Blog

When a marriage or de facto relationship breaks down, a property settlement should be determined (either by agreement or as a result of a Court decision). The first question to be answered before assets can be divided is “what are our assets?”. The answer can be more or less complex...

A Canberra Times article published on 11 October 2017 reads ‘Unsent text message with a smiley face counted as a valid will, court rules’ reminds us that even if you have a ‘valid Will’, it can still be challenged. The Queensland Supreme Court found that an unsent text message on the...

I have been hearing a lot of discussion in public about a recent case in the Queensland Supreme Court where an unsent text message was held to be a Will. You may have heard or read about it as well. If you haven’t read about it yet then you can...

After receiving recognition for our Wills and Estate Team last month, we are proud to announce that our Family Law Team has also been acknowledged by the esteemed Doyles Guide. Our Canberra Family Law Team, as well as 5 of our Canberra Directors, have been recognised by Doyles Guide in...

Prenups & Estate Claims Do you have assets that you want to protect going into a relationship? The division of property in the event of separation (for people who are either married or in a de facto relationship) is ordinarily covered by the Family Law Act 1975 and the Family...

In family law property settlement cases the first step is to determine the value of the pool of property owned by the parties. That property may comprise of real estate, businesses, exotic goods and chattels like antiques and motor vehicles. Everything has to be given a “market value.” Since the...

There is a protocol that sets out the division of work between the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court, both of which have jurisdiction to hear and regularly do hear matters under the Family Law Act. One of the types of cases that are determined by the Family Court is...

Recently one of our Directors, Kasey Fox, wrote a blog about some of the benefits of same sex marriage from a family law perspective. Now that the High Court has given the green light for the postal vote, I have set out below 5 additional benefits of same sex marriage...

At Farrar Gesini Dunn, we are proud of our strong reputation as specialists in all the areas of law in which we practice. Although we started as a family law firm, over our 22-year history we have also developed a strong Wills, Estates & Succession Planning practice. We have continued...

Closer to home, the ACT Legislative Assembly will be holding an inquiry into domestic violence later this year. The Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety invites written submissions, from interested organisations and individuals, to its inquiry. The call for submissions closes on Friday 22 September 2017. In its 2016–17...

Marriage Equality in Australia is now a reality. But what benefits have same sex couples gained from this change in the law? Other than the fact that they are finally being treated as equal citizens, there are actually some important legal benefits as well. Here are 5 key benefits for...

Family Law Questions: It is common for one party to accumulate more, or sometimes all, of the superannuation that the parties have at the end of their marriage? Unfortunately it is also common for that party to think that the super is theirs and theirs alone. After all, in their...