Children’s care arrangements following separation

Following a separation, parents do not have to go to court about the care arrangements for their children. As a matter of principle, we encourage our clients to reach an agreement if possible without the need to resort to the Family Law courts. One advantage in...

Making a Will if capacity is in question

It is well known that a Will is a legal document which sets out how a person wants their assets to be distributed once they die. If you are over the age of 18 you can make a Will – provided you have capacity. In general terms a person will have the necessary...

The perils of representing yourself in the Family Court

The Family Court of Australia was one of the first courts to recognise self-represented litigants as a permanent and significant client group. Research indicates that 20 to 30 per cent of Family Court cases involve a party who is self-represented at some point. It is...

Testamentary Trusts

Testamentary trusts can be very effective estate planning tools to assist in providing for spouses, children and grandchildren, and are becoming increasingly popular as more people become aware of their advantages. A Testamentary Trust is any trust established under a...

Saving your rights to see your grandchildren

If you are a grandparent and face the sad circumstance of a break up in your family group, through separation or unforeseen events, you may be worried about your right to continue seeing much-loved grandchildren. Unfortunately, some grandparents only see their...