SHERIF & SHERIF

[2012] FamCA 215

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

SHERIF & SHERIF [2012] FamCA 215

FAMILY LAW - CHILDREN – with whom a child shall spend time and communicate – parental responsibility - where the father has been diagnosed with a personality disorder – where father has been admitted to psychiatric care at a mental health unit on an involuntary basis – father burned down the former matrimonial home – father’s homicidal ideation in relation to the children - where the paternal grandmother assisted the father during trial as a McKenzie Friend – children’s relationships with father significant but not as valuable as their relationships with the mother – definition of family violence - father’s aggressive behaviour constitutes family violence under the Act – presumption of equal shared parental responsibility rebutted – father poses deficient attitude to the responsibilities of parenthood – expert evidence that father’s personality disorder impairs his ability to prioritise the needs of the children over his own – father’s aggressive behaviour unlikely to be controlled by a supervisor – best interests of children – finding father poses an unacceptable risk of psychological harm and physical harm to the children – injunction granted restraining parties from permitting children to spend time and communicate with father – sole parental responsibility allocated to mother

FAMILY LAW - PROPERTY SETTLEMENT – determining matrimonial asset pool – parties have a small pool of assets with the principal asset being the former matrimonial home – father’s arson damage to the former matrimonial home diminished its value – insurer refused to indemnify the parties against the damage – repair cost is the measurement of the diminution in its value – repair cost notionally added-back to the balance sheet against father’s share - issue of whether debt of the parties to maternal grandfather created in 1999 should be included within the balance sheet as a matrimonial liability – debt was statute barred – debt not included as matrimonial liability

FAMILY LAW - PROPERTY SETTLEMENT – contributions – adjustments – just & equitable orders - – treatment of maternal grandfather’s loan to mother as a contribution for which she is entitled to full measure – where mother had superior contribution during cohabitation and since separation – mother’s entitlement assessed at 60 per cent and father’s at 40 per cent – parties in good physical health – mother is in part-time employment with modest income – father receives carer’s allowance being a full-time carer of the paternal grandmother – father contemplates searching for employment at some stage in the future – father to retain superannuation interests of relatively modest value – father’s superannuation interests worth triple the mother’s superannuation interest – mother will receive little or no child support from the father for the remainder of the children’s minority – in cases where the net pool is relatively modest preferable to express a third stage adjustment as a lump sum rather than percentage – cash adjustment to mother of entirety of father’s share

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) ss 4,…