Willis & Willis

In *Willis & Willis*, the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia considered appeals arising from decisions made by a single judge concerning property settlement and children's matters. The property settlement appeal concerned a long marriage where the trial judge had ordered an 80% to 20% division of assets in favour of the wife. The children's matters appeal related to the two youngest children, where the husband sought shared care and the wife sought to relocate with them.

The court was required to determine whether the trial judge had given undue weight to the section 75(2) factors favouring the wife in the property settlement, particularly in light of findings about contributions. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the trial judge erred by failing to add back to the asset pool monies spent by the wife after separation. In relation to the children's matters, the court was asked to determine if the husband had been denied procedural fairness at trial and whether the trial judge had given sufficient weight to the wishes of the youngest child and the evidence of the Family Report Writer.

On the property settlement appeal, the Full Court found that the trial judge had erred in the weighting of the section 75(2) factors and in failing to add back certain post-separation expenses. The court varied the property settlement order, adjusting the division to 78.7% in favour of the wife and 21.3% in favour of the husband. However, the appeal concerning the children's matters was dismissed, with the Full Court finding no error in the trial judge's approach to procedural fairness or the weight given to the child's wishes and the Family Report Writer's evidence. There were no orders as to the costs of either appeal.