Australia is a signatory to the UN’s Hague Convention on the Rights of the Child. Both the Convention and the Family Law Act recognise the benefits of children maintaining a meaningful relationship with both parents. However, what happens when post separation one of the parents wishes...
In property proceedings the Court can only deal with the property that exists at the time of hearing - in other words the Court does not have the power to order a settlement out of property that does not yet belong to one of the...
Establishing whether a de facto relationship exists between two parties can be quite complex as a “de facto relationship” as defined by the law goes beyond a ‘romantic relationship’ or a couple sharing a place of residence. There are a number of cases that set out...
The effects of domestic violence on a party to a relationship can include psychological trauma, physical health problems and financial hardship. As a consequence, it is often more arduous for victims of domestic violence to make contributions to the relationship. For example, a victim of...
Clients who have recently experienced the breakdown of a relationship are commonly concerned regarding the rights their former partner or spouse may have against their Estate. Following separation, it is important to consider making a new Will appointing a new Executor and clearly setting out how...
Published in 'The Australian' July 17, written by Rick Obrien. The disgraceful neglect by governments, on both sides of politics, of the resourcing needs of the family courts is nothing new. The Family Court has been running at a deficit, the Family Court of Western Australia still has the same number of Judges as...
Originally Published in the Sydney Morning Herald October 14 2014. A man has lost his legal bid for a share of his ex-wife's $6 million lotto win after an appeal court found the ticket was bought when the pair were leading separate lives. In the second round...
Originally Published in the Sydney Morning Herald October 12 2014. A Sydney man has tried to have a female Supreme Court judge disqualify herself from hearing a matter because he suspected she was a "feminist with leftist leanings". Serial litigant Tosson Mahmoud argued that his views about...
The Law Council of Australia has called on the Government to release the KPMG report into the funding of the Federal Courts for public comment. The Government witnessed the KPMG report presentation in March, but its contents have not been made public until a report in...
The cost of divorce for many wealthy couples will rise under a Tax Office ruling that imposes much bigger bills on property settlements. Tax and legal experts said the ruling reversed existing administrative practice and means the value of some settlements could be reduced by almost...
