Family Law

Our youthful and energetic team will guide you through what are usually challenging and confusing times. We will help you to separate the law from emotion and work with you to obtain real outcomes, rather than embarking on a never-ending and expensive road in and out of court rooms.

If you find yourself needing advice on any aspect of family law, such as dividing assets and liabilities, selling the family home after separation, organising a parenting plan (what used to be known as child custody) or simply filing for divorce we can assist.

Divorce

When a couple decides to go their separate ways, if they were previously married, the law requires both you and your former partner to obtain a divorce order. This will become even more necessary should you or your former partner decide to get married to any new partner in the future.

Navigating through a divorce can be a stressful and often emotional process for both parties involved. Allow us to make the process easier by assisting you from the beginning right through to the finalisation of the divorce.

Eligibility

Before applying to the court for a divorce, the law requires certain conditions to be met. Generally, given Australia’s “no fault system,” the only condition that needs to be met is that both you and your former partner have been separated for a period of 12 months.

In most cases, there is no dispute as to the date of separation, however sometime, couples can disagree as to the date, especially if the couple continued to live under the same roof. If it is the case that you and your former partner were separated under one roof, we can assist with preparing your evidentiary material which will be required in addition to your application.

Marriages of less than two years duration  

A second condition which is required is that the parties have been married for more than two years. If you and your partner have been married for less than two years, the law requires you both to attend a counselling session to explore whether there are any prospects of you and your partner rekindling your relationship. In order to proceed with the Divorce Application, you will be required to present the court with a Conciliation Certificate which is provided by the Family Counsellor.

Contact us today to find out how we can assist.

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Parenting Matters

Parenting matters in Australia are decided pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975.

Family Dispute Resolution

Before considering any form of court application, you and your partner will be required to attend Family Dispute Resolution and make a genuine effort to resolve any dispute involving you and your children. If agreement can be reached at dispute resolution, we can assist you with having those decisions enshrined in the form of consent orders to be filed with the Family Court.

Instituting Proceedings

If the matter cannot be resolved via family dispute resolution, the parents will be issued with a s60I certificate and parents are at liberty to apply to the court for parenting orders.

We have represented our client’s interests in relation to a wide range of parenting matters, including relocation matters, adoption matters, travel matters (including placing children on Airport Watch Lists) and altering or varying parenting matters.

Many of our client’s have found these issues difficult to navigate on their own, especially after going through the emotions of a separation. If your matter requires the assistance of a court system, we can assist you to navigate through the various pathways to ensure the best outcome for you and your children.

Property Matters

When parties separate, in addition to parenting matters, property settlement, including the division of assets will need to be discussed. This can often be quite emotionally taxing, especially if you and your partner disagree on how the assets should be divided.

As with parenting matters, if you and your partner can reach an agreement in relation to property settlement, contact us so that we can assist with having the consent orders drawn up and filed with the Family Court.

If the issue cannot be resolved between you and your partner, then an application would need to be made to the court for a determination of property settlement. This does not mean that your matter needs to be taken all the way to trial. We will ensure that every opportunity for negotiation and an early settlement of your matter is exhausted prior to the need for a trial. If trial becomes unavoidable, the court will determine a property settlement by following the following steps: -

• Identify and value all the property that is available for division. This includes all assets, liabilities and superannuation of each spouse;
• The court will consider the financial and non-financial, both direct and indirect, contributions made by and on behalf of each of you to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of property. These contributions include homemaker and parenting contributions. The Court will generally assign a percentage to each party’s contributions.

To consider the future needs of each party, including but not limited to:

• Whether either party has the care of a child of the relationship;
• The age and state of health of each of you;
• The income, property and financial resources of each of you;
• The physical and mental capacity of each of you for appropriate gainful employment;
• The disparity in the income earning capacities of each of you;

• To determine whether or not it is “just and equitable” to make any adjustment to the parties’ interests in the property available for division;

If you do not believe you will be able to reach an agreement with the other party in relation to property settlement matters, contact us so that we can discuss the options available to you in order to put an end to the financial relationship between you and your partner.