Brisbane Northside FAmily Law services
What is covered in family law?
FAmily law
Family law includes Property and Parenting issues relating to Marriages, de facto or other relationships. Family law can also include Surrogacy and arrangements for grandparents and grandchildren.
Laws impacting on families can also include Domestic and Family Violence, Child Support, Paternity and Child Welfare.
Family Law services
Separation from a spouse or partner can be an overwhelming time. Along with the emotional difficulties, you may have many practical issues to deal with. Having early advice can help you with the practicalities of separating and can stop a difficult situation from becoming worse.
The only grounds for divorce in Australia are that the marriage has broken down irretrievably and this is established by a separation period of twelve months. This can include living separately under this same roof but independent evidence of the separation must be provided to the Court.
Many people are now coming into relationships or marriages with assets they have already accumulated and sometimes children from previous relationships to consider. A financial agreement can be a good way to quarantine assets brought into a new relationship in a way that is fair to a new partner and your children.
Where parties agree on property, parenting and / or spousal maintenance, consent orders can formalise the agreement. Consent orders can be a relatively quick and inexpensive way to formalise agreements, whether the agreement sets out the division of property, the end of the financial relationship, or sets out the arrangements for the children. Consent orders can be made without any need to appear at Court. If there are court proceedings ongoing, consent orders can still be made up until a Judge makes a final decision. Once a consent order is made it is a Court Order and binding on the parties. Court orders can be enforced.
Domestic violence means behavior that— is physically or sexually abusive; or is emotionally or psychologically abusive; or is economically abusive; or is threatening; or is coercive; or in any other way controls or dominates the second person and causes the second person to fear for the second person's safety or wellbeing or that of someone else. We have many years of experience with matters involving domestic and family violence.
In some circumstances, a spouse or party to a relationship may have a need for spousal maintenance, and the other an ability to pay spousal maintenance. A party may be a stay at home parent, or may be ill. The Court will consider whether it is just and equitable to order that a lump sum be paid, or periodic payments be made for a defined length of time.
It is worthwhile getting early, accurate advice regarding financial matters. Dividing the property pool can be relatively straight forward, or can be extremely complex. Decisions you make early in the matter can have consequences that you did not intend later. Separation can be overwhelming, our years of experience and sensible approach can help you cut through the tangled pathway that is family law.
Applications for orders affecting children, including who children live with (i.e. child custody), spend time with and communicate with, are called “parenting orders”. Applications for parenting orders are quite different to other applications in the State and Federal Courts in that the parties to the application are often not seeking to assert their own rights, but rather seeking orders with respect to the rights of the subject child or children.
Parents are required to support their children, whether children are living with them or not. Child Support can be a difficult area to understand and negotiate. Let us help you cut through the tangled pathway. Sometimes there can be real doubts about the paternity of a child. This can be a difficult area of law and you should seek urgent legal advice before taking any steps yourself.