The webinar for counsellors will tell how old does a child need to be before their wishes are heard? It also answers the most commonly asked question in Family Law: What are some of the common mythologies surrounding children’s wishes? How does children’s wishes fit into the legislative framework? How are children’s wishes captured [...]
Can a spouse be ordered by a court to make a cash payment out of their superannuation? As tempting as it may be in some circumstances, the answer is “no”, as a trial judge recently found out. The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act governs the operation of superannuation funds in Australia and provides specific and detailed [...]
When consent orders are signed by separated spouses, there is a legal requirement that both spouses provide ‘full and frank disclosure’ about their financial affairs. This means, not keeping any property information secret. If one spouse fails to fully disclose, and has suppressed evidence about their financial affairs, the consent order may be set aside [...]
It’s happened to Elon Musk and it happened to Richard Burton. Couples divorce and then remarry. It’s not uncommon. So what happens when a couple separates, they formally divide their property, but later they reconcile and resume their relationship again? The court has recently considered such a case. The Family Court recently considered a case [...]
The Family Court recently considered an Application from the mother of a 4-year-old child to vary the time arrangements for the child. The mother and father had previously signed consent orders that provided for the child to spend ‘equal time’ with both parents. The concerns the mother raised resulted in a reduction in the father’s [...]
The Family Court recently required a father who wanted to travel overseas with his son for 3 weeks to put up a bond of $200,000 before he could go. Find out why. When family law proceedings are ongoing before the court but no parenting orders have yet been made, it is an offence to take [...]
Every child and family is unique, but here is an example of the parenting arrangements the court recently put in place for a 3 year old. Background The child lived with the mother and was spending time each alternate weekend with his father (from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon). The father sought an overnight stay [...]
When deciding arrangements for a child, one of the considerations, is any views expressed by the child, taking into account the child’s maturity and level of understanding of the legal proceedings. A recent case has considered how much weight should be given to the wishes of a 13 year old. The Facts The couple had [...]
A divorce is the legal process of dissolving a marriage between a married couple. It is often confused with issues of property settlement and parenting but it is a separate process to both property settlement and parenting issues. So what do you need to do to get one. Requirements before applying for a divorce in [...]
This webinar for counsellors on client confidentiality is a crucial part of practising as a relationship counsellor and yet it is widely misunderstood. With the increasing role of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution, the provisions of the Family Law Act have come under increasing scrutiny. In recent time we have seen a [...]
