Family Law - Considering Seperation? Here are your next steps

Date: March 31, 2010

Authors: Carol Grimshaw LL.M., B. Legal Studies, Adv. Dip. Bus.

Whether you are married or have been living in a domestic relationship, if you are considering separation you should also consider your family law obligations and entitlements before you finalise the decision to separate. At such a difficult and crucial stage in your life, it will be important for your transition to a new life to be as calm and smooth as possible. At LAC Lawyers, we pride ourselves on assisting you to make the right choices and take the best steps forward. This is why it is important that you talk with our family lawyer, Carol Grimshaw, to ensure you meet all modern Australian Family Law requirements.

When you first talk with Carol, insofar as is possible, she will wish to learn:

  • whether you have been living in your relationship for less than two years
  • whether you have communicated your concerns and/or intentions to your partner, or whether you feel unsafe to do so
  • whether you have engaged in family and/or relationship counselling
  • whether you have children, and if so:
    • their ages, health, developmental and educational needs
    • their current residence and care arrangements including any financial arrangements and/or orders made by a court or the Child Support Agency
    • the arrangements you intend for their future care, development and wellbeing
    • the potential attitude of any grandparent(s) toward the child’s future care, development and wellbeing and whether a grandparent or other interested party may intervene in any future court events
  • whether you have been the primary domestic carer in the relationship
  • whether you or your partner contributed either financially (or otherwise) to the maintenance and/or improvement of each other’s income earning capacity, financial and educational standing
  • whether you have other financial and/or welfare responsibilities for dependents and if so:
    • their relationship to you
    • your degree of responsibility for that person
    • whether court orders are in place and if so which orders, and
    • the current and future anticipated cost of those responsibilities
  • whether you entered a financial agreement with your spouse/partner, either before the relationship or during, and if you have a copy of the agreement and/or any subsequent variation to that agreement including through a court order
  • the real and personal assets of the partnership prior to the relationship and:
    • what portion of those assets were your sole property
    • your financial and other contributions to the maintenance and improvement of pre-relationship assets
  • the real and personal assets of the partnership acquired and/or disposed of during the relationship and:
    • what portion of those assets were your ‘sole’ property
    • your financial and other contributions to the maintenance and improvement of the relationship assets
    • if disposed of during the relationship, why, when, to whom, for what value and whether you benefitted from the sale
  • you and (if possible) your partner’s superannuation details
  • whether you and/or your partner are named in a will or have received an inheritance
  • if you have received an inheritance, when, the value and what financial and/or other contribution it made to the relationship
  • whether the relationship has created and/or used other legal entities such as a company, family trust, business partnership or other business structure and if so:
    • the nature of the business and the role of any third parties to the business
    • the assets and liabilities of the business including whether the business is or intends to be involved in litigation
    • the actual earnings to date and anticipated earnings of the business
    • your role in the business including whether you are a named company officer or have exercised care and control over the day to day running of the business and/or made major decisions for the business
    • your intentions for the future operation of the business and your degree of involvement (if any), and
  • the liabilities/debts of the relationship including all mortgages, credit cards, store cards, personal loans, lines of credit etc.

Carol will also discuss LAC Lawyers’ approach to implementing family law’s overriding principles of prompt, fair and negotiated dispute resolution and the need to place the care of any children of the relationship at the front of all negotiations. We look forward to working with you to achieve a fair and reasonable outcome for all of your family law needs.

We also welcome your enquiries regarding any of the above matters, whether your relationship is ongoing, separation is pending or has occurred, a divorce has commenced or been finalised or existing court orders are in place.

We take this opportunity to thank you for considering LAC Lawyers and placing your trust and best interests in our hands.

Contact us now for Fast, Accurate and Timely legal advice

Phone LAC Lawyers on NSW 1300 799 888 or VIC 1300 734 638 or send us an email 

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