Family law expert Merridy Elphick has further cemented her reputation as one of the leading divorce lawyers in Newcastle by being named in the prestigious Doyle’s Guide for the second year in a row. Ms Elphick is one of six declared Recommended Family and Divorce Lawyers...
Normally parents have equal shared parental responsibility for their children, including the right to make decisions about the children's medical care. We are involved in an increasing number of cases where parents are unable to reach an agreement about vaccination issues for their children; and of...
Section 90SM of the Family Law Act gives the Family Court power to make property and financial Orders in a same sex or de facto relationships following a separation. The provisions are similar to the provisions applied to married couples and include the power to...
In October 2018, the Federal Parliament passed the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (Cth) which amended the provisions on time limits for de facto and unmarried same sex couples to file for property settlements. Whilst the situation has always been that married or...
Child Support is paid for the benefit of children. The amount of an individual Child Support obligation is generally determined by an administrative assessment made by the Child Support Agency. For some people rather than relying on the formula as applied by the Child Support Agency,...
The intervention of an Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL) is not an uncommon scenario in many Family Courts in Australia. During the course of a parenting matter, the safety and welfare of a child or children may highlight the need for investigation into particular allegations and...
Following the breakdown of a marriage, one or both of the parties may wish to apply for a Divorce. The Family Law Act sets out a number of requirements which must be met in order for the Court to grant a Divorce. Parties must be separated for...
The delicate balance between a child’s right to spend time with both parents and protecting them from any potential risk of harm is often attempted by way of Orders for the child’s time with a parent to be supervised. ‘Supervision’ is provided by an independent and...
It is a well-known principle that, in most circumstances, we are unable to access our superannuation entitlements until we have reached retirement age. Unfortunately, this position is not sufficient to protect superannuation interests during a property settlement. In many families, the super entitlements of one partner are...
Most of us are aware of allegations made by certain politicians regarding gender bias in the Family Courts. The Australian Institute of Family Studies has just released some interesting statistics regarding parenting arrangements post separation and they put paid to some of the more emotional and...
Merridy Elphick Lawyers is based in the central business district of Newcastle, NSW. With an excess of 40 years’ experience in all areas of family law, our team of professionals strive for excellence in our craft.
