Blog

With close to a million viewers every episode over 9 seasons, Married at First Sight (MAFS) has made its way into households across the nation, and in particular quite a few right here in the FGD team (some say viewers, some say fanatics). With MAFS popularity, lockdowns, working from home...

The death of a family member is distressing. Dealing with a challenge to a Will, family contesting to a Will, or uncertainty about what the Will means can compound that grief. Our clients will often come in to see us not knowing what the Will says or what the previous...

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.

Those who are considering challenging a will by making a family provision claim need to be aware that time limits apply within which their application must be made. Each State and Territory has its own legislation governing family provision claims. Some jurisdictions run the time from the date of death while others run the time from the date of the grant of probate or letters of administration.

The Wills and Estates team at Farrar Gesini Dunn is pleased to announce that we have been further recognised in the respected Doyle’s Guide Listing for 2021, and for the first time in the Rising Stars category. Jessica Win is a brilliant young lawyer in our Wills and Estates team....

Everyone at FGD was holding their breaths after the excitement of restrictions lifting and the day being able to go ahead. We were all watching the dreary forecast but nevertheless, the showers cleared and the day went ahead…. There were 93 players out on the course who were welcomed by Esther Bogaart (Karinya House Vice President of the Committee) who reminded us of the important work that Karinya House do.

We bid farewell to Juliette Ford, a director of FGD since 2001, as she takes on a role with The Office for Family Safety, Community Services Directorate. This role has provided her an amazing opportunity to embrace work that allows her to continue to utilise all of her legal, strategic thinking, mediation and collaboration skills in a systemic advocacy and policy space. This form of advocacy has always been something that Juliette has been passionate about, and we support her decision to continue this opportunity, and so we wish her all the best as she retires from the FGD Partnership.

As family law practitioners we deal with a large number of matters which center around care arrangements for children. In those matters, one of the questions most often asked by a parent is ‘When do the wishes of the children become relevant?’ Our response, as is usually the case in family law...

The ‘court merger’ represents the bringing together of the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia into a unified structure called the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.   Under legislation which passed through Parliament on 18 February 2021,* the Australian Government has introduced structural...

The Wills and Estates team at Farrar Gesini Dunn is pleased to announce that we have been recognised again in the respected Doyle’s Guide Listings for 2021. Our Estates Director, Timothy Morton, has been personally recognised as a Preeminent lawyer for Wills, Estates and Succession Planning and a Leading Lawyer...

Buying Real Estate with your partner, particularly if it’s your first home, can be an exciting time. However, it is also a very large commitment and comes with significant financial and legal ramifications. It also raises a number of questions for you as a couple that not everyone takes the...

The current FGD Directors are excited to announce that Ramya Balachandren and Haydn Marsh will be joining the partnership from 1 July 2021. Haydn and Ramya bring with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise in family law. We are excited for them to be leading the future of FGD...