CALLENS & CALLENS

This matter concerned discrete parenting and property disputes between the parties, Mr and Mrs Callens, heard by Judge Burchardt. The parenting issues involved specific arrangements for changeovers, Christmas morning, and summer holidays, while the property dispute centred on the division of assets following a 16-year relationship, with the wife seeking to retain the matrimonial home and the husband seeking its sale.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the children, X, Y, and Z, in relation to shared parental responsibility, living arrangements, and time spent with each parent. In relation to property, the court needed to make a just and equitable distribution of the parties' assets, considering their respective contributions and future needs, particularly the wife's role as primary caregiver for the parties' autistic son.

Judge Burchardt ordered that the parties have equal shared parental responsibility for the children, with the children to live with the mother. Specific arrangements were made for the children to spend time and communicate with the father, including alternate weekends, holiday periods, and specific times on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with provisions for communication and changeovers. In the property division, the court ordered that the wife pay the husband $40,000 within 90 days, with the wife to receive the husband's interest in the matrimonial home. The court also made orders regarding the division of the husband's superannuation, with a payment of $36,550 to the wife. Provisions were included for the sale of the property should the payment not be made within the stipulated timeframe.