FIRTH & HALE-FORBES

Rees J considered applications concerning the parenting arrangements for three children, H (aged 15), E (aged 12), and B (aged 10), and child support. The father sought to vary existing parenting orders and reduce child support payments, while the mother sought a departure from the standard child support assessment. The court also addressed an application for an adjournment to allow for a further interview with a family consultant.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to make new parenting orders for the children, particularly regarding the youngest child's time with each parent, and whether to grant a departure from the standard child support assessment for either parent. The court was also required to determine if an adjournment was in the best interests of the children, given the protracted nature of the litigation and the potential distress to the children.

In relation to parenting, Rees J noted the family consultant's recommendation that no significant changes be made to the youngest child's arrangements while he was undergoing therapy, and that no orders be made concerning the eldest child, H. The court found that it was not in the best interests of the youngest child to spend an extended period away from the mother. The court dismissed the father's application for a child support departure order, finding no special circumstances. However, the mother was granted leave to seek a departure order, as she had been misled about the father's income and had made her application within a reasonable time of discovering the true extent of his earnings. The court determined that the father's earning capacity would result in an unjust and inequitable administrative assessment, thus establishing grounds for a departure order. The application for an adjournment was dismissed, as the court considered it would cause further delay and distress to the children, and was unlikely to yield new evidence.

Consequently, Rees J discharged previous parenting orders, established equal shared parental responsibility, and made no orders regarding H. For E and B, the court ordered a specific schedule for time with the father during school terms and holidays, including provisions for birthdays and special days. The father's application to reduce child support to nil was dismissed, and a departure order was made varying the child support payable by the father for specific periods.