Separating and choosing a Lawyer – the benefits of seeing an Accredited Specialist in Family Law
When parties separate, one or both parties may seek legal advice. A natural and common concern is which lawyer a person should see. Lawyers have varying levels of experience and with the varying levels of experience come different levels of costs. This gives rise to another common concern, being the amount of legal fees a person is going to spend.
The idea of going to Court often creates a sense of dread for people who have separated from their partners. It is important to know that Court is not the only way to resolve your matter with your former partner. In fact, before a person can file proceedings with the Court, a person must usually engage in a process to try and minimise the need to attend court. These actions are known as “pre-action procedures”.
Vaccination is a divisive topic. When parents separate and can’t agree when a child should be vaccinated or not, this can become an even bigger issue.
As with any dispute surrounding arrangements for children, the ‘best interests of the child’ is the paramount consideration. If the dispute surrounds whether or not to vaccinate a child, then each party must provide evidence supporting why their position is in the best interests of the child.
Separation and divorce – cue conflict.
What if we told you that your relationship breakdown doesn’t have to be that way?
How, you ask? Collaboration.
Separating from a husband, wife or partner is often one of the most difficult times in a person’s life. Separation can cause heightened emotions in one or both of the parties and unfortunately sometimes this can cause people to vent those emotions across social media, email and text with their former partner.
It is important to keep in mind that once something is on the Internet, it often leaves a digital footprint and can be hard to erase. Social media platforms are most often public and accessed easily and screenshots are easy to take. This means that emotive responses can be used against a person in family law proceedings.
A marriage or relationship breakdown is often one life’s most challenging events. It’s the start of a new chapter that often brings much uncertainty. It is also often layered with inaccurate statements and complexity.
With so much uncertainty, we’d like to set the record straight on some common Family Law misconceptions:
Parting ways from your partner can be extremely difficult particularly in the early days of separation. As a family lawyer, it is not our role to advocate for divorce or separation, we are simply here to assist you to manage the end of your relationship.
We understand it is a challenging time so it’s important to consider our recommendations:
We assist people daily in relation to the breakdown of their relationships. In a Family Law dispute there is a requirement by each party to make full and frank disclosure of all relevant information once they have separated to assist in the negotiation of their Family Law matter. The process is known as “discovery” and it allows each party to discover information from the other side that may be important to the case.
Throughout the years, discovery has included the provision of financial documents such as tax returns, bank statements, credit card information and valuations in relation to the value of assets.
For most families, their pets, being a dog, cat, fish, or bird are intricate members of the family. So what happens to Spot or Crookshanks when parties separate?
The Australia Veterinary Association estimates 63% of Australians have a pet. Dogs are the most common pet (39%) and there are estimated to be 4.2 million pet dogs in Australia alone. So what happens when a couple separate and a decision needs to be made in relation to their beloved pet?
In recent times there has been an increased awareness about domestic and family violence and its prevalence within our society.
With an ambassador like Rosie Batty there is a greater awareness that domestic and family violence goes beyond physical violence and encompasses many types of behaviour.