New Court Scheme to Protect Victims of Family Violence

In a positive step towards protecting victims of family violence, a perpetrator of family violence is now not allowed to personally cross-examine a victim of family violence in the Family Court. Cross-examination is a process that takes place during a hearing in the...

What a Will Kit doesn’t do

There are various ‘Will Kits’ available on-line – most are cheap or ‘free’ and all you need to do is download them and fill in the blanks. Many websites boast that you can prepare your Will ‘without spending hundreds of dollars on legal fees’. Simple, right? Not...

How to deal with an unfair Will

In this article we talk about dealing with an unfair Will. We are not considering the validity of a Will or being left out of a Will entirely – rather that the distributions made to one or more beneficiaries might be considered to be unreasonable in the...

Dying intestate – the perils of not making a Will

A valid Will determines how your estate is dealt with after you die. Your Will can appoint an appropriate family member or trusted friend to administer your estate (your executor), nominate guardians for young children, determine who will receive your assets and give...
Is a Sperm Donor a Parent According to the Family Court?

Is a Sperm Donor a Parent According to the Family Court?

The important question about sperm donorship and who is a parent has been addressed by the High Court recently when it handed down one of the most eagerly awaited decisions in family law. The Court was faced with a question of whether the biological mother and her...
Who Keeps The Ring?

Who Keeps The Ring?

Are Engagement Rings Conditional Gifts? For a long time, there has been a fairly standard rule in Australia that an engagement ring is considered a “conditional gift”, meaning that the man gave the woman a ring upon the condition that they become husband and wife....