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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 →

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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 They can be used to vary or discharge existing family law Orders that may be outdated or impractical.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
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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 →

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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
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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 →

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Family Lawyer in Focus: Tina Lohitharajah

Tina LohitharajahTina is an Accredited Family Law Specialist and practices exclusively in Family Law. She has extensive experience in all facets of Family Law including divorce, parenting, property, spousal maintenance and child support matters. Tina regularly attends the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court at both the Sydney and Parramatta registries.

Tina holds a Master of Laws and Bachelor of Arts-Psychology. She commenced her family law experience in 2010 while working for the Federal Magistrates Court (now known as the Federal Circuit Court of Australia). In addition to her technical legal knowledge, this background has provided her with invaluable insight and a greater appreciation for the needs of her family law clients. [...]  READ MORE →

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The Basics of What Your Exs Company is Worth: The Balance Sheet

One way to determine what you or your former spouse’s company is worth is to instruct your divorce lawyer to engage a single expert valuer to put a dollar figure to the value of the business. Your divorce lawyer will then instruct the valuer to analyse the company’s financial statements among other things to determine the value for the purpose of your family property proceedings.

A company’s financial statements are made up of the following:

  1. Balance Sheet
  2. Profit and Loss Statements (Or Income Statement)
  3. Cash Flow Statement

 

The Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a snap shot of a company’s accounts. It provides at a glance what the company owns and is owed. It can give an indication of the financial position of the company at a single point in time. [...]  READ MORE →

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Divorce Lawyer in Focus: Cathy-Anne Grew

Cathy-Anne GrewCathy-Anne is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law and has a Graduate Diploma of Family Dispute Resolution. She has extensive experience in all aspects of Family Law including parenting and property matters, child support and other financial disputes.

Cathy-Anne is a member of the Panel of Independent Children’s Lawyers and is appointed by the Court to represent children in high conflict disputes.

Cathy-Anne is committed to working with clients to help them understand the legal process and achieve the best outcome for their family. [...]  READ MORE →

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How Interim Child Custody Proceedings Can Help You

Interim proceedings allow the Court to make temporary child custody Orders that are effective until the matter can finally be determined. An application for interim Orders cannot be filed without an Application for final Orders. At the interim hearing, some of the issues the Court may consider include who the child should live with until the final hearing, whether the child can travel overseas and whether the child can relocate to another city.

The mere fact that the children are currently in a well settled environment does not prevent the Court from making a child custody Order for parents to spend time with the children. Rather than preserving the status quo, at an interim parenting hearing, the main objective of is for both parents to have meaningful involvement in their children’s’ lives. Child custody law is in favour of substantial involvement of both parents in their children’s lives including both parental responsibility and time spent with the children. This rule is subject to the need to protect the children and provided that it is in the best interests of each child. The Court will consider whether equal time or significant involvement by both parents in the children’s lives is appropriate and practical. [...]  READ MORE →

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Family Law Secretaries in Focus: Tina Skaros

After leaving high school, Tina Skaros undertook her studies at Secretarial school and has applied her skills to the legal field for the past 35 years. Tina has been a secretary for divorce lawyer Carolyn Munk for over 22 years and together they have worked as a team at Matthews Folbigg Lawyers in the Family Law Group for over 11 years. Tina is often the first point of contact for Carolyn’s clients and has developed exceptional communication and organisational skills. Tina has worked predominately in Family Law and prepares Court documents for those seeking a divorce. She is a dedicated and passionate assistant who works closely with clients and their divorce lawyer to progress their parenting and property matters and achieve positive outcomes. Tina also has experience in property settlements after matters have been resolved and now utilises the online PEXA settlement system. [...]  READ MORE →

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Property Pool under $500,000 – Resolving Your Family Property Dispute Quickly

On 7 February 2020 the Family Court published a Practice Direction on Case Management of property pools under $500,000, known as PPP500 cases. The purpose of the practice direction is to assist your divorce lawyer to help you achieve a just, efficient and timely resolution of your matter.

Who Does the PPP500 Direction Apply to?

The practice direction applies to family law applications for property settlements filed by your divorce lawyer in Brisbane, Parramatta, Adelaide and Melbourne registries of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. [...]  READ MORE →

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Divorce Lawyer in Focus: Carolyn Munk

Carolyn MunkCarolyn is a Family Law specialist, having practiced exclusively in Family Law since 1987. She has been an Accredited Specialist in Family Law since 1993.

She joined the firm in March 2009, when her firm Watson Stafford Family Lawyers merged with Matthews Folbigg Lawyers.

Carolyn practices in all areas of Family Law and de facto relationships law and deals with issues concerning a relationship breakdown including property settlement, parenting disputes and child support.

She appears regularly in the Family Court of Australia and Federal Magistrates Courts at Sydney and Parramatta, the Supreme Court of NSW and Local and District Courts of NSW. Carolyn has worked as a Court Registrar at the Family Court, which provided invaluable experience in advocacy and dispute resolution. [...]  READ MORE →