SPENCER & SQUIRE (No.2)

This case concerned parenting arrangements, spousal maintenance, and child support. The mother had unilaterally relocated, and the parties sought orders regarding their child, born in 2016. The court was also asked to determine applications for spousal maintenance and child support departure orders.

The primary legal issues before the court were the determination of the child's living arrangements, the regime for the child spending time with the father, and the quantum of spousal maintenance. The court also had to consider the child's name and the location of their baptism, as well as a child support departure application.

The court ordered that all previous parenting orders be discharged and that the parties have equal shared parental responsibility for the child. The child was ordered to live with the mother in Town 1. The court then set out detailed provisions for the child spending time with the father, which varied between 2 October 2018 and thereafter, and included specific arrangements for school holidays and the child's birthday. The father was ordered to pay periodic spousal maintenance to the mother, with the amount varying based on whether the mother and child were living outside the maternal grandparents' home. The mother's application for child support departure orders was dismissed. The parties were also ordered to enrol in a parenting after separation course and to attend Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner mediation prior to the child turning three years old. The matter was adjourned for mention in relation to property proceedings.