Borders are re-opening both within Australia and around the world, and many families are looking forward to being reunited. However, as borders open up, there’s also a risk of an increase in international child abduction cases. So what can be done? International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA) happens where one parent takes a child, or [...]
Not complying with court ordered parenting arrangements can have severe consequences, including jail time. Be aware of what could happen. The court generally doesn’t look at applications that are considered “petty or unwarranted”, for example a minor or trivial breach of parenting orders, or if there’s a reasonable excuse for the breach. However, there [...]
DNA testing, or parentage testing, is a medical test which can determine who is the biological parent of a child. How does it work? And is it reliable? The usual method of carrying out the test is with a swab of cells taken from the inside cheek of each of the people involved. While [...]
Property settlements are difficult to calculate at the best of times, but what happens when one spouse has received a large personal injury payment? In cases like this, there’s more than finances to take into consideration, but also the impact on the family in regards to care needs and stress. Courts look at a [...]
Sadly, one of the first casualties in any break- up is communication. The old “I just can’t talk to him/her anymore” is fairly common. But keeping up that line of communication is vitally important for families, particularly for children. So, if you really can’t stand your ex but have to continue communicating, what are [...]
We are proud to announce that ‘Michael Lynch Family Lawyers’ has been recognised in the latest Doyle’s Guide for 2022, as a Leading Family & Divorce Law Firm in Brisbane. Doyle’s Guide is a prestigious and independent organisation that ranks individual lawyers and law firms based on extensive research and various sources of information. These include: online [...]
Michael Lynch Family Lawyers are proud to announce that Tarah Tosh, one of our Directors and a Family Law Accredited Specialist, has been listed once again in the latest Doyle’s Family & Divorce Lawyers list for 2022 as a Leading Family Lawyer in Brisbane in ‘Parenting and Child Matters’. Well, done, Tarah! Doyle’s Guide [...]
The divorcing client needs to be careful of divesting themselves of property and thinking that doing so will remove it from the joint property pool. It won't. What is property? The Family Court is a unique legal environment, particularly when it comes to determining a property division. The Family Law Act has a very [...]
A common question we get regarding property division is ‘if I had it to start with, can’t I just keep it?’ Whether you have a lot or a little, the short answer is that those ‘initial contributions’ are rarely excluded from the property pool. Let’s explain... What is property? The definition of ‘property’ in [...]
Some days there’s nothing better than coming home to an enthusiastic welcome from the dog, or the purring contentment of the cat. But what happens to the family pet in a divorce? Who gets custody of Fido or Kitty? Under Australian law, pets are considered property and can be dealt with the same as [...]
