OUR PRACTICE AREAS

Separation does not require lawyers and the filing of any applications to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. It is sufficient that both parties believe the relationship has broken down and do not see your relationship being fixed in the future. You do not have to live in two separate households for separation to occur, it can easily occur under the same roof.

Divorce is the legal recognition of the end of your marriage. A divorce can be granted by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia with the help of separation and divorce lawyers. In order to obtain a divorce, the Court requires proof that the marriage has irretrievably failed and you have been separated for at least 12 months.

OUR SERVICES

Gathering Necessary Documentation

Our experienced separation and divorce lawyers help you gather the necessary support documentation to create the strongest defence for your divorce settlement claim.

Drafting Divorce Application

Drafting and filing the divorce application with all supporting documentation to ensure the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is satisfied and grant the divorce.

Child Custody Arrangements

We assist you with child custody arrangements to ensure your child’s best interests are met including medical care and treatment, education, religious upbringing and other important decisions.

Representation in Court

If your case requires a court appearance, our separation and divorce lawyers in Sydney will stand by you to represent your case in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

Before filing any application for parenting orders in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia parents must try to resolve their dispute by less adversarial means. In order to make an application for parenting orders, parents must supply the Court with a certificate from a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner which indicates that they have attempted to resolve their dispute outside of Court.

A Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner is a qualified professional trained in family dispute resolution processes such as counselling and mediation. It is only in exceptional circumstances that the Court will not require such a Certificate.

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) requires both parents to have parental responsibility for the care and welfare of their children. Children may live with either their mother or their father after separation and divorce. There are a variety of child custody dispute orders that you may apply for and that the court may grant, namely:

• Residency orders – These are orders that specify who the children are to live with at different times.

• Contact orders – These are orders that specify when the parent (with whom the children do not live with) is to have contact with the children.

• Specific issue orders – These are orders that relate to other matters concerning the welfare of the children (for example, medical treatment, schooling, etc).

Where there is a child custody dispute between parents, either party may apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to make parenting orders dealing with one or all of the issues above.

In the making of any child custody dispute orders, the Court must regard the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration. When the Court considers the best interests of the child/children, the court takes into account primary considerations and additional considerations.

The primary child support and custody dispute considerations that a court takes into account include:

• The benefit to the child of having a meaningful relationship with both parents; and

• The need to protect the child from physical or psychological harm.

• The views expressed by the child taking into account the child’s maturity and understanding

• The nature of the relationship of the child with the parents; and other persons (including grandparents)

• The effects of the proposed changes on the child’s circumstances including separation from parents; or any other child or person they have been living with

• The practicality and expense of communication and effect on relationships it may have

• The capacity of the parents and other persons to provide for the child’s needs

• The maturity, sex, lifestyle and background of the children and their parents

• The attitude of the parents to parenting

• Family violence & Family violence orders

• Orders that are likely to resolve issues rather than create further recourse to litigation

• Other factors the court deems relevant

If you or your partner wish to change the orders, then our child support and custody dispute lawyers can do so by agreement. If you can’t agree, and you want to change the orders, then you must satisfy the Court that a change in circumstances has occurred (since the parenting orders were made) which warrants the Court changing the orders.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia have processes for establishing and enforcing parenting orders. However, enforcement of those orders is discretionary and the discretion will be exercised with the best interests of the child as a starting point.

If a party breaches a parenting order, the other party can file a contravention application in the Court. The Court can then make orders, including for:

• punishment of the contravening party, for example by fines;

• consensual resolution through mediation, negotiation or counselling;

• make up time with the child/children; and

• variation of the original order.

It is important to note that whilst the aggrieved parent may want the Court to impose severe penalties for a breach, the Court will encourage the parties to negotiate an outcome to the dispute with a view to limit the parties’ and the child/rens’ continued exposure to the family court system and to encourage the parties to adopt a more child focused approach to dispute resolution.

Our expert property settlements lawyer can help you to negotiate the arguments of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia proceedings.

The Court will not intervene with the interests of the parties unless it considers it necessary to do so to restore just and equitable terms between the parties.

1. The Court must firstly identify the property of the marriage currently owned by the parties, jointly and separately. The property includes real estate, cash, investments, shares, furniture, motor vehicles, interest in any company, trust, partnership, business, etc.

After identifying all of the property, a value must then be placed on each item of property.

2. The Court examines and determines the financial and non-financial contributions made directly or indirectly by each partner towards the acquisition, conservation or improvement of any matrimonial property.

3. Finally the Court will examine a number of other matters listed under Section 75(2) of the Family Law Act relating to the future circumstances of both partners to the marriage.

The Court has very wide discretion in making adjustments as to how much property each partner should receive based upon “future circumstance” factors. After having considered all of the above matters, the Court then has a very wide discretion to make the order that it considers proper, just and equitable. For this reason, it is important for your property settlement lawyer to resolve as many issues as possible by agreement with your partner. This gives certainty to the sharing of property between the parties and keeps legal costs to a minimum.

Our lawyer can help you issue the property settlement in a number of ways:

• Binding financial agreement;

• Consent orders; or

• Court proceedings for Court orders.

There are no hard and fast rules for percentage divisions on property settlement, but the Team at Imperial Legal can advise on orders the Court will make in your particular matter. Where necessary, we can assist to negotiate property settlements or conduct Family Court proceedings.