Knowledge

Solicitors are not employed to act as ‘postman’ to vent the anger and vitriol of their clients.

If a company has more than one shareholder it should have a shareholders’ agreement in place.

The family law system in Australia is constantly evolving and works to recognise and assist adults and children who have suffered family violence. This year, as many as 70% of all family law matters in the Commonwealth court system involve an allegation of family violence. A particular concern of the Courts is to ensure that children who are exposed to or suffer family violence or abuse are protected as much as possible.

In a recent blog post, we explored the mandatory requirement for parties to attempt to resolve their parenting dispute with the assistance of family dispute resolution (‘FDR’) prior to applying to the court for parenting orders: Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) s 60I(1). However, s 60I(7) provides various exceptions to this mandatory requirement such as the following:

Prior to commencing parenting proceedings, parties must make a “genuine effort” to resolve their parenting dispute with the assistance of family dispute resolution (‘FDR’): Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) s 60I(1). The usual form of FDR that parties engage in is mediation with an accredited FDR practitioner. Often this take places through services such as Relationships Australia, however parties can engage an accredited private mediator (who is often an admitted lawyer) to mediate their dispute as well.

When running a litigation matter, that is, any Court matter, it is critical to be able to prove to the court that your court documents were delivered to the other side. Afterall, if the other side did not receive your court documents then how do they defend themselves and how is justice upheld in the court system? This is where a process server comes in handy.

If someone owes a debt to you that they refuse to pay, you may wish to take legal action to pursue them for payment of the amount owing. If you decide to sue someone for the debt, the first question you must consider is the applicable jurisdiction. In other words, you need to ask yourself the question, ‘In which jurisdiction should I pursue my debt?’.

Every matter involving parenting arrangements is different; they each have their own uniqueness that requires careful consideration by the court. However, across all cases, the court’s key consideration is what is in the best interests of the child.

With the update of the Family Violence Plan in April 2019, the Courts have continued to recognise the importance of protecting those experiencing family violence, and the detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of separating partners and children in situations of family violence.