Preparing For Your Visit

Preparing for your meeting with your family lawyer is one of the best ways you can attempt to manage your time and legal fees. Here are some things you may consider doing prior to meeting with your family lawyer:

1) Prepare an outline of:

• Your and your (ex) spouse’s/partner’s dates of birth;
• Date(s) of birth any children;
• Your date of cohabitation and/or date of marriage to your (ex) spouse/partner;
• Your date of separation (if applicable);
• An outline of the roles you and your spouse adopted in your family during your relationship and since separation (if applicable) – e.g. both worked; one was the primary income earner, and the other was the primary parent, etc.
• An outline of any instances of family violence that may have occurred;
• In property settlement matters:
  • An overview/list of your assets, liabilities, superannuation and financial resources and their current values/balances (to the extent you are aware);
  • An outline of your financial, non-financial and homemaker/parenting contributions to the relationship;
  • For each real estate property bought or sold during the relationship:
    • When it was bought;
    • The purchase price;
    • How the purchase price was funded;
    • Who paid the mortgage;
    • When it was sold (if applicable);
    • The sale price, and net sale proceeds; and
    • An outline of how the sale proceeds were applied;

• • A list of all inheritances, gifts or other lump sum contributions by you and/or your (ex) spouse during the relationship;
  • Any other significant financial matters;
  • Yours and your (ex) spouse’s or partner’s respective incomes, healths and income-earning capacities and what care arrangements will be for the children moving forward.

2) If applicable, send copies of the following to your lawyer:

• Court documents, including Court Orders, applications, affidavits and/or financial statements;

• Any family violence orders – such as an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order;

• Any other documents relevant to your family law matter.

We suggest providing this in advance of your meeting with your lawyer.

To find out more about preparing for your visit, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, or use the confidential contact form on this page.