Cerna & Goddard

This matter concerned parenting arrangements and property settlement between Ms Cerna (the Applicant) and Mr Goddard (the Respondent), heard by Blake J. The dispute involved the care arrangements for the parties' two children, X (born 2011) and Y (born 2017), and the division of their financial interests, including superannuation.

The court was required to determine the terms of orders concerning the children's living arrangements, time spent with each parent, communication between parents and children, and arrangements for school holidays and special days. Additionally, the court needed to make orders regarding the division of the Respondent's superannuation interests and other property, including a payment from compensation received by the Respondent.

Blake J made orders establishing equal shared parental responsibility for the children, with the children to live with the Mother and spend time with the Father on alternate weekends and Wednesdays, with a temporary suspension of the Wednesday arrangement for the younger child. The orders detailed specific arrangements for school holidays, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, and Father's and Mother's Days, and included provisions for communication, changeovers, and the parents' conduct towards each other and in relation to the children. The court also ordered the Father to pay a sum of $7,150 to the Mother from compensation payments and divided the Respondent's superannuation interest, allocating a base amount to the Applicant. Other property was to be retained by the party in possession, with each party to be solely liable for their own debts.