Family Law
For Better or For Worse

Two things are abundantly clear in Family Law proceedings:-

1. getting a grasp on the principles is like trying to get a grasp on a bowl of jelly;
you'll never fully comprehend what a minefield this area of the law really is.

Talk about going where even angels fear to tread! Sorry, there are two more things that are sure certainties:-

2. there will be a considerable increase in the stress or distress you are already experiencing; the experience is going to cost you heaps.

This lawyer has been practicing Family Law for over 31 years - since when it was called matrimonial causes. I've done all the usual cases numerous times - divorce, property settlements, residency (custody), contact (access) and restraining orders. Property Orders sometimes involve adjournments until payment of superannuation - done it! Sometimes spousal maintenance - that to! I did child maintenance under the Maintenance Act 1949 (Qld), then under the Family Law Act 1975 and now under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 for children under 18 years of age and the Family Law Act 1975 for adult children. Appeals? Been there! Residency and contact sometimes result in Contravention Orders, Relocation Orders and Contempt - done them!
I have been there for the numerous evolutionary changes to the law: the simplification procedures, the case management, the mediation.

What all of this means in the practice of Family Law today is not only just a knowledge of the law but an understanding of it: an ability to identify the core issues and the likelihood of your ability to prove relevant facts rather than just peripheral unimportant matters (the ones more likely to be gnawing at you); an ability to assess your prospects of success; an ability to discuss the result and the money you will spend trying to achieve it; an ability to recommend a compromise which would minimise stress and expenditure.

The other thing I know about matrimonial disputes is that it takes two to tango. Be prepared for the possibility that no matter how compromising you may be, how much you may bend, how much you may give, sometimes there is no avoiding the long hard haul. Remember those words "for better or for worse".

Perhaps I can help you with the legalities should you be one of the 50% who are confronted with the Family Law.