Family law is a complex and sensitive area of the law which deals with various legal matters related to family relationships, including marriage and separation, divorce, parenting arrangements, property settlement, adoption and child support. Whether you are going through a divorce, negotiating a property settlement or parenting arrangements for your children, [...]
By Anita Petrovic. True love may not always last forever. Just because you enter a de facto relationship or marriage with someone does not mean they are automatically entitled to half or even a portion of what you own. In all property matters, the Court undertakes a four step process to [...]
By Emily Austin There are several ways to formalise parenting arrangements for children. Here, we summarise these in order of most amicable to least. Voluntary Agreement: This is a voluntary agreement made between parents that are merely verbal and are not formally recorded. Parenting Plan: This is also a voluntary agreement [...]
By Anita Petrovic. In most parenting cases that come before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia ('the Court'), the Court makes orders for the preparation of a Family Report. This is a report by a qualified expert who meets with the family, reviews the Court documents and makes recommendations [...]
In urgent situations, you can ask the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to make an urgent Order, and in extremely urgent circumstances, you can even request that your application be heard ex parte. This means that the Court will deal with the matter immediately and without notice to the [...]
By Anita Petrovic. In January 2023, the government issued a proposal to shift the legal framework underpinning how the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia determines parenting disputes. At the moment, the Court presumes that it is in a child’s best interests for their parents to have equal shared parental [...]
By Emily Austin The underlying premise of child support is to ensure that children of separated parents continue to be supported by both parents financially. The quantity of a parent’s child support obligations is calculated using a legislated formula comprised of 8 steps that take into account the parent’s income and [...]
Family law property settlement disputes can be long and arduous at the best of times, particularly when it comes to providing financial documents and complying with the duty of disclosure. The duty of disclosure requires that all parties to a family law dispute must provide to each other all information relevant [...]
By Emily Austin Although the unilateral relocation of a child without the consent of the other parent is prohibited by the Family Law Act, it does little to assist in efforts to have a child returned to Australia. The current avenue through which parents can apply to the Court to have [...]
By Anita Petrovic. There can be lots of reasons for time between children and a parent to be supervised, but it isn’t always easy to make arrangements for supervised time during the Christmas period or other public holidays. The Family Hopes Supervised Contact Service is Australia-wide and open 365 days a [...]