SMART & WATTON

In the matter of SMART & WATTON, Judge Harman considered parenting and property disputes between the parties. The parenting aspect concerned the application of the principles of equal shared parental responsibility and whether the parties were capable and competent parents who could spend substantial and significant time with the children. The property dispute involved the husband's direct financial contributions, including funds invested in which the parties held an equal interest, and the husband's claim for "special contributions." The parties agreed that the property pool should be calculated by reference to historical distributions of funds.

The court was required to determine the appropriate parenting arrangements, specifically whether equal shared parental responsibility was in the children's best interests, and to make orders regarding the division of the parties' property. This included assessing the husband's financial contributions and any claim for special contributions, as well as determining how to distribute various assets, including bank accounts, the former matrimonial home, and superannuation interests.

The court's reasoning, as reflected in the orders made, indicates a division of the matrimonial assets. The parties' bank account was to be divided with 71.6% to the wife and 28.4% to the husband. The husband was ordered to transfer his interest in the former matrimonial home to the wife at her expense. Furthermore, a base amount of $68,000 was allocated to the wife from the husband's superannuation interest, with further provisions made for a payment split in accordance with the Family Law Act 1975 and associated regulations, requiring the superannuation trustee to calculate and pay the wife's entitlement upon a splittable payment being made from the husband's interest. The orders also stipulated the operative time for the superannuation split and outlined the wife's responsibilities in rolling over or transferring her entitlement.