Once a parenting application has been filed with the Court (even if no Orders have yet been made) or while a Parenting Order is in force, it is a criminal offence to take a child outside of Australia except with the written (and properly witnessed) consent of the other parent allowing the travel. The maximum [...]
The account holder of a smartphone is able to access a lot of information from the metadata on the smartphone. This can include current location, caller details, internet history and possibly email communication and account details. People who have separated should seriously consider: Checking who owns the phone account. Removing any other ID access from [...]
You would be aware that some big changes were made to the law on Surrogacy in Queensland in 2010. Previous position Surrogacy arrangements in Queensland have historically been illegal. The Surrogate Parenthood Act 1988 (Qld) governed arrangements for both altruistic and commercial surrogacy. That Act provided that a person had committed an offence if they [...]
When a court is considering what parenting orders to make, the court must make orders in the child’s 'best interest'. One of the ‘best interest’ factors under the Family Law Actincludes the right to enjoy his or her culture. A recent case has considered this. The Facts: The children were 13, 11 and 7 at [...]
Children react differently to their parent's separating, depending on the children's age. Here are some of the different needs that have been identified for children of different age groups: Infants: Predictability Time with parents who nurture them Parents who play with them, listen carefully to their efforts to communicate and keep them safe Visiting schedules [...]
Here are some explanations of common Family Law terms: Affidavit: a written statement by a party or witness, it is the main way of presenting the facts by a person in court. Consent Order: an Order approving an agreement between parties in financial matters and/or parenting matters. Contravention: when a court finds [...]
In court cases parties may issue subpoenas to people who are not involved in the case to produce documents relevant to the case to the court. When a subpoena is issued to a third party that person may be put to trouble in searching for and gathering together the documents and providing them to the [...]
In 2011 a law was passed by the Queensland Parliament which allowed couples, including same gender couples to enter into a civil partnership and hold a civil ceremony. The legislation was amended by the Newman government in 2012 to remove the ability for a couple to hold a civil ceremony only allowing the parties to formally [...]
If a parent (or child) can't be located and a court application has been filed the Family Court has the power to make orders which direct government departments (i.e. Centrelink and the Child Support Agency) to provide the court with location information. This is called a 'location order'. Naturally, in a world of domestic violence [...]
Under the Family Law Act superannuation is treated as property and is able to be divided in a property settlement. Superannuation can either be retained by the member spouse or split between both spouses. A request for information on a member spouse’s superannuation interest can be made by either spouse. The person requesting the information [...]
