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SEPARATION LAWYER ON WAYS TO FORMALISE AN AGREEMENT REACHED

CONSENT ORDERS

Consent Orders are generally the best way to formalise an agreement reached about property and or parenting matters.

To do this an Application for Consent Orders is to be filed with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The Application should contain or have attached proposed Orders detailing the agreement reached, generally with time frames to comply with the agreement.

The application seeks:

  • General information about each party;
  • Details about the relationship;
  • Details about other court matters;
  • Details about any children;
  • Details about the orders sought;
  • Details of all income, assets, liabilities, debt, superannuation and financial resources of the parties; and
  • Details about the financial effect of the proposed division (for property orders only).

Due to the nature of the document and the precise drafting of the Orders sought we encourage you to seek assistance from our separation lawyer. [...]  READ MORE →

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Till Debt Do Us Part: Family Law and Corporate Insolvency

By Jacob Reardon a Solicitor of Matthews Folbigg, in our Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.

Under section 1337H of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (“the Act”), a Court exercising Federal or State Jurisdiction can transfer a civil proceeding arising under the Act to another Court with appropriate jurisdiction where it considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so. What about where the defendant directors to an insolvent trading claim have commenced family law proceedings between themselves? [...]  READ MORE →

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New family law Critical Incident List

Media Release: New family law Critical Incident List to help make arrangements for children during a time of crisis

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia have issued a statement about a new process to helpmake arrangements for children where no parent is available as a result of death, critical injury, or incarceration relating to family violence:

Media Release: New family law Critical Incident List

Court orders are often needed during these times of crisis. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia can make orders about where children live, as well as orders for parental responsibility which will enable non-parent carers to make appropriate arrangements for children, including enrolling children in school and organising and consenting to medical treatment. [...]  READ MORE →

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A prenuptial agreement lawyer’s role in disputing a BFA

It is best to seek out a prenuptial agreement lawyer if you want to dispute a binding financial agreement (‘BFA’). This type of agreement, like any other contract in law is subject to strict rules. However, s 90K (1) of the Family Law Act 1975 allows a court to set aside a binding financial agreement. There is a list of reasons outlined in this section including:

  • The agreement was obtained by fraud
  • The agreement is void, voidable or unenforceable
  • If arising circumstances make it impracticable for part of or the entire agreement to be carried out

Fraud

A prenuptial agreement lawyer can advise you on what makes an act of “fraud”. Ordinarily it is involves using false representations to obtain an unjust advantage. To prove fraud, it must be shown that the false representation was made knowingly. This can be either without belief in its truth or in a reckless manner. [...]  READ MORE →

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Why you should try Family Law Mediation

Resolving a family law dispute is often complex as parties are usually dealing with emotional and psychological barriers that stem from the domestic relationship in addition to the legal issues. Additionally parties can be in different emotional stages when moving forward from the end of the relationship and this can cloud a party’s ability to interact constructively.

Family Law Mediation is an opportunity for parties to communicate their ideas, concerns and proposals to each other in a safe environment. Particularly in instances of high conflict, it is very common for family law mediation to take place in shuttle. This means parties remain in separate rooms and can still communicate their views through the mediator without having to worry about being met with confrontation from the other party. [...]  READ MORE →

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Issues of Risk and Supervised Time in Child Custody Disputes: The Re Andrews Principle

Issues of risk in child custody disputes typically arise in circumstances of family violence. One solution that is commonly proposed to reduce issues of risk is supervised time. The purpose of supervised time is to protect the children from any unacceptable risk of harm. Time is supervised by an independent supervisor or a trusted family member or friend.

Supervised time may also be suitable in child custody arrangements where one parent’s caregiving capacity is impaired and supervised time ensures the child’s needs are met. [...]  READ MORE →

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Divorce Lawyer Explains the Steps You Can Take if You are Unhappy with Your Final Orders

If you are not satisfied with your Final Orders made by the Court, your divorce lawyer can provide you with some advice about your options of an Appeal. Appeals must be filed within 28 days of the Orders being made.

