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How can a Marriage Lawyer Help?

When your marriage or relationship breaks down, there are many things that you need to consider. No doubt, going through this will bring upon change and while emotions may be high, it is very important that you speak to a Marriage Lawyer.

What can a Marriage Lawyer assist you in dealing with:
  • How to divide your finances
  • How the mortgage is to be paid
  • Who should pay the mortgage
  • Whether you should contact the bank for special consideration
  • Whether it would be ideal to sell the house
  • Where the children should live
  • How much time the children should spend with your partner
  • What should happen with the children on school holidays
  • Whether you should seek child support from your partner

At Matthews Folbigg Lawyers, a Marriage Lawyer will work closely with you to ensure you are well aware of your entitlements when being advised about family law issues. A Marriage Lawyer can help you understand the process involved with Divorce; Property settlement; Superannuation; Separation agreements; Parenting and custody disputes and Child support. [...]  READ MORE →

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Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence is now recognised as a serious and widespread problem in Australia impacting the individual, their family unit and the community at large.

Husband or Wife, Mother or Father, Child or Teenager – Everyone has a right to be safe from any type of violence.

Yet there are many people who do not seek help for a myriad of reasons. Often the case is that victims are fearful of breaking up and leaving the family unit, especially when there are children involved. Sometimes the thought of attempting to escape can be too daunting. Others don’t consider leaving because they do not believe that their circumstances amount to any real domestic violence. [...]  READ MORE →

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Speaking to a Divorce Lawyer about Treatment of Assets after Separation

When parties to a relationship separate or divorce, they will at some stage need to divide their property through the process of a property settlement. Time limits apply to applications to the court for property settlement.[1]

Sometimes there can be a significant delay between the date of separation and date of a final property settlement. This may be because one party does not accept that the marriage is over or they do not want to meet with a divorce lawyer.  It may also be because the parties just want to get on with their lives and avoid the perceived complexity relating to a property law settlement.  This type of delay can have an impact on the final settlement, particularly if one of the parties receives an inheritance or other large lump sum payment after separation. [...]  READ MORE →

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Divorce Lawyer

At Matthews Folbigg Lawyers, a Divorce Lawyer will work closely with you to ensure you are well aware of your entitlements when being advised about family law issues relating to:

  • Divorce;
  • Property settlement;
  • Superannuation;
  • Separation agreements;
  • Parenting and custody disputes;
  • Child support.

A Divorce Lawyer at Matthews Folbigg family law specialists regularly provide professional advice to clients about how to protect their assets in the event their marriage or relationship breaks down (by entering into a prenuptial agreement), how best to make arrangements for your children following divorce and how to apply for child support following divorce. [...]  READ MORE →

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Prenuptial Agreement

More frequently spouses who propose to enter into a De facto Relationships or intend to marry are wishing to minimise conflict in the event that despite their best efforts, the relationship might not work out. Since 2002 in relation to married couples and 2009 in relation to De facto and same sex couples; the legislation has provided parties with a mechanism whereby they can enter into a binding financial agreement / prenuptial agreement which will govern the separation of their finances in the event that the relationship should break down. [...]  READ MORE →

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Divorce Lawyer Parramatta

When a marriage comes to an end, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed and emotional. You may also feel uneasy about taking the step of seeing a Divorce Lawyer and obtaining legal advice.  At Matthews Folbigg Lawyers our team of Divorce Lawyers are highly skilled and experienced in all aspects of Family Law including but not limited to:

  • Negotiation of property settlements;
  • Negotiations of parenting arrangements and child custody;
  • Representation of clients in court proceedings conducted in the Federal Circuit and Family Court;
  • Divorce proceedings;
  • Financial agreements and Child Support Agreements.

You need to have peace of mind that the Divorce Lawyer you choose is one that you can rely on and trust to deal with your matter to the best of their ability. [...]  READ MORE →

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What a Separation Lawyer Can Do For You

Separation Lawyer

A separation lawyer is a family lawyer who can provide you with legal advice at an early stage of your separation. As separations can be one of the most stressful and daunting times of your life, a lawyer is an invaluable tool in guiding you through the entire process. Getting the right advice about your circumstances from an experienced separation lawyer can assist you to make decisions about:

  1. Your separation;
  2. Your children;
  3. Your living arrangements;
  4. Your finances;
  5. Your legal options;
  6. Related consequences and possible outcomes.

