Non-legal ways in dealing with a relationship break-up It is a sad fact of life that over the Christmas holiday period there is a more than usual number of relationship breakups.  I do not know the reason for this, but it is a fact of life, something I see year in year out.  This raises […]

When Are You in a De Facto Relationship? This is a question we sometimes get asked, usually in relation to concerns by a client as to whether their new partner would have a property claim against them. For the purposes of the Family Law Act, two people (whether of the same or opposite sex) are […]

Family Law Property Settlement What Happens if One Party Wins Lotto After Separation? In a recent US case Richard Zelasko who won $30 million in a US lotto draw after being separated from his wife was ordered to pay half of his winnings to his wife because the Court found that the ticket was purchased […]

Can smacking a child be sufficient grounds to enable the other parent to apply to the Court for the care of the children to be transferred to him? In Cao (2018) FAMCA 252 the father of two children aged 8 and 4, filed an urgent interim application for a change of residence to him, his […]

Many people believe that the Family Court will have regard to a child’s wishes regarding their choice of who they live with and/or where they live. This is only part of the story. Section 60CA of the Family Law Act provides that in deciding what orders the court will make in relation to a child […]

If it has been decided or agreed by the parents that they will both continue to have parental responsibility for a child, to spend time with that child will require a degree of co-parenting.  Ideally, co-parenting looks lijke: