GEELONG FAMILY LAWYERS

People with family law issues spend a lot of time with their family lawyer. The best thing you can do is to ensure that you work with a family lawyer with a proven track record.

At Law By Dan, we take the guesswork out of trying to find the best Geelong Family Lawyers.

How Law By Dan Can Help You Today

We Connect You to Best Geelong Family Lawyers for Free

We do not charge you for all the work we do connecting you to a great Geelong Family Lawyer.

We Connect You to Best Geelong Family Lawyers Quickly

It usually takes us less than 12 hours to have your matter assessed and connected to a great lawyer in Geelong.

Get Certainty About Your Legal Fees

Many of our Geelong Family Lawyers offer fixed-fee legal help.

Separation & Divorce

Separation and divorce are major events in a person’s life. It is in these times where a good family lawyer is warranted. To be eligible for a divorce, you and your former spouse must prove that

• Australia is your home and you intend on living here indefinitely
• You identify as an Australian citizen by birth, decent or by grant of Australian citizenship
• Have lived in Australia for 12 months

Once these prerequisites have been filled, you may apply for a divorce. However, before doing so, it is important that you understand your rights and responsibilities. To make this process as smooth sailing as it can be, our Geelong Family Lawyers are the people to see. Our Geelong Family Lawyers will help you understand things such as divorce applications, costs, opposing divorce applications and much more pertaining to separation and divorce.

Property Settlements

If you and your partner have recently separated, you will need to consider what will happen to your property. This can be a complex process and it is always a good idea to seek advice from an experienced family lawyer. There are a few steps involved in a property settlement application. These include (1) Identifying and valuing the assets of both parties, (2) Assess the contributions of the assets made by the two parties, (3) Look into the future needs of each party, and (4) Review the fairness of the outcome. Whilst this process seems simplistic, there are many additional components which may add to your stress. For example, if you and your partner are unable to come to a mutual agreement about your property and assets then an application will need to be lodged to the court for a final decision.

Parenting & Children’s Disputes

In any given separation matter, there is likely to be children involved which often poses an additional stress. Having many years of experience, our Geelong Family Lawyers understand the significant affect a separation can have on a child and are committed to doing everything we can to minimise the possibility of it negatively affected their wellbeing. Our Geelong Family Lawyers are able to provide prompt legal advice regarding parenting arrangements which can be formalised by a Court Consent Order. If you wish to keep these arrangements informal, this is supported too. However, in some cases, depending on the child’s circumstances, going to court is unavoidable. While this thought can be daunting, it is important to know that our team are equipped with the appropriate skills to provide you with strong representation in court.

Agreements & Orders

Parenting Agreements and Parenting Orders are essential for the wellbeing of your child. They often outline parent’s responsibilities regarding the child’s living arrangements, their time between each parent and relatives, and communication as well as every other relative aspect of their care and development. In accordance with the Family Law Act 1975, the decision made by the court will always consider the best interests of the child and in this, will always assume this involves shared responsibility between both parents.

To address these requirements promptly and with minimal stress, seeking advice from an experienced family lawyer is a good idea.

Mediation

In Australia, the family law system encourages all separating couples to attempt coming to an agreement on their own before going to court. To keep within this recommendation, mediation is usually recommended as an initial attempt. Mediation can occur in many different forms such as a face-to-face discussion via a round table conference, via a phone call or via shuttle mediation.

People may choose shuttle mediation if there is a risk of violence. This will therefore mean that the mediator will speak with one party in one room and the other party in a separate room. This form of dispute resolution often produces successful results and is a far more beneficial option to minimise future conflicts down the track. It can also encourage both parentings to establish an effective parenting plan and relationship for the wellbeing of their children (if involved).

Child Support

Our Geelong Family Lawyers can help you in all areas of relating to child support matters.

To assist separated parents in raising their children, they will be entitled to child support which can be used for their children’s food, clothing, medical costs, housing, school costs and other relative costs. This payment is based off of both parents incomes and the amount of time they spend with their child on an everyday basis.

Geelong Family Lawyers Questions, Answered

How Do Geelong Family Lawyers Charge?

Our Geelong Family Lawyers are resolution-focussed. In other words, our objective is to resolve your family law matter promptly. For this reason, we are big proponents of mediation. We also can discuss with you fixed-fee legal help.

How Long Do Family Law Matters Take?

The duration of your family law dispute is largely dependent upon the ability of you and your former partner to resolve your dispute. Sadly, some people spend years in dispute without reaching agreement.

I’m Thinking About Separation, What Should I Do?

Getting legal advice promptly is recommended. Getting prepared for separation through seeking the advice from our Geelong Family Lawyers is a great way to ensure you understand the road ahead and that you do not do anything to compromise your family law matter going forward.