Separation from a spouse or partner is one of the most stressful situations a person can go through. When you have children, you have the added pressure of functioning as a parent in the midst of your grief, loss or anger surrounding the breakdown of your relationship.
We understand that separating from your partner is hard. Even if it is an amicable separation, the process is difficult and can be very stressful. When you have children, you have the added pressure of trying to function as a parent in the midst of your grief, loss or anger surrounding the breakdown of your relationship.
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.
If you have been separated from your spouse for over 12 months, you may be considering whether or not to apply for a Divorce. There are a number of factors you need to consider before applying for a Divorce, but one thing people usually do not consider is the actual cost to file a Divorce Application.
In today’s economy, it is has become increasingly common for parents to financially help their children, especially when it comes to buying their first home.
Parents may loan the money, gift the money, or act as guarantor. While most parents want to help their children as much as possible, this can raise a variety of issues.
In our previous article ‘Who is a Parent??’ we touched on the importance of being a ‘parent’ under Australian Law, and the legal consequences associated with paternity.
You might then find it strange to learn that when applying for Parenting Orders at Court, you do not have to be a parent. In fact, you don’t even have to be a relative. Parenting Orders can cover all aspects of the care and welfare arrangements for a child and are not just limited to who a child lives with and spends time with.
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.
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.
It's true that any communication between you and your lawyer is confidential. It cannot be divulged, discussed or provided to other people or the Courts. This concept is known as Legal Professional Privilege or for the sake of this blog, LPP. It's the backbone of the honest relationship a lawyer and their client must have at all times. But did you know LPP can be waived or lost? Did you know that your former-wife, husband or partner may be able to access the entirety of your Family Law file once you die? Here’s how and, more importantly, how to prevent it.
It is a common scenario here in Western Australia to hear of two parents from different continents. It’s likely you all know someone, or someone who knows someone from England, Ireland or Scotland who has moved over, settled down with an Australian and had a couple of kids. Let’s face it for a while there us pommes were taking over.
However, what happens when things go wrong and one parent decides to move home, with the child?
Deadline - Orders regarding children’s living arrangements for Christmas
For most every family, Christmas is a happy but also stressful time. Whether it is ensuring there are no gift double-ups, Santa’s true identity remains undiscovered, or that there are no pistachios in the salad as Aunty Laura’s allergic, chaos is a part and parcel of the end of the year.
When mum and dad are no longer together the co-ordination and logistics are even more challenging. And that’s when they are getting along.
When parents are embroiled in a Family Court dispute Christmas, New Year’s Eve and that lengthy summer school holiday period are often an issue which cannot be resolved by discussion alone.
Because so many estranged couples seek the assistance of the Court to determine how their children will celebrate the holidays and spend their school break the Court has strict rules regarding such applications. This year all applications seeking orders regarding children’s living arrangements for the 2016/2017 Christmas school holiday period must be filed before 4pm on Friday 11 November 2016.
The Family Law Team at Butlers are experienced in preparing and filing such applications and ready to help. Don’t leave it too late, contact us now!
Leaving on a jet plane….don’t know if they’ll be back again…..
The notion of a stranger dragging your child from you off the street is a scary thought for any parent; but what if the person taking your child is their mother or father? Many separated parents wouldn’t ever consider the idea that their former spouse would take their child and leave the country; sadly this isn’t the case for all and many parents live in fear of this exact thing happening every day. I cannot count the number of times I have had to rush down to Court on a Friday afternoon to get an Injunction preventing a parent from removing a child from the country……it’s a lot.
A relationship breakdown is one of the most traumatic things you’ll ever have to deal with in your life. Life as you know it is tossed completely upside down, and not only do you have to grieve the loss of the relationship, but you probably have to move, open new bank accounts, learn where everything is in a new supermarket, and sometimes even stop seeing some of your friends because your former partner got them in the split. While you’re sorting through 3 years’ worth of bank statements and trying to get your ex to agree that the kids can stay with you until 2.00pm on Christmas Day instead of 1.00pm, it might not feel like there’s much time to get your head around anything else.
One of the most frequently asked questions by people who have ever filed anything at the Family Court is ‘what’s the hold up?’.
The Family Court process is a slow one, and there are delays across the board - from the ‘simpler’ matters such as divorces, to litigated matters that are heading towards a trial. Divorce hearings currently have a wait-time of about three months. Similarly, it is not uncommon for litigated matters to run for 18 months to 2 years before the trial itself. Tack on another 6 months for the decision to be handed down once the trial has been completed, and you can understand the frustration, with people often feeling like their lives are ‘on hold’ pending the final outcome.
So, what’s the hold up?
One Day…Every Day
By the time this blog has been posted “on the line” (thank you Vince Vaughan) the 25th of November will have well and truly been gone.
Why is that day so important you ask? It’s White Ribbon Day, the National Day to stop Men’s Violence against Women.
You know, when I sit back and think about this I’m almost dumbfounded. We’re about to roll into 2016 and Domestic Violence amongst both women and men continues to be an issue. Let’s see, we’ve legalised gay marriage in some countries, equal pay for men and women is being championed by many, women are being considered (and are given) jobs which were only once reserved for men, and for God’s sake they have even legalised marijuana in 2 states in America.
You’ve got an opinion? Are you sure about that?
Are you an expert?
If I had a dollar for every time that someone told us here at Butlers, “I think my ex has bi-polar” or “He definitely has narcissistic tendencies. I Googled it and he absolutely fits the description” or “I am telling you, she has OCD. I am sure of it. She just hasn’t been diagnosed yet” or something along those lines, I probably wouldn’t need to be working so much.
Let’s get digital
Today, I went onto a social media website, and saw a photo I just had to share. I took a screen cap of the photo, and texted it straight on to a friend.
Sound familiar?
The technology that’s become a magical part of our daily routines didn’t even register in Marty McFly’s wildest dreams. If you had told the pre-teen me that one day I’d be able to take a photo, view it, and share it with 500-odd “friends” all within about two and a half minutes, or that I could spend my days doing nothing but watching videos of cats on my phone, I probably would’ve laughed in your face – and not just because I don’t think anyone actually has 500 friends. But, somehow, this is exactly the crazy world in which we live.
“Everything is divided 50/50, right?”
If I had a penny for every time that question was asked, or if that statement was true, I probably wouldn’t be working. Where did this myth start and why is it still floating around? Is it something that is just assumed by virtue of being in a couple?
Anyway, FYI the answer is NO; and neither is 50/50 the starting point.
Unfortunately, it appears this guy understood this common myth to be gospel and literally divided everything in half before obtaining some family law advice:
Lucky there weren’t any kids involved.
Mediate! How? I don’t trust the Bastard!!!
Mediation is not about trust but more about understanding betrayal.
Relationships, whether it be in our personal life or our employment and business activities; when it all goes south, how do we approach resolution when we are feeling so hurt and vengeful? How can we get what we consider to be a just result in the circumstances?
Emotional stress erodes our being until we self-doubt and our self-respect seems to be travelling on a different bus. Some of us urge Karma to find the solution. Some bargain with God and/or a less pure entity, but at the end of the day we want it over: EXCISED FROM OUR LIVES; BUT HOW?
(c) 2020 Butlers Lawyers & Notaries
