You may wonder why the court in parenting matters does not accept evidence directly from children involved in the dispute. To most parents it would be clear that it would be too damaging to a child to be involved in their parent’s dispute to that degree. However, in a recent parenting matter, one of [...]
Property settlement can be a challenging process, which can involve arguments between the parties over contributions, valuations and also whether real estate and businesses should be sold or transferred into one party's name. Once assets have been divided between the parties, the issue can arise as to whether transaction costs in selling the investment [...]
Significant amendments were made to the Family Law Act in 2002 so that superannuation could be treated as ‘property’ in a property settlement. This allowed separated couples to split superannuation to another spouse as part of a property settlement by a superannuation agreement or court order. Prior to the amendments to the Family Law [...]
Your child is adamant they don’t want to return to the other parent after time with you, or they want to change school. Whatever the situation- it often happens and if there is no agreement between the parents, what do you do? Let’s have a look at the wishes of children. The paramount consideration [...]
For most of us, Christmas is a happy time, a time when families and friends get together to swap presents and stories, share meals and homes and generally enjoy each other’s company. However, for families where parents are separated or divorced, Christmas can be a time of sadness, disappointment and disagreement and caught in the [...]
If there is an income disparity between parties at the time of separation, then there could be a spouse maintenance entitlement. Spouse maintenance is often an important issue for spouses after separation. The level of financial support provided by one spouse to the other affects not only the spouse in need, but the children [...]
Separation is a stressful and emotional time. If you are considering separation or are currently going through the process of separation, it is important that you look after your emotional health and try and keep your stress levels to a minimum. In order to achieve that, you may wish to consider family counselling. The [...]
Occasionally in family law, circumstances arise which cause one parent to withhold a child and not return them to the other parent, in accordance with a court order. This usually results in an application for a "recovery order" being made. In these cases, the court has to carefully consider any allegations that may be [...]
Background Despite the law changing 17 years ago to make superannuation ‘property’, a common question we get is whether superannuation has to be included? Let’s do a quick refresh of what happens with superannuation in a property settlement. The law in relation to superannuation and family law changed dramatically in 2002 with the introduction [...]
When can a divorce application be made? The Family Law Act is based on a no fault principle. The only requirement for a court to grant a divorce order is an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, this can only be evidenced by the parties having lived separately, and apart for at least 12 months. [...]
