Blog

We are all familiar with New Year Resolutions. They mark the end of the year that has been and are a good opportunity to reflect and evaluate. They also time stamp the start of something new and prompt us to identify what is important to us in life and what we wish to focus on in the coming year.

The Christmas season is said to be one of the most joyful times of the year, however any good family lawyer will likely report otherwise. With immense pressure on families both socially and financially, it is unsurprising that this season is one of the busiest times of the year for the family law sector. Without wanting to sound like ‘The Grinch who stole Christmas’, the end of year holiday period has proven to be the catalyst of many relationship breakdowns. The most common of those being partner/spouse relationships.

Not sure what your 2025 Christmas arrangements will look like now you have separated? Many separated parents struggle with what is best for their family after a separation. It can also be daunting for kids to face their first Christmas after a separation.

Whether you are going through a parenting dispute or negotiating a property settlement, you will be required, at some point, to disclose to the other party (likely your ex-partner) documents that are relevant to the issue(s) in dispute; regardless of their effect on your case. This can feel like an invasion into your privacy, so why do you have to do it?

Dividing property between you and your ex-partner can be a difficult task for many reasons. One of the common questions is how contributions made after separation are treated in family law property settlements. Contributions after separation could be home loan repayments for a jointly owned property or a gift or...

We all know someone who has been through a divorce, many of us have experienced it ourselves. Divorce is an incredibly challenging period and comes with strong emotions, grief and loss, confusion, fear, worry, never ending questions and, often, conflict with the ex-partner. This is further complicated if the separating...

Are trust assets up for grabs when it comes to family law property settlements? It has long been established that the answer to this question depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. The outcome of a leading High Court case in 2008 (Kennon v Spry [2008] HCA 56)...

When relationships break down, dividing assets can be complex – for high net worth individuals, the complexity can multiply. What makes a family law case “high net worth”? In Australia, a high net worth individual is generally someone who has at least $1 million in net investible assets, excluding their...

Yesterday, 28 May, was LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day, a national day to shed light on abuse in LGBTQ+ relationships and call for greater visibility, understanding, and support for LGBTQ+ victim-survivors. At FGD, this day is deeply personal. One of our partners, Daniel Magnussen, serves as the ACT Coordinator for...

The proposed change to a child's name is a common issue for separated parents and can become highly contested in some cases. There are several considerations taken into account by parents and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia ("the Court") when determining whether to change a child's name.

It is hard to believe how quickly Easter comes around each year. It is not uncommon for disputes to arise between separated parents when trying to work out parenting arrangements and time to spend with other family members for special family occasions such as Easter.

Autumn is a time of change, shedding the old for the new. For newly separated families, the symbolism is apt. By Autumn, newly separated couples have navigated through the Summer holidays and Christmas season, and started back at work. For the first time, they have had to figure out how...