When parents are involved in Court proceedings regarding parenting matters, circumstances may arise in which a party wishes to travel overseas before the conclusion of the proceedings, such as for a family event or a holiday. This can occur at a time when there is little trust or willingness to cooperate between the parties. The…
Property settlements can be formalised by way of Court Orders or Binding Financial Agreements. Financial Arrangments are sometimes referred to as Binding Financial Agreements. Formalising property settlements It is very important to formalise your property settlement to prevent a future, further claim being made against you by your former spouse and formalising your property settlement…
When parents separate, arrangements need to be made for very young or even newborn children. Given that parental attachments are formed early in a child’s life, it is important that appropriate arrangements/Orders be put in place for parents (usually the father) to spend time with the young child/children. A general rule of thumb is that…
A court when making an order in relation to care arrangements for a child, must make an order which is in the best interests of the child. In doing so, one of the factors the Court must consider is the nature of the child’s relationships with both parents. In some cases a court may make…
From time to time disputes arise over the paternity of a child of a relationship. Disputed paternity can be resolved by simply undertaking a DNA based paternity test. Just because you are not the father of the child doesn’t mean that you are denied from having a relationship with the child following seperation. In certain…
Under the Family Law Act, superannuation is treated as property of the parties and can be split between the parties following the breakdown of a marriage or a defacto relationship. Superannuation splits will only take effect pursuant to a Court Order or a Financial Agreement. If you are formalising your property settlement by a Financial…
Where parents live following separation can lead to be a dispute over which school a child should attend. Parents may be living, or planning to live some distance apart from each other, to the extent that the necessary travel to get the child to school from one of the parent’s residences, will be unreasonable for…
In short the answer is no. However, the Court can be a useful tool to progress your family law matter towards a settlement. If the other party to a property settlement or a parenting matter, either will not negotiate or respond to you, or you simply cannot reach agreement with the other party, then it…
Trusts present particular challenges to solicitors when assisting their clients to formalise their property settlement. It is important that the Orders or Financial Agreement not only deal with the transfer of a parties’ interest in the trust to the other party, but also that the Orders or Financial Agreement ensures that the party who is…
It is not uncommon for people to confuse “divorce” for the resolving of parenting and financial issues. These matters are quite separate and do not need to be dealt with at the same time. Making a Divorce application A divorce involves the making of an application to the Federal Circuit Court seeking for a Divorce…