Monitoring Spouses and Ex-Partners: Skirting a Fine Line During a breakdown of a relationship or marriage, an individual’s life (both personal and public) are usually retracted from the other party. This can be a strange time for some people, as many parties spend years intentionally or unintentionally knowing the whereabouts and doings of the other party. As this knowledge ceases quite suddenly, it is not uncommon for one party to try and find out what the other is up to....
Domestic Violence in Australia & Property Matters The issue of family violence is currently governed by both the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Domestic Violence in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2011 (Cth). The recent amendments effectively change the Family Law Act to provide: Greater protection from harm when determining the child’s best interests; Changing the definition of ‘Family Violence’ and ‘Abuse’ to reflect a modern understanding of the terms; Providing a wider scope...
What is a binding financial agreement? A Binding Financial Agreement is a private contract between two parties in which they are effectively finalizing property settlement and spousal maintenance issues outside of the Court. Also referred to as “pre-nups”, binding financial agreements are created between parties of a relationship or marriage to legally protect and allocate assets if the event the marriage ceases. Whilst many people believe planning for divorce before the marriage begins is controversial, a binding financial agreement is prudent estate planning, similar to...
Family Law Proceedings in Australia When a marriage or relationship breaks down, a typical disagreement between the parties relates to the arrangements of the children, including where they live, attend school and spend time with. These issues may be further complicated if one parent wishes to relocate as a result of family violence, abuse, or other major issues. If disputes of this nature are unable to be resolved through preliminary mediation or dispute resolution, parents may need to apply for...
What's the Solicitor's role in Family law proceedings? The role of solicitors in Family Law proceedings may not be known to the parties before commencing the legal representation. In the case of Simic& Norton [2017] FamCA 1007, Justice Benjamin was critical of both parties’ solicitors, describing their actions as fuelling a negative culture of “bitter adversarial and highly aggressive litigation”. His Honour referenced correspondence that had been sent between the solicitors which did not reflect the appropriate professionalism expected of...
Parties Wastage Following Separation Usually during cases of separation or divorce proceedings which reach the Court, one party has made the other party’s life very difficult, often causing heated disputes and emotions. Although a party may have been difficult, lied, cheated or has caused the other significant pain, the other party is not typically entitled to any additional money during property settlement. In determining Family Law property settlements, a party’s immoral actions or conduct such as infidelity, minor violence (not...
What does Parental Conflict Impact on Children? Parenting disputes involving high levels of conflict and animosity between the parties often lead to children of the relationship developing emotional, social, and behavioural problem in addition to negatively impacting concentration and educational achievement. These conflicts also affect how children view the safety and security of their homes, as they often blame themselves for the Parental Conflict. Parenting arrangements involving high levels of conflict and anger post-separation are twice as likely to foster...
Who Keeps the Engagement Ring Law after Separation? [caption id="attachment_11754" align="alignright" width="350"] Engagement Ring Law[/caption] Who keeps the engagement ring after divorce/separation according to engagement ring law? One of the big questions couples have after a relationship breaks down is what happens to the engagement ring. The issue of which party has a claim to this item can be contentious, with many different opinions based on tradition, morals, and conventions. Where parties are disputing the ownership of the ring, this...
Healthy and meaningful relationship Last year a Court dispute between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie resulted in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County imposing an order for the five children to spend more time with their father. When providing reasons for the judgment, the Court provided “it is critical that each child have a healthy and meaningful relationship with both parents”. The new order changes the original full-time custody arrangements in favor of Jolie to allow Pitt anywhere between...
Family Report and Expert Evidence in Proceedings Expert evidence including a family report provides the Court with material from an independent viewpoint, which both assesses and highlights particular issues with each unique case. The most common form of expert evidence in family law proceedings is family reports, which are undertaken by psychologists to determine the children’s views, the party’s capacity regarding parental issues, and any emotional or psychological effects of previous family violence or abuse. The Family Report The family...
Important information and contact details about the Family Law Courts Brisbane The Family Law Courts Brisbane’ National Enquiry Centre (NEC) is the entry point for all telephone and email inquiries about Family Law Court matters in the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. [caption id="attachment_9140" align="aligncenter" width="529"] Harry Gibbs Commonwealth Law Courts Building[/caption] The NEC can assist with: Information about how to apply to the court Making urgent applications to the family law court Procedural...
Bringing Family Law Matters Urgently As most couples who suffer a breakdown of the relationship or marriage want to sort out the matter as soon as possible, it is common for parties to try and bring proceedings as soon as possible, especially in situations involving children. However, before parties engage with the Court process, it is necessary for parties to attend mediation. Requirement of Mediation Before the Family Court will hear a matter, the parties must attend mediation and obtain...
Best Time For Divorce The promotion of the best time for divorce is intended to bring attention to the importance of minimising conflict between couples following the unfortunate breakdown of the relationship. Common in these situations, both parties will be subject to a wide range of difficult emotions; inevitably though, both parties will suffer. During these times of significant transition, children often find it difficult to cope with the vast number of events happening. Children may typically display and...
A Simple Way To Find the Best Family Lawyer Brisbane That Works For You. You can find the best family lawyer Brisbane at any time nowadays. Depending on how long a couple has been together, separating can be a lengthy, sometimes confusing, and often painful process. Then there are all the legalities involved in the situation. Find the best Family Lawyer Brisbane that gives the right advice This is one of the times in life where you need to find...
Are you Getting Divorced? While we all want and need emotional support from those we are closest to when going through a marriage crisis and potential divorce, it’s not always wise to seek critical advice about what to do or how to handle the situation of getting divorced from the people we know. This is a very crucial time of life when emotions are running hot. If you tell your loved ones that your partner has up and left you,...
Do it for the kids. Separation and divorce are tough on everybody involved, and it can be even harder on children. While adults are often struggling to understand what went wrong, the kids often have no idea why their beloved parents are separating and no longer want to live together. Here we’ll look at a few tips to try and help your children through the process. Try and Maintain a Civil Relationship Some relationships end on mutual terms, and some...
Family law Misconceptions Family law covers a whole spectrum of situations and legalities, and everyone’s circumstance is a little different. While there are definite laws in place, there are variations on these laws depending on the particular situation they are being applied to. Because the area of family law is so vast, many people harbor some common misconceptions about how family law works, and in many cases believe certain outcomes are rigid when they’re not. Let’s take a look at...
The term lifestyle clause has grown in popularity over recent years. It’s something that is trending with first-time newlyweds; as well as those who have walked down the aisle before. So what is a lifestyle clause? It’s about locking in a variety of terms and conditions before the big day in an attempt to avoid misunderstandings and conflict of interest down the track. These clauses are often added as addendums in a prenuptial agreement and are in addition to things...
How to find the best Family Lawyer for you With so many law firms to choose from it can be a difficult process to choose just the right lawyer for your needs. In this post, we’ll note a few things to be mindful of when deciding on the best family law firm for you. Do They Specialise In Family Law? Some law firms are highly specialized, while others seem to try to cover virtually every possible aspect of the law....
How to protect yourself after separation? Separating after a long-term romantic relationship can be tough to deal with on an emotional level, but dealing with the pain is only a part of what has to be done. Now is the time to also tidy up some loose ends and protect yourself now that the relationship or marriage is over. To protect yourself after separation, there are a number of things you should be doing, including the following: 1. Change Your...
