King and King (No 3)

In the matter of *King and King (No 3)*, heard before Justice Cronin, the proceedings involved disputes between a husband and wife concerning parenting arrangements and financial matters. The court was required to make orders regarding the separation of these issues for trial, the supervision of contact between the husband and the child, and the valuation of a service station business.

The primary legal issues before the court were how to best manage the progression of the proceedings, specifically whether parenting and financial matters should be dealt with separately, and how to facilitate supervised contact between the husband and the child, N, born in August 2002. The court also needed to determine the instructions to be given to a single expert witness appointed to value a service station business, particularly in light of potential defalcations and tax liabilities.

Justice Cronin ordered that for the purposes of any final hearing, parenting issues would be separated from financial issues. Outstanding parenting applications were to be listed for the first day of a less adversarial trial on 4 March 2010. The court directed that both parties sign all necessary documents to enable Y Contact Service to supervise contact between the husband and the child, with such contact to commence after 4 March 2010 and be determined by the availability of supervisors. A family consultant, Mr K, was instructed to interview the husband, attend the trial to give evidence, and review specific affidavits and judgments. By consent, the husband's passport was released to him. Further orders were made by consent regarding minutes of proposed orders, and the single expert witness was instructed to value the service station business, taking into account the parties' factual presentations regarding defalcations and potential tax liabilities. All other interim applications were dismissed.