Jacobs and Jacobs (No. 2)

In Jacobs and Jacobs (No. 2), heard before Judge Terry, the parties were the mother and father of four children. The dispute concerned various orders relating to the children's welfare, including parental responsibility, communication, relocation, and changeover arrangements. The mother also sought to have the father declared a vexatious litigant.

The court was required to determine several legal issues. These included whether to vary the existing orders regarding parental responsibility, specifically whether the mother should have sole parental responsibility. The court also had to consider applications to change the children's names or relocate them, the terms of communication between the children and each parent, and the location for changeovers. Furthermore, the court needed to assess the mother's application to declare the father a vexatious litigant.

In reaching its decision, the court applied the principles of the *Family Law Act*, particularly section 60CC, which mandates consideration of the children's best interests. This involved weighing the benefit of a meaningful relationship with both parents against the need to protect the children from harm. The court found that both parents were suitable and that the children had a meaningful relationship with each. The court noted that while conflict existed, it primarily concerned day-to-day issues and interpretation of orders, not major long-term decisions, and that there was insufficient evidence to warrant a change in shared parental responsibility. The court also considered the children's views and maturity, and the desirability of discouraging further litigation.

The court made several orders, including discharging the order for sole parental responsibility and maintaining shared parental responsibility, subject to specific limitations on the mother changing the children's names or relocating them without the father's consent or a court order. The mother was also ordered to inform the father of decisions regarding major long-term issues. Communication arrangements were varied to exclude Sundays, and the mother's application to declare the father a vexatious litigant was dismissed.