Family law

What are Consent Orders?

If both parties have reached agreement about child parenting and/or financial property arrangements and want to formalise the agreement to make it binding, they can apply to the Family Court of Australia for consent orders. Consent orders do not need to be served. There are many potential pitfalls when drafting consent orders. Parties are advised to have a lawyer draft the proposed orders and then have a second lawyer review these and give independent legal advice to the other party.

Changing Parenting Orders

In theory, parenting orders are intended to be final and remain in place until the child turns 18 years of age. Yet we all know that parenting arrangements are not static and usually evolve as the children grow older and the parties’ circumstances change. How does family law approach this apparent dilemma?

Parenting Plan or Parenting Orders?

A parenting plan is not a legally enforceable agreement and is different from a parenting order which is made by a court. Your parenting plan can be turned into parenting orders. From a practical point of view, it is a good idea to agree on a parenting plan first, and then to have this parenting plan turned into parenting consent orders by the court.

What Percentage of the Property Does the Wife Receive After a Divorce?

This is a frequently asked question in family law, what percentage of the property does the wife (or husband) receive after a divorce with children/without children? Fortunately, in addition to our own experience as family lawyers, there is some evidence we can turn to in answering this question.

Going to Court: What Happens on the First Return Date?

The first court date is also known as the first return date, or the first mention date. As this is the first time that your matter will be listed before the court, it is a very important event. If you are represented by your lawyer, then you do not need to attend in person, however you may still choose to attend, especially if you think there is a good chance to negotiate with the other side.

How to Divorce

The Family Law Act 1975 established the principles of no-fault divorce under Australian law. When granting a divorce the court does not consider why the marriage ended and the only ground for divorce is that the marriage broke down and there is no reasonable likelihood that the parties will get back together.

Merger of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and Family Court of Australia

The Commonwealth Parliament has passed the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2020 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2020,  in February 2021 and it awaits Royal Assent. The new Acts create one court, that is an amalgamated Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia …

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How to Cite the Family Law Act

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) is the is the main law on matters involving divorce, property settlement after marriage breakdown or de facto relationship breakdown, spouse maintenance for a party to a marriage, de facto partner maintenance for a party to a de facto relationship that has broken down and issues relating to parenting …

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Going to Court: The Importance of Disclosure

The duty of disclosure requires all parties to provide the court and each other party all information relevant to an issue in the case. This includes information and documents that the other parties may not know about. Parties can request that certain documents be exempt from disclosure on the basis of privilege or relevance to the dispute.

Child Custody

Introduction Most people will understand the terms “child custody” and “contact”, yet in the family law, these are outdated terms. The terminology changed as a result of changes to the legislative framework brought about by the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 that came into operation on 1 July 2006. The old terminology …

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