family law Archives

Practical Suggestions for Avoiding Mistakes in Family Law Disclosure

13 August 2025 9:34 am Leave a Comment

In Family Law matters and particularly in property settlement matters, exchanging disclosure is an integral part of the negotiation process to accurately ascertain the asset pool that is the subject of the negotiations. More importantly, all parties have an ongoing obligation to provide full and frank disclosure.

Whilst not the most action-packed or exciting task, providing complete, timely and up to date financial information will save you from significant heartache in the long run as your matter progresses. Not only are there legal consequences for failing to provide disclosure, without disclosure the negotiations will stall and there is no way to prove your financial position. In short, you cannot accurately or fairly divide the pie if you don’t know how big the pie and the slices are to begin with.

Some practical tips to assist you in gathering your financial disclosure documents are:

1. Start gathering documents soon after separation to avoid delays or being locked out of your accounts.

2. Ensure you are familiar with and able to access your online banking, superannuation portals and investment portfolios.

3. Organise your documents clearly and chronologically, this will make it easier to keep track of what you have disclosed and avoid missing anything.

4. If you have larger assets like property, providing a real estate appraisal or valuation will simplify conversations around their worth, given property markets often fluctuate.

5. If you purchase or sell any assets or experience any change in financial circumstances (such as loss of income or incurring a new debt), ensure you keep records and disclosure this as soon as possible.

6. Keep an index of items you have disclosed so that you can track any outstanding items and/or provide evidence that you have complied with your duty.

7. If you are unsure if you need to disclose a document, it is safer to disclose it than risk non-compliance with your duty.

8. Do not hide, alter or destroy any financial information – this can result in penalties under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). However, if you are concerned about your safety, you can redact information such as locations so long that it does not alter the purpose of the document provided.

Andrea Cooper, Law Student and Paralegal at Zande Law Solicitors, Suite 9, Norwinn Centre, 15 Discovery Drive, North Lakes, is the author of this article, training in the area of Family Law.

The information in this article is merely a guide and is not a full explanation of the law. This firm cannot take responsibility for any action readers take based on this information. When making decisions that could affect your legal rights, please contact us for professional advice.

Next Article: Freedom of the Will?

Choosing Between Parenting Plans and Consent Orders

18 June 2025 10:32 am Leave a Comment

When determining whether a Parenting Plan or Consent Order is the best way to record your parenting arrangements, we always recommend that clients consider enforceability, flexibility, and costs of each.

Enforceability;

Parenting Plans are not automatically enforceable, and there are no immediate consequences to the ‘guilty’ parent who breaches its terms. Comparatively, Consent Orders are immediately enforceable by the court and a parent found breaching it can face sanctions such as fines, imposition of a court bond, mandatory parenting education courses, loss of time with the children and in extreme cases, even jail.

However, there are circumstances where a parent may need to deviate from the agreement in a situational, one-off minor instance. With Parenting Plans this is generally a non-issue. If Consent Orders are in place however, then the deviating parent is acting under the threat of court sanctions.

Inflexibility;

Because of their informal nature, Parenting Plans can be changed from time to time and the Family Court is available to hear and determine disputes if parents cannot agree on the changes. With Consent Orders, if the parties cannot agree on the terms for the new replacement orders, then access to take the dispute back to Court is restricted and can only happen if both parents agree or at least one parent can show a significant change in the circumstances of either parent or the children from when the first orders were made.

Costs

Parenting Plans are generally much faster and cost effective to prepare because they aren’t required to be registered in a court. By comparison, Consent Orders are generally more expensive and complicated to put together as they have to actually be filed with the court and approved by a Judge, and require more precise drafting.

Whether the above points of difference would mean that a Consent Order or Parenting Plan would be more suitable, the general view is that save for circumstances where one parent is expecting routine and significant non-compliance with the time arrangements, a Parenting Plan would be preferred over a Consent Order given they are quicker and easier to make, easier to vary and don’t carry the potentially draconian threat of enforcement for even miniscule or trifling breaches.

Michael Zande is a Queensland Law Society Accredited Family Law Specialist with over 30 years’ experience in the field. He is the principal at Zande Law Solicitors, Suite 9, Norwinn Centre, 15 Discovery Drive, North Lakes. To contact Michael for advice, phone (07) 3385 0999.

