Relocation following divorce: Can I move away with my child?
The Family Law Act 1975 requires parents to attempt to reach agreement on all major issues affecting a child including changes to living arrangements such as moving with your child to another city, state or country. If your child primarily lives with you and you wish to relocate you may be able to reach agreement […]
Family Court Shake-Up – A New Court System
On 1 September 2021 the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (“the new Court”) commenced, merging the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The Commonwealth Government facilitated the introduction of the new Court with over $100 million in funding. Why has the new Court been introduced? For many […]
Failure to disclosure in consent financial settlements may mean your settlement is not binding after all
The Family Law Act 1975 requires parties to a property settlement to provide “full and frank” financial disclosure including all information and documents relevant to an issue in the case and relevant to their financial circumstances. If full disclosure is not provided what you believed to be a final settlement may not be “final” after […]
Social Media and Family Law Proceedings
Most people and households today have access to the internet and many use Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram and other social media platforms. Individuals will often use social platforms to express their feelings and sometimes their dislike of others. These posts or comments are often available to friends, friends of friends, children of friends, work […]
Equal Shared Parental Responsibility
Both parents have parental responsibility for a child until that child turns 18. Parental responsibility is defined in the Family Law Act 1975 (“The Act”) to mean “all the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that, by law, parents have in relation to children”. Under Section 61DA of The Act there is presumption that it is […]
We Are Moving
We are excited to announce that Doolan Callaghan Family Lawyers are moving to new premises on 11 January 2021. Conveniently located behind Westfield Warringah Mall Brookvale, our new address is: Suite 19 (Ground Floor) Lifestyle Working Building 117 Old Pittwater Road Brookvale NSW 2100 Our telephone number and email addresses and our wonderful committed team […]
Trust Assets: In or Out?
The first step in implementing a Family Law property settlement following separation is to identify the asset pool available for distribution. Sometimes this is straight forward, sometimes it is not. One common point of contention in this regard is whether a spouse’s beneficial interest in a discretionary trust should be treated as an asset, and […]
Capital Gains Tax in Family Law Matters
Capital gains tax can be costly. Therefore, it can become a very “live” issue between parties in negotiating a family law property settlement and one party wishes to retain an asset which, if sold, would be liable to Capitals Gains Tax.
Family Court Delays – What Are the Alternatives?
For those seeking to have their family law matter dealt with by the Family Court at Sydney or the Federal Circuit Court at Sydney, there are currently huge delays. There is simply an insufficient number of Judges to hear and properly deal with all of the matters in a timely manner. Therefore, wherever possible, alternatives […]
We’ve Separated – What Do I Need To Do?
Separating from your partner, usually brings with it a multitude of issues that need to be resolved.