Capital Gains Tax is something that must be carefully considered when finalising a property settlement. This is especially the case if only one of the parties is the registered owner of a property on which there is Capital Gains payable and such property is to be sold pursuant to the property settlement. It is also…
The court found in Bourke [No 2] which was approved in McCabe [1995], that if parties reconcile their relationship after formalising their property settlement, then the parties’ reconciliation and actions during such reconciliation, can be considered by the court as the parties consenting to having their previous property orders being set aside. This therefore can…
You don’t have to pay stamp duty when you are receiving the transfer of a real property, if such transfer is part of a family law property settlement. You should note that a family law order will also provide a stamp duty exemption when the property is transferred to a ‘third party’, for example one…
The purpose of making an offer of settlement to the other party is twofold. Firstly, you may actually resolve the dispute between you and the other party, thus saving time and legal costs. Secondly, should your matter proceed to a final hearing and the court ultimately awards you a more favourable outcome, then the terms…
The Family Law Act provides that unless you fall within an exempt category (such as where there is urgency, risk of family violence or where one or both parties are unable to effectively participate) parties who seek to bring an application to the court seeking parenting orders, are first required to attend a Family Dispute…
It is important that the client does not receive any “surprises” in the property settlement. For instance, while a properly worded Family Law Order or Financial Agreement may well assist a client to obtain a stamp duty exemption upon the transfer of a property subject to the property settlement, it will not prevent the State…
Legal obligations Married couples and de facto couples have a legal obligation under the Family Law Act to provide financial support to one another, including in some circumstances following separation. If that financial support is not forthcoming, then either party to a marriage or a de facto relationship is entitled to seek an order that…
There is a myriad of rules when it comes to service of Court documents. Does the document need to be served personally (hand-to-hand)? Can the document be posted? Can it be emailed? What if the person’s whereabouts are unknown but they can be contacted on social media? As a general rule all Applications filed in…
How on earth can anybody get into trouble for marrying their spouse a second time? Anyway, why would you? Second marriages usually occur when people marry each other overseas, including with ‘destination weddings’. It is illegal for two people who are already legally married to each other, to marry each other again in Australia. If…
It can be the case at the point of family breakdown, that one of the parents finds themselves here, living in Australia, with their support network being in an overseas country. It is understandable at such a time, that such a parent would want to return “home” to family and friends. Difficulties arise however, when…