A skilled separation lawyer will also be able to discuss and help you navigate through all interrelated aspects of your separation. [...]  READ MORE →

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Why you should check with a separation lawyer about enforcing a property order against you ex’s superannuation

You may settle your property arrangement with your former partner by agreement, with assistance of a separation lawyer or by judgment of the Court. This may include for property to be transferred to one of you, or for a cash payment made in exchange for an interest in property.

But what happens if you have these orders, but for one reason or another, your former partner has not completed their end of the bargain? What if your former partner is to pay you a certain sum of money by a certain time, but the time comes and goes, with no payment from them? What if, after seeking legal advice from a separation lawyer and looking to enforce the orders, you find they have no means of payment? If they have no substantial assets, can you make an application to the Court and seek the monies they have agreed to give you are taken from their superannuation? [...]  READ MORE →

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The Sydney Property Market – How Family Law Lawyers deal with this?

In Blackwell & Scott (2017), the Full Court considered whether the Trial Judge had made an error by setting aside consent orders that were entered into by the parties.

These property consent orders were made; which were to an equal division. In order to give effect to this equal division of property, the parties negotiated and entered into consent orders that provided for (in summary):

    1. a property held in the husband’s sole name be sold and the parties were to share equally in any proceeds of sale exceeding $440,000;
    2. pending the sale, the husband will be responsible for the mortgage payments, outgoings and other expenses;
    3. that the husband retain a second property also held in his sole name and on the payment by him to the wife of $130,000 within 90 days of the orders, the wife shall relinquish any right, title and interest in this property; and

    The husband breached the consent orders and did not make the $130,000 payment that he was required to make to the wife within 90 days. [...]  READ MORE →

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Superannuation and Family Law Lawyers

For most working Australians, superannuation is the largest asset they will have outside of owning their home.  The amount of superannuation that an individual has will largely depend on their employment history and earnings.

How does this relate to divorce and separation?

A recent research report by David Hetherington and Warwick Smith from ‘Per Capita’ has noted how women’s superannuation generally accrues at a lower rate than men’s. See Figure 1 below which highlights data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

graph

The report notes that superannuation benefits accrue in direct proportion to income received. It is often the case that women spend less time in the workforce and so do not have the same opportunity as men to contribute towards their superannuation. Reduced time within the workforce is attributable to various factors including taking time off work to care for young children, carer responsibilities such as taking children to and from school and caring for children when they are sick.  Other relevant factors include the cost and availability of childcare. All of these contributing factors often lead to an increased likelihood of being engaged in part-time or casual employment.  Clearly these factors would also apply to fathers who carry out a primary care role. [...]  READ MORE →

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Divorce Lawyer advice on the Impact of Divorce on Retirement

Often during a highly stressful divorce or property settlement, for instance where domestic violence may be involved or the parties are simply eager to settle quickly and move on with their lives; individuals are readily settling without consideration of future financial stability.

In particular, an article by Patricia Babalis highlighted a report by the Swinburne Institute for Social Research which discovered that at divorce, asset settlement ‘is often mishandled due to emotional tension and ignorance of what can be included in a settlement’. [...]  READ MORE →

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Prenuptial Agreement

Going into a marriage or de facto relationship, couples do not plan to fail, however often couples fail to plan, overlooking benefits that a prenuptial agreement may have.

A binding financial agreement is a way that couples can plan out the potential future rights or obligations of either party in the event that the relationship doesn’t work out. Such an agreement can be made before or after entering the marriage or de facto relationship.

What can the agreement include?

Prenuptial agreements can cover a range of assets, financial resources and liabilities that are often precluded from individuals minds. Such areas other than income that may be addressed by a prenuptial agreement may include: [...]  READ MORE →