Do Children Have a Say in Child Custody Cases? Under Australian family law, children have a right to have a meaningful relationship with both their parents. This does not mean, however, that they necessarily get to have a say in child custody cases. This depends on several factors, including the child’s age, the judge …
Coronavirus and Family Court Orders People with child custody arrangements have questions about the effect of coronavirus and family court orders. We are receiving a myriad of questions that are starting to arise in the current situation: In the event that a changeover with children needs to take place at a public location or a …
If the court is to find that there has been a history of family violence, is it relevant to current parenting proceedings? In Soulos & Sorbo [2019] the Full Court explored how to treat historical family violence in current parenting proceedings. The father appealed an order permitting the mother’s relocation order of the parties’ eight year …
The Full Court made a recent decision that a long distance relationship with a child and a father could still be a meaningful one. The judges said: A relationship may be less than optimal but nonetheless meaningful In Rochford & Fitzhugh [2019] the Full Court heard an unemployed mother’s appeal to relocate a two year old …
Can A Long Distance Relationship With A Child Be Meaningful? Read More »
Step-parent adoption is the process by which a person becomes the legal adoptive parent of their spouse’s child. It is quite common for a person to re-partner or remarry after separating or divorcing from their previous spouse. When they have children from a prior relationship, the new partner, whether they are a de facto or …
Remarriage and parenting orders need to be considered together once you have tied the knot a second time. Many couples remarry after divorce, often starting another family with stepparents, step-siblings and half-siblings. After a divorce, many parents have parenting orders made either after a court hearing or by consent to make living arrangements for their …
Major long-term issues are the big decisions that parents have to make about their children’s lives. All types of parents make all types of decisions for and about their children every day, but Australian family law legislation recognises that some decisions about bigger issues are more important than others. This becomes especially clear when parents …
A parenting plan is a written, signed and dated agreement between two former spouses regarding the care, welfare and development of their child. Parenting plans are one of the options for separated couples when they agree on parenting arrangements. They are different from consent orders and parenting orders as parenting plans are not enforceable by …
Stability and routine are important in a child’s life, especially a young child, but sometimes the court decides that a big change is necessary, such as changing the child’s primary carer. The primary carer is the person with whom the child spends the most time. Most often, this is a parent. The primary carer may …
Getting a name change after divorce reverses the tradition of a married couple having the same name. For many people, this is a significant part of the separation process. Making a surname change after marriage has long been customary for one or both spouses. Women especially tend to be known by their husband’s surname after …