However, the filing of an appeal does not automatically stop the obligations contained in the Final Orders. As such, your divorce lawyer may advise whether it is appropriate to file an application to stay the Final Orders. If the application for a stay is successful, the Final Orders will not operate until the appeal is decided. [...]  READ MORE →

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To Be or Not to Be – Our Family Law Lawyers Explain the Requirements of De Facto

Our Family Law Lawyers know the importance of obtaining instructions about the nature of your relationship and whether it meets the legal requirements of a defacto relationship.

In the recent case of Bava & Chaudry [2021], the parties had a relationship of about 2 and a half years. They were not married.

The Applicant’s family law lawyers filed an application seeking property orders on the basis that she believed the parties were in a de facto relationship. The Respondent, on the other hand, argued that the parties were never in a de facto relationship, despite the relationship spanning over 2 years. [...]  READ MORE →

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What You Need to Show the Court to Obtain a Divorce

In order to obtain a divorce, there are certain requirements depending on whether you have children under the age of 18 years. If you do have children under the age of 18 years, your divorce lawyer will need to demonstrate to the Court that:

  1. Proper arrangements in all the circumstances have been made for the care, welfare and development of the children, or
  2. That there are circumstances by reason of which the divorce order should take effect even though the court is not satisfied that such arrangements have been made.

There is a positive obligation on the Court not to allow divorce orders to take effect unless proper arrangements have been made for the children. Your divorce lawyer will consider the following factors when advising you: whether any child support is being paid, whether both parents are spending time with the children, the health of the children and whether they are attending and progressing in school. [...]  READ MORE →

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The Family Court Merger – Our Family Law Lawyers Outline What You Need to Know

By Chloe Elkerton, Family Law Solicitor

Last week the Morrison Government passed a Bill that will undoubtedly result in the biggest overhaul of Australia’s Family Court system since 1975.

Under our current Family Law structure, family law lawyers will tell you that matters proceed to hearing in one of either two Courts:

  1. The Family Court of Australia – which deals with complex family law matters, and
  2. The Federal Circuit Court of Australia – which deals with less complex family law matters and also other areas of law including migration, bankruptcy, human rights, industrial law and more.

The Family Court of Australia was established in 1976 as a stand-alone specialist Court. It recognised that many family law matters are complex and require specialised Judges and staff to support vulnerable Australian families. [...]  READ MORE →

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Prenuptial Agreements and the importance of complying with the Family Law Act

By Dylan Williams, Family Law Solicitor.

A prenuptial agreement, known as a ‘binding financial agreement’ under the the Family Law Act, is an agreement  with your partner to  predetermine how your assets will be distributed in the event of the breakdown of your relationship.

It is important that you speak with one of our prenuptial agreement lawyers to ensure the agreement complies with the Family Law Act so as to ensure that there can be no challenge to the enforceability of the agreement.

You and your partner can enter into a binding financial agreement prior to the commencement of the marriage / de facto relationship, throughout the marriage / de facto relationship, or after you have separated and or divorced.. [...]  READ MORE →

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4 Important Questions You Should Ask Your Divorce Lawyer

By Carolyn Munk, Principal Family Lawyer. 

Your Divorce Lawyer will tell you that an early practical and cost effective outcome is the best outcome for you and for the family as a whole.

Sometimes in complex matters that is not possible, but in many cases, if the client is well informed then such an outcome is easier to achieve.

Our Divorce Lawyers try to ensure our clients are informed about the following considerations:-

  1. What will be the impact of litigation upon the family and the future of the family to work together
  2. What is my best likely outcome
  3. What are the risks and the worst likely outcome
  4. How much will the legal costs be if I:-
    • Settle the case now
    • Try to see what settlement can be achieved if I participate in mediation
    • Proceed to litigation and let a Judge decide what financial and or parenting Orders should be made for my family.

While the Judges do the best they can in a limited time frame and with a limited knowledge of your family; there are significant Court delays and these are now probably the worst that they have ever been. [...]  READ MORE →