Providing unparalleled legal representation & guidance

We offer a Fixed Fee Initial Consultation with no time limit. This means you can talk to us for as long as you wish to, discuss your concerns, worries and uncertainties and we can provide you options and a strategy for resolution. Before meeting with us it would be helpful to consider preparing a list of questions you would like us to answer.

For financial matters, please prepare a rough list of assets, liabilities, and superannuation interests you own individually or jointly. In addition, bring any e-mails, letters, or court documents you have received from your spouse’s lawyer. For maintenance matters, details of your and your spouse’s income and weekly expenses. For parenting cases, please bring details of past and current parenting arrangements.

You can represent yourself instead of using a family lawyer. However, while self-presentation can save you money in the short term, it will often cost you in other ways.

Objectively negotiating a property settlement or preparing for court hearings is very difficult. In addition, your ability to carry out such tasks will be considerably handicapped if you are dealing with a controlling, emotionally abusive or manipulative spouse.

A litigious environment with your spouse can be emotionally triggering. Emotional reactions like anger, avoidance, and defensiveness that you may have developed during the relationship to cope may be inappropriate for representing yourself in negotiations or court litigation. In addition, it may jeopardise your financial outcomes and your children’s arrangements.

The other difficulty is obtaining the appropriate level of legal knowledge and insight to effectively navigate and apply the voluminous pages of legal rules, legislation, principles and cases that will be required and relevant in determining your case.

Mediation, or Family dispute mediation, is a private process where an appropriately qualified impartial third party is jointly appointed to facilitate negotiation and explore options to reach an agreement on the disputed issues. Except in limited circumstances, mediation or a genuine attempt to engage in mediation is mandatory before you can commence court proceedings.

The main benefits of mediation are that it is cheaper than a Judge’s determination, disputes are resolved more quickly than the court process, and you have full control over the outcome. In addition, agreements reached through mediation, particularly parenting agreements, are more readily complied with and more sustainable compared to orders imposed on the parties by a Judge.

In more complex financial disputes, it is not uncommon that mediation continues over several days or there is more than one mediation. If this doesn’t work, the other options are either commencing court proceedings to seek a Judge decided outcome or, if it is a financial dispute only, having the dispute determined by an arbitrator. Arbitration involves spouses appointing an independent lawyer to act as the Judge and making a binding determination on the issues in dispute.

If you feel you have exhausted your other options and believe you will have to go to court, we highly recommend you seek legal advice from our experienced Family Lawyers before making that final decision.

Yes, we may ask you for payment in advance. In this event, the money will be held in our trust account and you will be advised in writing how it is applied and used.

Yes, strict time limits apply for property settlements in Australia. The Family Law Act outlines specific time limits:

– Married couples have 12 months from the date of divorce to reach a just and equitable property settlement.
– De facto couples have two years from the date of separation.

Suppose it is not possible to reach an agreement and have your agreement documented within these times. In that case, you must commence court proceedings for a Judge to determine the property division within the stipulated time frames.

For more detailed information, read our Guide to Property Settlement Time Limits.

Yes. You do not need to wait until you obtain your divorce order to begin or finalise the property settlement process. You can begin your negotiations and have the agreement recorded by court order any time after separation.

Some property settlements are more complicated than others. The Family Law Act provides a framework for determining a just and equitable property division in each case. However, it is a discretionary exercise; all cases are unique.

There are no set formulas – a mathematical or accounting practice does not determine the division. There is no presumption or starting point that the property is divided equally between spouses. Please read this Property Division blog for an in-depth breakdown of the property settlement process.

A Financial Agreement is a legal document that sets out what is to happen in relation to property settlement and/or spousal maintenance in the event of a relationship breakdown. Couples can enter into a Financial Agreement at any time. Learn more via this blog.

Irrespective of your wealth, entering a Financial Agreement can be a sound solution if you want to decide what happens to your property in case of a relationship breakdown.

Financial Agreements can be used to protect the property you have accumulated before the relationship or property planned to be received, such as an inheritance, gifts from family or other windfalls.

A Financial Agreement removes the uncertainty of not knowing the financial outcome following a separation.

Applying for a Divorce in Australia is the process of legally ending your marriage. It does not include the financial or parenting aspects of your marriage. The process from filing your Application for Divorce to the Court granting your Divorce Order can take between 4 to 6 months. Check out this blog for more information.

The date of separation is when one spouse communicates to the other that they regard the marriage as over. You cannot apply for a divorce before 12 months after the date of separation. For many reasons, spouses continue to live in the same dwelling after separation. You can still apply for a divorce if you continue to live with your spouse in the same home during the 12 months after the breakup.

In those circumstances, your Application must include affidavits that provide written explanations of the change to your relationship after separation and confirmation that you stopped living like a married couple. Learn more here.