No Comments

Recent Family Court Case Sheds Light on What Initial Contributions are Really Worth?

On 1 May 2020, the Family Court handed down the decision of Barnell & Barnell. This matter involved a wife’s separation lawyer seeking to appeal a final judgment based on the Court’s treatment of the husband’s initial contributions.

The husband purchased Property B in 1988 prior to the commencement of the relationship in 1995. While no valuation was conducted on the property as at the commencement of cohabitation, the current value was agreed to be $340,000.

Given the length of the relationship and consistent gifts of money from the wife’s parents, the wife’s separation lawyer argued that the overall contributions of the parties should be considered equal. The Judge disagreed and said that to do so, would be to give insufficient weight to the fact that Property B was unencumbered at the commencement of the relationship and has not since been improved by either party. As the value of Property B represented some 36% of the net property pool, the Judge held that the husband’s contribution must be accorded significant weight. The Judge made an assessment of contributions as 62.5% to the husband and 37.5% to the wife being a 25% difference in contributions to reflect the various contributions of both parties. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

Family Law Lawyers Explain Equal Shared Parental Responsibility

If either you or your partner’s family law lawyers have made a parenting application to the Family Court, there is a presumption that it is in the best interests of the child for the parents to have equal shared parental responsibility. That is, both parents should have a role in making long-term decisions about a child such as where they go to school, decisions about the child’s health, the child’s religious and cultural upbringing or changing the child’s name.

If you believe that equal shared parental responsibility is not in the best interests of your child, your family law lawyers may be able to challenge the presumption. Depending on your individual circumstances, the Court may consider whether sole parental responsibility should be granted. This would result in one parent alone having the authority to make long-term decisions about the child. Below are some of the factors that the Court may consider when determining parental responsibility. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

Plain English Guide to Divorce

 Click here to download our Plain English Guide to Divorce

When Can You Get a Divorce

You can get a divorce if your marriage has broken down beyond repair. Generally, you must have been separated for at least 12 months. You do not have to be living in different houses to be considered separated. If you have children under the age of 18 years, you will need to have proper arrangements in place for the children.

Documents Needed

There is a number of supporting documentation that you will require in order for your lawyer to process your application which include:

  1. Marriage Certificate (with translation if not in English)
  2. If neither party is born in Australia, proof of citizenship, residency or visa with passport proof evidencing you have been in Australia for the last 12 months

Time Limit: Property

Your divorce takes effect one month and one day after the divorce Order is made. After that, you will generally have 12 months to bring an application to Court to divide your property. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

Will Expected Inheritance Be Included in My Family Property Settlement Agreement?

An expected or future inheritance is an inheritance that one party is expecting to receive once the testator passes away. Will the Family Court take into consideration a future or expected inheritance in your divorce settlement? If you or your ex-spouse are anticipating an inheritance, say from an elderly parent, you may want to get some advice regarding how this may impact your property settlement agreement.

In the 1995 case of White & Tulloch the Court noted that the expectancy of inheritance will generally not amount to a financial resource to be considered in your property settlement agreement. The term financial resource involves some degree of “entitlement to, control over, or relative certainty of receipt of property”. On the other hand, a will has been described as a mere expression of intention at the time it was made. They may be revoked or altered and only have legal effect upon the death or the testator. In this case, the expected inheritance of an elderly parent was not included in the divorce settlement. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

Family Law Lawyers in Focus: Cassandra Bayliss

Cassandra BaylissCassandra is a solicitor in the Family Law area of Matthews Folbigg.

Cassandra joined the Matthews Folbigg Family Law practice group as a law clerk in early 2015 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2018, after graduating with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Business and Commerce majoring in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations. During her university studies, Cassandra was invited to join the Golden Key International Honour Society which recognises the top 15% of university students based on their academic achievements. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

The Basics of Getting a Divorce

Divorce is the process of terminating a marriage. After 12 months of separation, your separation lawyer can assist you to make either a sole application or a joint application for divorce. If you are making a sole application that is, applying on your own, your separation lawyer will be required to serve the application on the other party and must attend your divorce hearing if you have children under the age of 18 years. If you are making a joint application with your former partner, you will not be required to attend the divorce hearing. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

Family Lawyer in Focus: Kieran Ridley

Kieran RidleyKieran Ridley was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2013 and as a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia in the same year.  Kieran is a graduate of Western Sydney University with degrees in Law (Dean’s Merit List 2012) and Business (Management).  Kieran also holds a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from Excelsia College and a  Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University. Kieran is on the Family Law and Criminal Law Panels with the Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales, providing private legal representation. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

Valuing the Family Home in Family Law Matters

Family Law Property Settlement

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) gives the Family Court power to divide property in the event of separation and relationship breakdown. In doing so, the Family Court adheres to a four step process as follows:

  • Identify and value the property, liabilities and financial resources;
  • Assess the contributions;
  • Assess any relevant future needs; and
  • Consider the effect of those findings and determine what order would be just and equitable.

