Sederis and Opet

In the matter of *Sederis and Opet*, Watts J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered applications concerning the disclosure of financial information and the valuation of companies in family law proceedings. The dispute involved the husband and wife, with the wife seeking extensive disclosure and expert valuation of several companies in which the husband held an interest.

The court was required to determine the extent of disclosure necessary for the wife to obtain an accurate valuation of the husband's business interests, including the companies S Pty Ltd, M Pty Ltd, T Centre Pty Ltd, X Pty Ltd, and T (Fiji) Ltd, as well as associated assets. This involved considering the wife's entitlement to issue subpoenas to third parties for relevant documents and the husband's obligation to comply with existing disclosure notices.

Watts J ordered that the husband's solicitors file and serve a document detailing any corrections to the joint balance sheet and Exhibit "A" within 14 days. Crucially, the court granted both parties liberty to engage forensic accounting experts to value the specified companies and associated assets. The wife was also granted liberty to issue subpoenas to W & Associates, K & Associates Pty Ltd, and Watts McCray Lawyers for various documents relevant to the husband and the companies. Furthermore, the husband was ordered to comply with specific disclosure notices by a set date, and the wife was granted leave to issue subpoenas to banks for financial records.