MULLAN & PRESTON

This matter concerned a dispute between Mullan and Preston regarding parenting arrangements for their seven-and-a-half-year-old son, the division of their property, and the determination of the length of their de facto relationship. The case was heard by L. Turner J.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the child in relation to spend time with arrangements, the commencement and conclusion dates of the parties' de facto relationship, and the appropriate division of the property pool acquired by the parties.

In relation to parenting, the court found it to be in the child's best interests to spend five nights a fortnight with his father during school terms and to spend half of the school holidays with him. The court determined that the de facto relationship commenced in 2011 and concluded in March 2013. Applying a two-pool approach to property division, the court ordered that the mother receive 45% of the relevant property pool acquired between the parties.