Benson and Jess (No 2)

In the matter of Benson and Jess (No 2), Berman J of the Family Court of Australia considered orders concerning the living arrangements and time spent with a child, B, born in 2004. The dispute involved the father and mother of the child, with the court tasked with determining the final parenting orders.

The central legal issue before the court was to establish a final parenting arrangement that would best serve the interests of the child, B. This involved determining with whom the child would primarily live and the specific arrangements for the child to spend time with the other parent. The court also had to consider the continuation of certain interim orders made previously.

Berman J ordered that the child B shall live with the father. The court further detailed the arrangements for the child to spend time with the mother, including alternate weekends from Friday 5pm to Sunday 5pm, and mid-week time from Thursday 5pm to Friday school commencement on alternate weeks. Additionally, the child was to spend one half of the school holidays with the mother, with specific default arrangements for timing in the absence of agreement. The court also ordered that paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the previous order made on 11 March 2015 would continue in effect until further order.