Brighton
Family Lawyers

FAMILY LAW

We understand that family law is often a difficult and emotionally overwhelming time for our clients.

Our team of experienced family lawyers have knowledge and expertise across a wide range of family law, including divorces, property settlements, custody and parenting disputes, child support, spousal maintenance, pre-nuptial agreements, financial agreements and consent orders. Our team also have experience across several family law-adjacent areas of law, such as criminal law, intervention order matters, family violence, wills and estates.

DIVORCE

Divorce is the legal process of ending a marriage in Australia. A divorce is separate from a financial settlement, or a parenting dispute. Divorces can be complex, and there are strict time limits on when property settlements may occur following a divorce. We recommend seeking advice from a family lawyer before applying for a divorce or responding to a divorce application. Divorces can be complicated if you remained living separated but under one roof for a period of time, if there is no marriage certificate, or if personal service of your ex-partner is difficult.

Aston Legal Group have experience in applying for divorces in situations including when the marriage certificate has been destroyed during war, when you are unable to locate your spouse, and in situations where the date of separation may be contentious. We are also able to assist if you dispute the facts in an application for divorce filed by your spouse, or with joint divorce applications. We can assist with both making an Application for Divorce and responding to an Application of Divorce, and will guide you through the process at each step.

PROPERTY SETTLEMENTS AND FINANCIAL DISPUTES

Our lawyers have experience across a wide range of financial issues. Property settlements after separation can be a complex matter, often involving valuations, selling property, or ongoing payments to the other party or child. Property settlements often involve strict time limits that must be complied with, as well as mandatory steps to be completed by the parties prior to any litigation commencing. There are a range of options available for how you settle your property matter, including Financial Agreements, Consent Orders and making an Application to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. We are able to assist you with making the right decision about which pathway will be the most cost-effective and successful in your case.

We can assist you with:

1. Property settlements
2. De facto property settlements
3. Selling property or businesses, or retaining them
4. Spousal maintenance
5. Superannuation splitting
6. Financial Agreements (pre-nuptial or post-separation)
7. Consent orders 

PARENTING AND CUSTODY

Parenting matters are often the most emotionally difficult part of separation. Our team approach legal issues regarding children with care and compassion and can assist with all aspects of parenting matters. Parenting matters revolve around the Court determining what is in the best interests of the child or children, but what is best for each individual family and child is different in every case. It is also important to act as soon as possible in parenting matters, as the Court will often prefer not to disrupt the status quo for a child. To resolve your parenting dispute, you may wish to attend mediation, adopt a parenting plan, enter into Consent Orders or begin Court proceedings. We will assist you with all of these options, and in choosing the best way forward for your family.

We can help you with:

1. Parenting/custody disputes
2. Parental alienation
3. Cases involving family violence or allegations of abuse
4. Same-sex parenting issues, including matters involving donors or surrogates
5. Mediation or family dispute resolution
6. Abduction or relocation cases

CHILD SUPPORT

Child support involves ongoing payments from one parent to the other to assist in financially supporting a child. These payments usually last until the child is 18 or finishes their secondary education (whichever is later) but can also be paid for adult children in some circumstances. Due to the long-term ongoing nature of the payments, child support is often a major consideration when parties are separating. Child support can be paid through the Child Support Agency, but it can also be collected privately between the parents. Some parents may choose to pay for school fees, medical fees or other expenses for the children in lieu of a weekly or monthly cash transfer to the other party.

We can help with:

1. Estimating how much child support is payable
2. Challenge a child support assessment from the child support agency
3. Binding Child Support Agreements
4. Limited Child Support Agreements

FAMILY VIOLENCE

Our team of family lawyers have extensive experience in relation to family violence matters, intervention orders and criminal charges arising from allegations of family violence or breaches of intervention orders. We can help you apply for an intervention order, or respond to an intervention order. In relation to family violence matters, it is often important to receive legal advice as soon as possible, as they are often ‘fast-tracked’ through the Courts and the matter may be finished by the time you have managed to understand what is going on.

We are able to assist with:

1. Applying for intervention orders (both family violence and personal safety intervention orders)
2. Responding to intervention orders
3. Varying or revoking intervention orders
4. Applying to be a non-prohibited person (for the purposes of a firearms licence)