Divorce- What to do when you can’t agree on the value of the assets
- July 10, 2014
In plenty of family law cases, spouses are actually able to agree on what the percentage division should be, for example, 50/50, 60/40 etc, but then find themselves locked into serious conflict over how that percentage division should actually be achieved. In these conflicts, the point of argument is almost always turns on the question…
Divorce- Do the Children ever get a Say
- March 27, 2014
Relevance of Children’s Wishes On the breakdown of a family unit, decisions obviously need to be made about where the children are to live. For many, a good dose of common sense and child focus make it possible for agreements to be reached and adhered to with minimal quarrel. Sadly for others, the blinding effect…
Legal loop holes to cause major problems for De Facto couples
- March 6, 2014
In 2009 new laws were introduced into Australia which were, for the first time, supposed to give de facto couples the same rights as married couples when it came to a breakdown in the relationship and separation. Some recent decisions from cases in the Family court however have now made it very clear that all…
Using a Power of Attorney to make Family payments
- January 10, 2014
Drop into any domestic family situation anywhere in the world and a culture of “share and share alike” can usually be found. When the family is young, practically everything becomes “communal” except maybe personal clothing and sometimes even that! As the children grow up and parents grow old however, the money, property and favours that…
Divorce and dividing up of Assets
- November 28, 2013
Following the breakdown of a marriage or a defacto marital relationship, the separating couple will obviously need to tackle the task of dividing up their assets. With trust and respect running at an all time low and emotional distress often running at an all time high, reaching agreement on these issues often represents a real…
When can long service leave be counted in a divorce settlement?
- June 12, 2013
Originating in India during British Colonial rule as a restricted privilege for some Government employees and practically non-existent elsewhere in the world, employee long service leave entitlements have nonetheless grown to become culturally ingrained in the Australian workforce. Generally the entitlement is for two calendar months of paid leave on attaining 10 years of continuous…
Character Assassination in Family Law
- January 31, 2013
According to popular opinion, the bubonic “black plague” which ravaged and ultimately killed between 30 and 60% of the European population in the late 1340’s was caused and spread by the rats living in those areas at that time. Scientific investigation however, shows that the disease was never in the rats but instead carried by…
Step-Parent Adoption – Obtaining Adoption Orders
- January 31, 2013
Where a step-parent has been performing the role of an absent/disinterested biological parent for a long time, the urge to “normalise” the relationship understandably holds strong. One way to achieve this is through step-parent adoption. Part 1 of this series discussed the effect of an Adoption Order. In this instalment we discuss the process by which…
Step-Parent Adoption – Effect of an Adoption Order
- January 31, 2013
Statistically, one fifth of separated families these days eventually transform to include a full time step-parent following the re-partnering of one or other of the biological parents. For some of these families, non-participation of the other biological parent may lead to the step-parent becoming the only “other” parent figure in the children’s life. Not surprisingly…
Divorce – How do you pay for the Lawyer?
- October 12, 2012
Behind space exploration and warfare, it might seem hard to imagine any other endeavour that could be quite as expensive as Family Law litigation. Sadly, the financial and psychological impact of these forms of disputes are almost entirely negative and can affect some people for years if not decades. The good news is that statistically…