The Importance of Making a Will after Separation

Your Will should reflect any significant changes in your relationship status, whether you are getting married, having children, or breaking up. If you made a Will whilst you were single but have now married, this automatically cancels your Will rendering it invalid. Divorce affects your Will differently in each state. In Victoria, pursuant to the Wills Act 1997, upon divorce, any provision in your Will that relates to your former spouse becomes invalid. On the other hand, unlike divorce, separation does not automatically cancels the provisions...

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To Appeal or Not to Appeal, That is the Question

After a final judgment is made in a family law case, the parties have a short period of time in which to lodge an appeal and should consult with a family lawyer immediately afterwards to avoid missing out on a potential right to an appeal. Often clients will notice factual mistakes in judgments that occur for a variety of reasons. However, even when there is a clear factual error and everybody agrees that this is a mistake, this does not necessarily mean that the whole decision is invalid or an ‘appeal should be allowed’. A recent decision...

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Myths of Child Support

Myth 1: “I don’t see the kids, so I don’t have to pay child support.” Or “If you don’t pay child support, you won’t be able to see the kids.” The Family Law Act 1975 recognizes that it is in the best interests of a child to have a meaningful relationship with both parents, and to be assured that he/she is supported financially, whether they are biological or adoptive parents, same sex or otherwise. Preventing your child from spending time with the other parent simply because he/she refuses to pay child support would be viewed by the Court...

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