, which alleged the deceased had an inappropriate sexual relationship with her while she was his patient, led to Dr Lodin being reprimanded for unsatisfactory professional conduct.

Ms Lodin also denied him access to their daughter Rebecca and complained to police that he possessed firearms and had been threatening to kidnap their daughter. This led to police seeking an apprehended violence order against Dr Lodin - but proceedings were dismissed after a court hearing in 1994. The judge also said no action was taken after the police interviewed Dr Lodin in 1994 about allegations of sexual abuse of his daughter following a statement made by his ex-wife. The judge noted Ms Lodin, who receives a disability support pension, is diabetic, has chronic pain from spinal injuries suffered in a car accident and various other health problems. "She has fraught relationships," Brereton said. "She is estranged from the defendant, who does not speak with or see her, and she has a limited relationship with [her other daughter] Alana."

Despite their short-lived marriage and Ms Lodin's "post-divorce persecution of the deceased (which must indeed have made his life a misery)", the judge decided she was entitled to money from her ex-husband's estate. He said the relationship and its breakdown had a serious impact on the rest of Ms Lodin's life. Dr Lodin had prospered since the divorce, while his ex-wife struggled, according to the judge. "Untrammelled by responsibility for a wife or a child, he accumulated assets which by his death exceeded in value more than 10-fold those at the time of the matrimonial settlement." In contrast, Ms Lodin made an indirect contribution to her ex-husband's estate by caring for their daughter Rebecca. The judge said the $5 million value of Dr Lodin's estate meant money could be given to his ex-wife while also leaving a substantial inheritance for their daughter.

Phillip McGowan, the director of De Groots wills and estate lawyers, said the decision shows how family law and succession law extends into people's lives, giving legal rights to former spouses or de facto partners, children and step-children beyond the end of a relationship. "We need to understand that our relationships and families bring with them enduring obligations and that the cessation of a relationship may not be the end of it," he said. McGowan said Dr Lodin could have prevented his ex-wife from making a claim against his estate if she had agreed to give up her rights - unlikely given their acrimonious relationship - or if he had structured his assets so that he no longer retained ownership or perhaps moved interstate. University of NSW law professor Prue Vines said she did not believe the Lodins' daughter had lost much given her father's estate was worth more than $5 million. "It seems to me that the critical factor in the judgment is the view that the professional misconduct actually created an ongoing trauma which explained the hostility," she said. "Otherwise the hostility might be regarded as a form of disentitling conduct."