Forest and Duane

In *Forest and Duane*, heard before Cleary J, the dispute concerned the division of property and associated costs following the breakdown of a marriage. The parties, referred to as the husband and wife, were engaged in proceedings to resolve their financial affairs.

The court was required to determine the appropriate orders regarding the costs of the Independent Children’s Lawyer and the overall costs of the proceedings. Specifically, the court needed to allocate responsibility for the Independent Children’s Lawyer’s fees and fix the quantum of the wife’s costs to be paid by the husband.

Cleary J ordered that each party was to contribute equally to the costs of the Independent Children’s Lawyer, with each to pay Legal Aid New South Wales $1,815.00 within eight weeks. Furthermore, the husband was ordered to pay the wife’s costs, fixed at $24,915.00, into her solicitor’s trust account within 42 days. These orders were subject to the formal entry of the court’s records.