Valuation of Real Estate

Quite often your family or matrimonial home is your most significant asset. Accordingly, there is often some argument during step 1 over what value to assign the property. As a general rule property will be valued as at the time of the final hearing. The Court will value all properties currently owned by you and/or your former spouse. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

What are Consent Orders and How Can They Help My Family?

If you and your former partner have agreed on an approach to parenting and/or financial and property arrangements, you can formalise your agreement by entering into Consent Orders. Consent Orders can only be entered into when you and your former partner have reached an agreement, whether between yourselves, or with the assistance of your family law lawyers. Consent Orders are legally binding and enforceable by the Family Court. They can be used to vary or discharge existing family law Orders that may be outdated or impractical. Consent Orders are final and can be difficult to change without agreement. It is therefore imperative to seek legal advice from family law lawyers about your family law rights and entitlements. [...]  READ MORE →

Matthews Folbigg
No Comments

Family Dispute Resolution: How to Resolve Your Parenting Dispute Without Going to Court

In response to the growing risks of COVID-19, the family Courts have begun postponing court dates for non-urgent matters. Unfortunately, this means that it may be many months before your application for child custody is heard before a Judge. Parents should be encouraged to look for alternative ways to resolve their dispute such as through Family Dispute Resolution.

By law, parents are normally required to make a genuine effort to resolve parenting disputes before beginning Court proceedings. This can be achieved by attending Family Dispute Resolution also known as FDR for short, with a certified FDR practitioner. Your FDR practitioner can then issue you with a section 60I certificate which you will need to provide to your child custody lawyer to file with your Application. You will then have 12 months to commence proceedings with the Certificate otherwise you will need to obtain an updated certificate. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

My Ex Won’t Let Me Take My Kids Overseas

During child custody proceedings, parents cannot remove their children from Australia without either:

  1. The written consent of the other party, or
  2. A Court Order providing for overseas travel.

The most cost efficient way to take your children on an overseas trip is generally to negotiate with your former partner to obtain their consent and then put this into writing.

If you cannot come to an agreement, you may be able to make an application to the Family Court with the assistance of your child custody lawyers. Ultimately, the Court will make its child custody decisions in the best interests of the child. The Court may make an Order for the child not to travel overseas, or make an Order allowing the child to travel. In some circumstances the Court may make an Order for you or your former partner to pay a security if the child is allowed to travel to better ensure the child’s return. [...]  READ MORE →

Matthews Folbigg
No Comments

Keeping Families Safe: How the Family Courts are Responding to Covid19

On 19 March 2020, the Honourable Justice William Alstergren published new practice directions for the Family and Federal Circuit Courts to respond to the growing concerns of Covid19, also known as the Coronavirus. Overall, there has been a move to minimise the attendance of your divorce lawyer and their clients at registries to uphold the health and safety of all involved.

Key changes for your Divorce Lawyer

  • All documents must be filed electronically;
  • If documents cannot be uploaded to the portal, for example if the document is too large to upload, the documents should be emailed to the relevant registry for filing;
  • Hard copies of documents will only be accepted in limited circumstances;
  • Subpoena viewing is by appointment only in all Registries;
  • Appointments to view subpoena material should only be made if the matter is scheduled for hearing within 4 weeks or if the matter is urgent;
  • Exhibits to affidavits filed in the Family Court of Australia should now be annexed/attached to the affidavit if the exhibits are less than 2cm width and will be filed electronically;
  • Where the exhibits to a Family Court affidavit are more than 2cm in width, an application will need to be made to the registry case co-ordinator.

An “Update to Profession” has also been issued amending procedures in both Courts to minimise the spread of Coronavirus. Duty lists, mentions, directions and interim hearings will generally be conducted by telephone. Exceptions may be made if telephone hearings are impracticable or the matter is urgent and requires a face-to-face hearing. [...]  READ MORE →