Family Law in 400 words

Imagine all the interactions you would have with other people in a typical morning: you wake up, have breakfast with your partner, buy a coffee from the barista at your favourite café, chat to the person next to you on the bus and make it to work just in time for that important meeting with your colleagues. In its essence, the law seeks to define these everyday relationships and to give individuals certainty regarding their rights and obligations. Family law deals with familial relationships, such as those between husbands, wives, partners, parents and children.

Unfortunately, these relationships can break down into complicated disputes which need to be resolved. The law sets out the principles by which these disputes may be resolved and encourages parties to negotiate a resolution outside of the Courts, where possible.

In a more practical sense, there are four areas of family law:

• Divorce: A divorce recognises that two people who were once legally married are no longer married to each other and no longer have the rights and obligations attached to a marriage.
• Family Law Property Settlement: Property settlement is the division of assets between the parties of the relationship. This includes jointly accumulated assets, as well as the assets owned by each individual when  they entered the relationship. In determining the division of assets, the law considers both financial and non-financial contributions of the couple.
• Parenting: The law helps determine living arrangements for the children, visiting arrangements for the non-resident parent and the way decisions are to be shared between parents.
• Child Support: As well as providing for the physical care of children of separated parents, the law allows for financial support to be provided to the resident parent by the non-resident parent. The law stipulates how and in what circumstances this support must be provided.

It’s important to remember that Family Law is always changing because no two relationships are the same and as a result the Courts are always making new rulings (but that’s for family law lawyers to worry about!).

If you have further questions please contact us at frank@franklaw.com.au.

This is not legal advice.