The Divorce Collective

On today’s podcast our Senior Associate Dannielle Young will go through the importance of business valuations and discuss in detail the crucial role they play in family law matters to ensure the fair and equitable division of assets.    Business valuations provide an objective assessment of the worth of a business, ensuring that all parties involved in the family law proceedings have a clear under...

Often we see people following separation who have no idea of their financial position. Sometimes their former partner might have handled the finances for the family, sometimes there were aspects of financial abuse at play, sometimes the client left the property without their documents. There can be a number of reasons, but on this week's episode of The Divorce Collective Podcast, our Senior A...

Today on the Divorce Collective podcast our Senior Associate Dannielle Young will take you through the 3rd podcast in our contravention series which considers the penalties for contravening a Court Order. Before you file a contravention podcast you need to think about the result you actually want. If a contravention has been found by the Court then there is an array of consequences that can be imp...

Welcome back for Part 2 of our contravention podcast. On today's podcast our Senior Associate Dannielle Young will continue to take you through what a contravention is, in particular, Dannielle will discuss reasonable excuses for a contravention of a Court Order.  When an Order is made in a parenting matter the Court expects you to uphold your obligation as a parent to facilitate and encourag...

What is a contravention and how do you apply? On today's podcast our Senior Associate Dannielle Young will discuss what contraventions are and how you can apply.  When a person is not complying with an Order of the Court they are breaching the Orders -  this is also known to be a contravention.  The Court expects that all parties comply with the Orders of the Court. If an Order of the Court i...

Have you ever wondered what actually happens at a final hearing of a matter? On today's podcast our Senior Associate Dannielle Young will provide you with some tips and a general overview of the process of a final hearing in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.  If a matter is ready to proceed to a final hearing, the Court will allocate a final hearing date and set aside the amo...

What is birdnesting and can it be implemented in parenting arrangements post separation? On today’s podcast our Senior Associate Dannielle Young will explain the parenting arrangement of ‘birdnesting’ and discuss some advantages and disadvantages of this arrangement.   Birdnesting is the term given to the arrangement where children remain in the family home post separation and the parents take tur...

So last week I talked about the benefits of formalising your property settlement matters. One of the ways you can do that is entering into a Binding Financial Agreement (or BFA for short) after the relationship breaks down. While a lot of times we use Consent Orders, there are some matters where a BFA following separation might be appropriate.  While BFA’s can be entered post separation as a way t...

We get asked by clients who come to see us “do I need to formalise property settlement”?  Well the strict answer is no, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to and you are not required to formalise the property arrangements.  BUT word of warning… there will be dangers, risks and ramifications if you don’t.  So get advice, always get advice! So, here are a few reasons why we recommend that...

Separation is a devastating time. Even if you are the one instigating the separation. Join our  Senior Associate Dannielle Young, as she discusses the best tips to protect your mental health during a separation. We have all heard of the stages of separation (or maybe some of you haven’t), and they  usually are labelled (there may be different names or versions or stages, but generally): ● Shock an...

Family law can be very complex in Australia and even more so when in comes to the Court process. It can be very confusing, especially when it comes to making applications to Court for your family law process.  The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) is the same for the majority of Australia. Being a family law firm based in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, we usually file applicatio...

Let's start at the end…. You have finalised your family law matter after a long and hard road of negotiations and for some clients, the feeling of regret can creep in.   Regret around the money you've spent on legal fees to get the result that you received, the regret of time that has been wasted in combat, regret about the way you may have acted, and most importantly the quality time yo...

There can be many different types of people, services and roles that you may come across when you are going through a family law matter in Australia.  Unless you are a lawyer or even a family lawyer, it can be difficult to understand who you need on your family law team to get the outcome that you want when it comes to your separation or divorce.  It is confusing!  Your legal team may have some or...

Have a letter asking you to hand over personal documents for a property settlement matter?  What is that all about and do you need to provide them? The short answer is – yes! The exchanging of documents in a property settlement matter is known as Disclosure.  There is a duty and an obligation on parties in a property settlement dispute to make full and frank disclosure of information and documents...

Did you know that there is a list in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia specifically designed for pools where the net worth is $500,000 or under?  The list is known as the Priority Property Pool List or PPP500 and it is designed (as is the rest of the system) to achieve a just, efficient and timely resolution of cases.   To be eligible into this special list of cases the following w...

In June 2022 the FCFCoA rolled out what they have termed a Critical Incident List.  The Critical Incident List specifically designed for matters where there is no available parent to care for a child due to death (including homicide), critical injury or incarceration due to family violence and where Orders are required so that appropriate arrangements can be made. The list is a National list and i...

Animals are sadly abused, beaten or tortured by abusive partners as a way to frighten their victims and as a way to control them. A lot of victims fleeing violence are forced to make difficult decisions and leave their much-loved pet members of the family behind.  How sad is that when often, family pets are the ones who can bring comfort or when horribly the pets are also treated poorly by the abu...

Let's talk about YOU and the amazing adventures you will have post-separation. Separation can be challenging, and it may feel like your entire future has been ripped away from you, which is not the case! Making plans and having new adventures is a great way to move forward in the next stage of your life.  So how can you have an incredible future post-separation?  Whether it be a new hobby, a...

Today on the podcast Caralee follows on from last week's podcast ‘Clarity is what you need’ You have now gained Clarity and you wish to proceed with your Family Law Matter.  Although, you may not have the finances readily available to proceed. This is where Legal funding comes in. It is a great way to help you have legal justice and move forward.  Legal funding is essentially a personal loan...

When you are going through a Divorce and Separation, it is more than likely you have never been through this before. It can be so hard to know what direction to take, what to expect or who to trust. With so many online forums and websites available to seek advice at the tips of your fingers, people share their own personal experiences, which may result in gaining incorrect advice. Where do you sta...

As we embark on a new financial year, we have noticed a hike in fees and cost of living, even with Netflix subscriptions. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) is no different.  These fees are set by Federal Government Regulations - Family Law (Fees) Regulation 2012 Filing fees are separate from your standard legal fees associated with engaging your Solicitor, which includes a...

In today’s podcast, Caralee, the principle of Collective Family Law, discusses the difference between a community legal centre, legal aid and private practice and how each of these services may be able to help you in your family law matter.  Each of these services is important in our community; each offers a different level of service and suits different scenarios.  Legal Community Centres Legal c...

Today on the podcast, Dannielle discusses how COVID-19 vaccinations have impacted the Family Court Circuit and discusses a recent case regarding Children and Vaccinations   Now that Australia has commenced vaccination of children in accordance with recommendations of medical bodies, the cases before the Courts involving disputes about COVID-19 vaccinations are coming in hot.   On 10 Jan 2022 Austr...

Today on the podcast, Caralee Fontenele dives into how you can negotiate your co-parenting arrangements with your ex in an effective manner to arrive at the right outcome for you and your children. How do you get to a point where there is less turmoil and uncertainty and instead an amicable arrangement for parenting arrangements?  It is not always simple or easy, but implementing the tools that Ca...

Today in the podcast, Caralee discusses how you can ‘win’ your family law matter.  There are many processes and ways to conduct your family law matter. It could be that you are doing it yourself, you’ve engaged lawyers, or you are in full-blown litigation and made applications to the court. Whatever it is, there are many ways of getting to an endpoint, which is to have certainty of the outcomes an...