Engin and Engin & Anor

In the matter of *Engin and Engin & Anor*, the wife and husband both sought interim distributions from the matrimonial asset pool. The court was faced with a situation where the available property pool was likely insufficient to meet the parties' liabilities, and any interim property order would be irreversible. Furthermore, there was a significant lack of information regarding the parties' contributions and the factors under section 75(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to make an interim property order for the release of funds, and whether the wife had contravened a parenting order. Regarding the parenting issue, the court considered whether the contravention was a "less serious contravention" and if compensatory time was an appropriate remedy.

Hannam J determined that it was inappropriate to make an interim property order due to the insufficient information and the irreversible nature of such an order in the context of a likely deficit in the asset pool. The court found that the alleged contravention of the parenting order was proved and that the wife had no reasonable excuse. Consequently, the court ordered that the father be granted seven days of compensatory time with the child, to occur during the school holidays after Term 4 2015, on a date to be agreed between the parents. The wife's application for an interim property distribution was dismissed, as was the husband's response. The court also reserved judgment on costs, with a timetable set for the parties to file submissions.