Woden and Silver

In the matter of Woden and Silver, Rees J of the Family Court of Australia made orders concerning the division of superannuation interests. The dispute involved Mr Woden, a member of the BT Lifetime Super – Employer Plan, and Ms Silver, concerning Mr Woden's interest in the Plan.

The primary legal issue before the court was how to effect a division of Mr Woden's superannuation interest in the Plan to provide for Ms Silver. This involved determining the appropriate mechanism and operative time for such a division under the Family Law Act 1975 and its associated regulations.

Rees J ordered, pursuant to s 90MT(1)(a) of the Family Law Act 1975, that Mr Woden and the Trustee of the Plan, BT Funds Management Limited, take all necessary steps to ensure that Ms Silver is paid an amount calculated in accordance with Part 6 of the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2001. This calculation was to use a base amount of $125,000.00, with a corresponding reduction in Mr Woden's entitlements. The operative time for this order was set as four working days after service of the sealed orders upon the Trustee. The court also vacated previous orders made on 2 March 2016 to facilitate compliance with the new order. Each party was otherwise to retain their existing property.