Next Article: Dying Intestate

How to let the kids have their say

14 May 2025 12:28 pm Leave a Comment

After a relationship breakdown, it’s important for parents to consider the future arrangements for their kids. This can be problematic if relying too much on the child’s perspective. Experts tell us that children often say what they believe each parent wants to hear, resulting in conflicting information being presented to both parents. The result of this (usually unintentional) behaviour from children is that both adults think that they are adhering to the child’s wishes, but they are negotiating the arrangements based on different information, leading to inconsistencies. Therefore, it’s important to try and find the balance between allowing children to express their wishes, having regard to their maturity levels, and avoiding putting too much pressure on them.

An effective approach to addressing this issue is to partake in a ‘child inclusive mediation,’ where the kids meet with an independent consultant who is usually an expert in social work or child psychology. This consultant allows the children to express their views without pressure. The consultant then relays the child’s views to the parents during mediation. This process helps to identify any areas of concern and ways in which the children can be best supported moving forward. With this insight, parents can negotiate more effectively, leading to an agreement that genuinely reflects their children’s needs and wishes.

Child-inclusive mediations are particularly effective as children grow older or if one parent has been rejected and the adults cannot agree on why this is occurring. The major benefit is that while the parents ultimately make the decisions, the children can feel as though they’ve been heard, which makes for happier households for everyone involved.

The information in this article is merely a guide and not a full explanation of the law. This firm cannot take responsibility for any action readers take based on this information. When making decisions that could affect your legal rights, please contact us for professional advice.

Joshua Noble is an Accredited Family Law Specialist and Senior Associate at Zande Law, 3/15 Middle Street, Cleveland. To contact Joshua for advice, phone 07 3385 0999.

Next Article: The Changes Are Coming

The Changes Are Coming

23 April 2025 11:00 am Leave a Comment

Significant changes are coming to Family Law which will affect separating couples in a variety of ways. While some of the amendments are unlikely to make a major difference in settlements, the headline-grabbing change is that the Court must explicitly consider and take into account the effect of any family violence when dividing assets or making orders for spousal maintenance.

The effect of this change is expected by some to be significant and will be taken into account when the Court evaluates everyone’s contributions to the relationship and when the Court considers the effect any violence has had on someone’s current and future ability to earn an income. Potentially, survivors of family violence will see their overall share of the combined assets increased in multiple ways due to this new law.

The effect of this could be wide-ranging given that the recent statistics show that more than 80% of cases in litigation involve allegations of violence by at least one person.

Some other amendments that are likely to be more relevant for the majority of separating couples include:

Considerations of how liabilities are incurred;

The effect of wasting formerly-owned assets;

The need of either party to provide appropriate housing for children;

Making attendance at straight forward divorce hearings optional for everyone; and

Enabling the Court to make orders in relation to the family pet, such as, that one person have sole ownership, that the animal be transferred by consent to another person or for it to be sold.

A lot of the changes commence 10 June 2025 but some of the amendments will apply to proceedings already underway but not yet finalised. Given the significance of these changes, anyone going through a separation should consider getting specific advice as to how their settlement may be affected.

Joshua Noble is an Accredited Family Law Specialist at Zande Law located at Suite 3, Jade Chambers, 15 Middle Street, Cleveland. To contact Josh for advice, please phone (07) 3385 0999 to schedule an appointment.

Next Article: Joint Parental Responsibility and Medical Treatment

Joint Parental Responsibility and Medical Treatment

9 April 2025 11:00 am Leave a Comment

If you have a Court Order or Parenting Plan that states that yourself and your ex-partner have ‘Joint Parental Responsibility’ or ‘Joint Decision-Making Responsibility’ for your children, this means that yourself and your ex-partner must take all reasonable steps to confer and agree on long term decisions for the children. These types of decisions include, but are not limited to, choice of the children’s name, religion, schooling and medical care. However, what happens if parents cannot agree on whether the child should attend for a medical diagnosis or where the child should receive care?

In circumstances where a child needs medical treatment for a less serious and temporary ailment such as the flu or a scraped knee, this can arguably be dealt with unilaterally by one parent. When making these decisions, it is important to still ensure that the terms of the Court Order/ Parenting Plan are consulted, the other parent is still notified, and clear communication is shared about the medical treatment, diagnosis and any ongoing medical treatment that may be required.

On the other hand, where a formal diagnosis for a more serious condition which requires ongoing accommodations is sought (for example, Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) this requires joint agreement from both parents.

