Chester and Chester

In *Chester and Chester*, the parties, the husband and wife, presented a dispute concerning parenting arrangements for their two children and a property settlement. The matter came before Justice Rose.

The court was required to determine the specific parenting orders for the children, including the extent of equal shared parental responsibility, the children's living arrangements, and the time each parent would spend with them. Additionally, the court needed to resolve the division of property, specifically the distribution of proceeds from the former matrimonial home and the parties' interests in a timeshare. A further issue involved the husband's alleged debts to his former partner and mother, which impacted the property settlement.

Justice Rose made orders for equal shared parental responsibility, with the children to live with the wife. Detailed arrangements were set out for the children to spend time with the husband during school terms, school holidays, and on specific occasions like birthdays and public holidays, with certain provisions suspended on Mother's Day and the wife's birthday. The court also ordered the wife to provide the husband with access to school reports and correspondence. Regarding property, the court ordered the net proceeds from the sale of the former matrimonial home to be divided, with the wife receiving $190,817.00 and the husband $87,574.00. The wife was also to receive the husband's interest in a timeshare. The court found that the husband had failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish the amount of his alleged debts to his former partner and mother, and therefore these were not factored into the property settlement. The husband was not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that he owed his former partner $25,400.00, although he did find that loans had been made. The court noted the husband's failure to call his former partner as a witness.