BALSTAD & BALSTAD

This case involved Mr Balstad as the applicant, with orders made by Carew J concerning parenting arrangements and property settlement. The dispute centred on the division of assets and the future care arrangements for the parties' three children, X, Y, and Z.

The court was required to determine the parenting arrangements for the children, including the extent of equal shared parental responsibility, and to establish a schedule for when the children would live with each parent. Additionally, the court had to resolve the division of the parties' property, including their home, superannuation interests, and shares in a company, as well as address spousal maintenance.

Carew J made orders by consent regarding the parenting arrangements, stipulating equal shared parental responsibility for all major long-term issues and detailing a fortnightly schedule for the children's living arrangements, including provisions for school holidays. The court also made orders for the property settlement, granting the father exclusive occupation of the family home and requiring him to pay the mother a sum of $120,000 within 45 days, with the mother to transfer her interest in the home to the father. Further orders addressed the division of superannuation, the retention of specific assets by each party, and the father's responsibility for spousal maintenance and various other financial obligations.