A particularly vexed question in family law cases is whether a separated parent can relocate, taking the children with them. There is nothing illegal about a parent relocating with the children, if there are no current orders in place that would have the effect of preventing that occurring. However, if a parent unilaterally chooses to… Read More
If you have separated from your partner and are sorting out your property rights, does it matter if you are likely to one day receive an inheritance from, say, your mother, but she’s still alive? As a general rule the type of cases in which the anticipated inheritance would be relevant would be where Mum… Read More
I recently attended the Family Court in relation to a dispute between 2 parents over their two children. My client had been prevented from seeing his two children by his wife for some months. He was distraught. When I arrived at the Canberra Family Court I was greeted by a young solicitor from a leading… Read More
Under the Family Law Act, spouses (and this includes de facto spouses) have an obligation to financially support each other. This is called “spousal maintenance”, and normally takes the form of a weekly payment from one spouse to the other, unrelated to child support. In simple terms, the requirement turns on two factors, firstly, whether… Read More
A critical issue for separated partners to consider is whether they hold real estate with their partner as “joint tenants” or “tenants in common”. Do you know what the terms mean? And do you realize how important the distinction is? Hopefully this will help… If you have separated from your partner, it is very likely… Read More