FOLEY & FOLEY (FINAL JUDGMENT AND CORRIGENDUM)

This decision of Benjamin J in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia concerned a final judgment and corrigendum in proceedings between Foley & Foley. The dispute involved complex family law matters, including arrangements for the parties' two children, property settlement, child support, and spousal maintenance.

The court was required to determine several key issues. These included the parental responsibility and living arrangements for the children, specifically addressing allegations of violence and the children's wishes regarding time spent with and communication with their father. The court also had to consider the wife's application for a property settlement in a long marriage, including the treatment of superannuation and claims for add-backs, and to assess the parties' contributions and relevant s 75(2) factors. Further issues involved the wife's application for a departure from the administrative assessment of child support, and her application for spousal maintenance.

In relation to the children, the court made orders for the mother to have sole parental responsibility and for the children to live with her. The middle child was to spend time with and communicate with the father in accordance with her wishes, while the younger child's time with and communication with the father was to be determined by the joint recommendations of the child’s treating psychiatrist and therapist, provided it accorded with the younger child's wishes. For property settlement, the court considered the parties' contributions and s 75(2) factors, noting the husband's greater future earning capacity, and made orders considered just and equitable. The court ordered the husband to pay non-periodic child support for the children's private school fees and other expenses, rather than periodic child support. The wife's application for spousal maintenance was dismissed.