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In a recent Federal Court decision of Trustees of the Property of Morris (Bankrupt) v Morris (Bankrupt) the court gave some fresh guidance on the status of superannuation death benefits when received by bankrupts.

SBS Insight  “Where There’s a Will” – Family Provision and Costs On Tuesday 2nd August SBS aired an episode of Insight titled Where There’s a Will. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, Insight, airs every week or so on SBS. Hosted by journalist Jenny Brockie, each episode focuses...

The Family Law Act now provides essentially the same rights to de facto couples that married couples have in relation to division of property and spousal maintenance. So how do you know if you are at risk of a claim or have the right to bring a claim? The first...

The Family Law Act gives a court power to split superannuation. This power has been available since 2002. The power to split superannuation operates whether the superannuation is still being accumulated or whether it is being paid as a pension.

In case you missed it, you can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here Your Day in Court – Part 3 – Court Conclusion With no further witnesses or additional evidence, your side of the case as the Applicant is finished. It is your former partner’s turn now in...

Part 2 of our 3 part series on – What Happens at Court? (read Part 1 here) Your Day in Court – Part 2 Your barrister informs the Court that there are some preliminary objections to some of the Affidavit material filed by your former partner. There is some legal...

For the majority of our clients, they are able to reach a settlement without having to go to a final hearing. For those that do require the Court to make a decision, the process can be daunting. Today’s blog aims to give you an insight into what your first day at Court...

In Family Law Property Settlements we are constantly having to find out the value of property owned by our clients. That property could be real estate, furniture, motor vehicles or many other less obvious items. For example, over the years I have had to obtain expert valuations of gun collections,...

We are sure we were not the only ones to read the article in The Australian titled ‘Aged Couple go to war over ownership of family home.’ If you did not get the chance to read it, here is the link. What interested us about the article, and the case...

Can a Will be drafted to protect the beneficiaries from a claim being made against the inheritance as part of a divorce? In a recent case of Singerson & Joans [2014] FamCAFC 238, parties were living with each other for some 15 years, having had two children, prior to separating...

3 things to ask yourself Every Australian State and Territory has legislation which allows an eligible person to bring a Family Provision claim for provision or greater provision from an estate. Before you decide to make a claim, there are 3 things you should ask yourself: 1. Am I eligible...

Who keeps the engagement rings after separation? The answer is, it depends… Part 2: What happens to the engagement ring after marriage and divorce? In the previous blog post, we looked at the law for what happens to the engagement ring for couples who get engaged, but then who call...