Family Law

Attendance at a mediation is a totally different position than the attendance at a court hearing.  You as a participant are part of the decision making process.  In court the decision making is [...]

When court applications are allowed Parties need to take care when commencing an application to court. The critical question is whether the parties fall within the provisions of the family law [...]

Key question before the court The court considered how long a payer must continue paying spousal maintenance and in what circumstances payments should stop or reduce in Bodily & Hand (2019) [...]

Overview of de facto separation time limits Australia De facto separation time limits Australia rules set strict deadlines for bringing property or financial claims after a relationship ends. [...]

Overview of bankruptcy property transfer rules A bankruptcy property transfer occurs when a person moves ownership of an asset before entering bankruptcy. This often involves property such as the [...]

What Happens When a Partner Becomes Bankrupt? When your partner is declared bankrupt, a Trustee is appointed by the court. The Trustee takes control of your partner’s assets. The Trustee then [...]

Trust Property and Ownership in Family Law Appearances can be deceptive when it comes to ownership. Control of property does not always mean legal ownership. What is property under the Family Law [...]

So how does a court take into account allegations of violence? Does the court make any adjustment in favour of the party who has suffered from the alleged violence? In 1997 the case of Kennon v [...]

Harris & Dewell (2018): Family Law and Unit Trust Assets The 2018 case of Harris & Dewell considered whether a husband in family law proceedings had any entitlement to assets held in a [...]

In 1981 the High Court of Australia considered the treatment of trust in the case of Ascot Investments Pty Ltd v Harper.  The Court said quite clearly that the broad definition of discretionary [...]