Firth and Firth (No. 3)

This matter came before Guest J in the Family Court of Australia concerning financial proceedings between the wife and husband. The dispute revolved around the wife's superannuation entitlements, which were to be calculated pursuant to earlier orders made by Justice Burton on 18 November 1998.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine the appropriate mechanism for calculating the wife's superannuation entitlements. This involved considering whether the wife should be at liberty to appoint a single expert to undertake this calculation and the timeline for filing any resulting expert evidence.

Guest J ordered that the wife's solicitors be at liberty to appoint a single expert for the purpose of calculating the wife's superannuation entitlements. The court further ordered that the wife be at liberty to file an affidavit from this expert seven days prior to further determination. The husband was also ordered to pay the wife's costs, comprising $1,750 fixed on 21 November 2007 and an additional $1,200 on the day of this hearing. The proceeding was adjourned to 11 February 2008, and the ex tempore judgment was to be transcribed and made available to the parties. The court also made a finding that the matter reasonably required the attendance of Counsel.