Christmas is meant to be a time for festive cheer, mulled wine (although perhaps not in 40 degrees!), celebrations and good old fashioned family time. However, for many separated parents, Christmas is a time for arguments, when they find themselves fighting over who gets the children on Christmas Eve, or Christmas morning, or both!

As Family Lawyers, we see this far too often and sadly, we also see it far too late. The Family Court has a cut-off date for Christmas contact applications (usually mid-November), and unfortunately, that date has now passed.

Hopefully, you have been keeping up to date with our previous blogs in relation to Family Violence Restraining Orders (“FVRO”).

If not, you can easily access them by clicking here.

This blog will be focused on FVRO’s and how they can affect financial issues.

As a firm specialising in family law and wills and estate matters, we see the impact that separation, death and family disputes have on people of all walks of life, every day. There is a known link between serious life events such as these, having a substantial impact on personal wellbeing, often for prolonged periods of time.

These issues permeate our society and today, we would like to remind our clients and our wider network that it is okay to talk, and there are always avenues and people who are willing and able to help you.

The Scenarios….what might happen and how do I deal with it?

There is an overlap with Family Law and Criminal Law in the form of Family Violence Restraining Orders (“FVRO”). At Butlers, we are able to assist you with obtaining an FVRO or can represent you, if you are the person receiving the FVRO. Over the next four blogs we outline some of the common scenarios faced by people who obtain or receive an FVRO.

Part 1 - Criminal Law and Family Law Intersection

The neighbour next door is divorcing his wife.

Part 2 - Restraining Orders and Children’s Issues

So, you can no longer see your children, because you are subject to a Family Violence Restraining Order (“FVRO”) that extends to, and protects, your children.  What are your options?

There is an exception allowing you to live with, spend time with, or communicate with your children, as long as there are Family Court Orders in place, allowing you to do this.

When love hurts...

I’m a glass half full kind of guy. I like to think that we live in a world where for the most part people are decent.

Now, you don’t have to be a sports fan like myself to know the trouble the National Football League is facing in light of the recent Ray Rice domestic violence incident. The video footage released by TMZ showed the Baltimore Raven’s star running back strike his then fiancé, Janay Palmer, with a left hook which led to her head being bounced off an elevator rail. It was enough to make anyone feel absolutely sick to their stomach.

“Are you not entertained?”- Why family violence is currently front page material for all the wrong reasons

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bit of a cliché when it comes to being a redhead with a temper. The issue that has recently attracted my ire is that of the deranged chef in Queensland who brutally murdered and then ATE his partner. To say this crime is horrific is an understatement. However, what is more horrific is the front page of Queensland’s own Courier Mail in response to the crime. The front page showed a picture of the victim wearing a bikini and in a provocative pose, with the headline “Monster Chef and the She Male”.

The fact that Ms Prasetyo was a trans-gender female and an escort is irrelevant. That the media has spun the story to put those two facts front and centre reeks of victim-shaming. Honestly, it’s 2014 and we are still perpetuating the “she had it coming” defense?  She was a real person, with a family and a life, and that life was taken away from her by the man that she was married to. By the way, her Mother has told reporters that she worked as an escort to support her family and put her little sisters through school- you don’t see that in any headlines do you?