If the parents are not in agreement, and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has not already made an Order on this issue, then an application could be made to the Court for the Court to adjudicate on the matter. The Court will often make one of the following three Orders:

An Order providing one parent sole parental decision making responsibility for all issues;

An Order providing for a specific determination on the matter at hand; or

An Order providing one parent sole parental decision making responsibility for one specific issue.

It is more common for the Court to make an Order in line with options 2 or 3, which still leaves the parents with ‘Joint Decision-Making Responsibility’ in respect of all other matters.

Alternatively, rather than progressing the matter to Court, the parents could attend at mediation or other forms of dispute resolution to discuss the matter.

Bethany Bellion, Solicitor at Zande Law Solicitors, Suite 9, Norwinn Centre, 15 Discovery Drive, North Lakes, is the author of this article, practising in the areas of Wills, Estates and Family Law.

Next Article: Avoiding The Snowball Effect

Avoiding The Snowball Effect

26 March 2025 11:35 am Leave a Comment

The golden rule in coparenting is that effective communication is crucial.

It can be tempting to ignore or delay replying when you see a message from the other parent and, let’s face it, most people would prefer not talking to an ex if they had the choice. However, this is where the problems often start and not communicating (or not doing so appropriately) can easily make everything worse.

Where it is safe to do so, having a quality communication channel with the other parent prevents small problems from turning into big ones and the key to stopping this snowballing effect is for both parents to follow some fundamental rules of communication.

Be polite and start with a greeting.

Don’t ever insult the other parent or imply that they’re not doing as good a job.

Keep the messages to the point and factual so the other parent can respond in the same manner.

Always get the other parent’s side of the story on any incident first rather than jumping to conclusions.

Assume that everything you write will be brought up at some point in the future to someone important.

Acknowledging receipt of messages from the other parent is important and, if you can’t reply straight away, provide a reasonable timeframe for when you’ll respond.

If your child misses a call from the other parent, organise a time for them to call back.

If you need some help, try using a parenting communication app but always call if there is an emergency.

There are plenty more rules, but these will stop a lot of molehills from turning into mountains which makes for a far smoother coparenting experience. If nothing else, it’s always beneficial for kids when they can see both parents on the same page and getting along.

Next Article: Parenting Coordination and Family Law Parenting Orders

Parenting Coordination and Family Law Parenting Orders

5 March 2025 10:46 am Leave a Comment

After lengthy legal proceedings to obtain Parenting Orders, it can be disheartening for parents when one parent continues to act in a way that is not supported by the Orders; for example, by using abusive language, denigrating the other parent, or otherwise doing or failing to do particular things with or around the children.

Although the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) contains provisions that allow a parent to take the ‘offending’ parent to court for alleged breaches of Parenting Orders, the threat of court proceedings doesn’t always deter this behaviour. Very commonly, the court acts leniently towards the offending parent because fining, imprisoning, or imposing some other sanction on a parent always carries the risk that it could harm the children.

A potential solution to this problem is for the parents to jointly engage a Parenting Coordination (‘PC’) service. PC is an alternate dispute resolution technique that assists parents in effectively communicating, managing and resolving conflicts related to Parenting Orders and Parenting Plans. Parenting coordinators help co-parents by establishing clear rules for engagement, encouraging cooperation and curtailing hostility. The intention is to resolve disputes outside of court, and avoid the stresses and cost of further court applications.

In practice, if Orders state that the parents are not to use abusive language in communications with each other and one parent continues to do so after the Orders are made, then the parenting coordinator can stop and advise the parent that their behaviour may be in breach of the Orders, remind them of the sanctions the Court might impose, counsel the parent on how to appropriately communicate in that matter, and seek to be copied into future communications to minimise recurrent events.

Another advantage of PC is that none of the parents’ interactions with the parenting coordinator are protected by any confidentiality or immunity. Therefore if the ‘abusive’ parent continues to use abusive language even after conversations with the parenting coordinator, these communications can be presented to a Judge.

For these reasons PC services are certainly increasing in popularity amongst our clients and are an incredibly useful resource for parents seeking to enforce Parenting Orders or Parenting Plans outside of court.

Madeline Crnkovic, Law Student and Paralegal at Zande Law Solicitors, Suite 9, Norwinn Centre, 15 Discovery Drive, North Lakes, is the author of this article, training in the areas of Wills, Estates and Family Law.

Next Article: What happens if one parent wants to move away?

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