Family Law: How to...respond to an Initiating Application

Court should be an avenue of last resort. Unfortunately, sometimes, you will have no choice but to engage with Court proceedings if the other side has become unresponsive or a resolution cannot be reached. This blog post looks at how to respond if someone else has put on an Initiating Application or started Court proceedings against you in family law.

If someone has started Court proceedings against you, they will be required to serve the documents they filed in Court on you in a reasonable time frame prior to the first Court date. The file number, first Court date and time, and location of the Court event will be on the documents served to you.

An Initiating Application is usually accompanied by an affidavit and financial statement. These forms will set out what the other side is after and why they believe they are entitled to this claim.

In response, you may be required to complete and file:

1.  A response, setting out which parts of the other side’s documents you agree with and which sections you disagree with,
2. An affidavit, and possibly
3. A financial statement.

It is important to figure when you have to file the required documents by. You can do that by visiting the Court website or reading the documents served on you.

Nowadays you can file these documents online, send them to the Court via post or file them at Court in person.

If you have further questions, please contact James Frank at jfrank@franklaw.com.au 

This is not legal advice.