Family Law is a complex and ever changing area of law. All of the lawyers at Michael Lynch Family Lawyers practice solely in Family and Relationship Law, therefore we are often requested to provide a second opinion on legal advice people have received elsewhere. Of course, we are happy to assist in providing this [...]
A new online DV resource has been provided to Judges across the country. The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) has launched, the first stage of the National Domestic and Family Violence Bench Book. The release of stage two is anticipated in June 2017. The development of the resource was in consultation with Judicial [...]
A person’s life expectancy can be taken into account in determining a property division. It could be considered in terms of the 'percentage division' when looking at the 'future needs' component for each spouse. An appeal was recently granted where the trial judge had made the finding that the husband's 'future needs' in the [...]
In the last 12 months the media and the broader community has had an increased focus on the problem of family violence. Here are some statistics that clarify the seriousness of the problem in Australia. one in four women (23%) has experienced family violence (ABS) one in three women (34%) has experienced family violence by [...]
A person wishing to change an existing parenting order, should give careful consideration to the reasons why they are doing so. They must be careful that they are not seeking to re-agitate old arguments which existed at the time of making the previous parenting order. A 'significant change in circumstances' is required to be established [...]
Both parents are required to sign an application for a child's passport to issue, unless one parent has sole parental responsibility. A recent case considered an application to dispense with a parent's consent to obtain a passport. Facts The 15 year old child wished to travel overseas on a school trip, which required the [...]
The Family Court of Western Australia has ordered that a child undertake chemotherapy to treat a rare form of cancer, contrary to the parents' wishes. Report by Stephanie Brown. This article was published in the July 2016 edition of the Queensland Law Society magazine, Proctor Read the full article here.
A Divorce application requires an 'irretrievable breakdown' of the marriage and that is held to be 12 months 'separation'. So what makes separation? The Family Court has determined that separation is when the following 3 elements are present; An intention to separate; Acting upon that determination; and Communication of that intention to the other spouse. [...]
Q: Can my former partner and I divide our property without going to Court? A: Yes, but it is important you correctly document your agreement. This can be done either with an Application for Consent Order or a Financial Agreement. You do not need to personally attend the court for either of these but [...]
In a recent case a Judge made an Order which permitted the relocation of 3 children with the mother from North Queensland to Brisbane, despite the family report recommending that it would not be in the children's best interests. Relocation is treated on a case-by-case basis and it may be years after separation that one [...]
