With more than 40% of marriages failing and an observed shift from nuclear families to blended families, an interesting issue is whether step-parents should be obliged to pay maintenance for their spouse's children. The law relevant to this issue is contained in Division 7 of Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975. This [...]
When determining each party’s entitlements in a property settlement, it is necessary to not only ascertain the value of the property 'pool' but also the appropriate percentage split. The 'percentage split" is determined by considering the "contributions" made by each spouse to the acquisition, conservation or improvement of their property. This includes contributions which [...]
The question often arises as to whether there are any obligations on a primary carer parent, under a court order, to encourage a child to see the other parent? The area is problematic and usually case specific, but the general answer is “Yes”. The law provides that there is a positive obligation on primary [...]
The process for determining a property settlement usually involves "pooling" all the property, valuing it and then dividing it as an overall pool (this is called the "global approach"). However, it is open to the court to consider the contribution each party has made with respect to each item of property. This alternative option [...]
The length of time that spouse maintenance payments are provided for usually depends upon the time required for the lower income earner to re-train and re-establish themselves into paid employment. Consequently, the length of time is usually not very long. In a recent case, the trial judge limited the wife’s entitlement to spouse maintenance [...]
In a recent case the court had to decide what weight to give to a husband in a property settlement for an inheritance he had received from his mother’s estate. Facts: Both husband and wife were 64 years of age at the time of the trial and they had been married for 38 years. [...]
In a property division under the Family Law Act each spouse has a duty to make 'full and frank disclosure' of all documents relevant to the case within their "possession or control". A recent case has considered whether a husband failed to disclose Trust documents when he was only a beneficiary to a discretionary [...]
For a married couple time runs out for bringing an application for property settlement to the court 12 months after a divorce order has been made. (For defacto couples it is 2 years after the date of separation). If you miss this deadline you are in trouble as you can only then proceed with [...]
A spouse may have a right to obtain maintenance from the other spouse if at separation there is an income difference. The additional requirement is that the low income earner must be unable to meet their reasonable financial needs and the high income earner must have the financial 'capacity' to provide assistance. Although there is an obligation on the [...]
Most people are familiar with the basic orders that can be made by a Magistrate Court in Domestic Violence matters. The two main types being a Protection Order or a Temporary Protection Order. It is also open to a court, however, to impose a further order on a Respondent – a “Voluntary Intervention Order”. [...]
