Wednesday 27 September 2017

Three Family Law Cases

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over: Varying and setting aside final parenting orders

A recent case has moved the goal posts when it comes to re-opening parenting matters after final orders have already been made by the Court.

The test adopted by the Courts is that a parent seeking to have parenting orders set aside or varied must establish that there has been a significant change in circumstance. What constitutes a “significant change” has been called into question in this recent case and may make it easier for parents to reopen parenting matters after final orders have been made.

set aside. v. to annul or negate a court order or judgment by another court order. Example: a court dismisses a complaint believing the case had been settled. Upon being informed by a lawyer’s motion that the lawsuit was not settled, the judge will issue an order to “set aside” the original dismissal.

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Historically, pre-existing issues which were raised or could have been raised at the time of the original final orders will not be enough to constitute a significant change of circumstance. In this particular recent case, the mother was seeking to relocate from Melbourne to South East Queensland with the children to reside with her new partner. The mother was in a relationship with the same partner at the time the final orders were made. The father lives in Melbourne.

Court Orders

The original orders provided for the children to live with the mother and spend 5 nights a fortnight and school holidays with the father.

The mother gave evidence to suggest that the children had formed a close bond with her new partner and they wanted to have a permanent home as a family in South East Queensland and also have another child together. Given that the mother is 41, there remains a limited window of opportunity for her to have any more children and the Court took this into consideration.

The Court also considered the difficulties that had arisen in terms of compliance with the original orders – both the mother and father asserted that the other had failed to comply at times, to the children’s detriment. The mother also gave evidence about expectations she had of financial support she would receive from the father at the time the original orders were made and the fact that those expectations were not met. She was working three jobs to support the family. The mother believed relocation to South East Queensland with her new partner would alleviate these financial stresses.

Important Factors

A combination of these factors was considered to represent a substantial change in circumstances and the mother was allowed to proceed with her application to have the original orders altered.

The case is important given that the Courts have an interest in avoiding endless litigation. Repeat visits to the Court are often to the detriment of the children. It is important to remember that the primary concern of the Courts is the best interests of the children, regardless of the legal principle being applied.

Obtaining Final Parenting Orders

If you have or are in the process of obtaining final parenting orders, it is important to receive necessary legal advice to minimise the likelihood of the matter being re-litigated at a later date. Of course, there are inevitably situations where changes in circumstances mean that final parenting orders may no longer be appropriate or in the best interests of the children. Sound legal advice will, however, go a long way to minimising these risks.

For a full copy of the judgment in the case of Searson & Searson [2017] FamCAFC 119 please click here.

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Thursday 21 September 2017

Three Family Law Cases

It is not uncommon in our practice as Brisbane Family Lawyers to be asked questions about what happens after separation to the family pet, usually a dog.

Sometimes our clients use words and phrases in relation to their pets that we more commonly associate with arrangements for children, such as custody or access to the family pet. It is also not uncommon for people to be surprised that there is no specific section in the Family Law Act dealing with the issue of who gets the family dog after separation.

So, who gets the dog?

The intensity of emotion and attachment to the family pet was illustrated by the case of Downey v Beale which was decided by the Federal Circuit Court in Parramatta in February 2017.

The husband and the wife managed to resolve all of the other financial issues between them by agreement, but they could not agree on who should keep the family dog and ultimately that issue was the only one that the Judge was asked to decide. As there is no specific section of the Family Law Act that deals with pets, the Judge had to decide the argument in the same way they would as if the argument was about a personal possession such as a car or a boat.

The husband could show that he had paid for the dog when it was originally acquired, but the wife could show that she had paid vet bills during the time that they had owned the dog and that the dog had lived with her both before and after separation. After considering the evidence and the arguments put forward the judge decided that the dog should stay with the wife and the dog was declared to be the property of the wife.

This case demonstrates the strength of our emotional ties to our pets. The husband paid $300 for the dog but between them, the two parties would have spent many times this amount on legal fees for their lawyers to argue this case at the court.

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The post Who gets the dog? A family law case. appeared first on Family Law Brisbane.



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Tuesday 19 September 2017

The Many Obligations of a Family Lawyer

But when you look deeper in the duties of a Brisbane Family Law, you may be amazed by the assortment of services they could provide to the society. The most frequent of these is acting as the authorized representative of those households that employ them. A family attorney is quite helpful when household disputes (both external and internal disputes) burden the household they're representing. As they deal with family issues daily, family attorneys have to become individual, strong, and reflective. These attributes are extremely helpful tools to use while discussing issues with relatives.

A household constitution isn't really popular since it's only helpful to people with big clans and companies to depart into the upcoming generations of the families. This legal document will help bind the kids to the family members and, of their patriarch or matriarch of the household would like to, to the family business too. The family attorney is the only responsible for archiving and submitting this significant article of family record.

Divorce

Divorce is just another, uglier duty of a family attorney. Normally, both parties at the divorce employ various attorneys, particularly when they have conflicting interests. Butwhen ideas for divorce are both mutual and when there are no conflicts at all, just one family attorney could represent both parties. The latter is the simpler situation naturally. But most unions end in bitterness and at times even contempt and despise. A family attorney handling a divorce situation is smart and great in making compromises.


Child custody

Child custody is essentially under custody cases. Nevertheless, there are far more cases where it hangs independently. There are lots of scenarios. It is that the couple is already divorced, but another parent would like to contest the judgment of this court on child custody. If that is true, the court may start a different instance especially handling the legal custody of their child or kids. That is a delicate thing because kids entails. If the custody conflict gets out of control, it may bring injury to the kids. Child psychological state is unstable and unpredictable. 1 wrong move from the procedure can significantly impact a child's psychological wellbeing.

Adoption

Luckily, you can find great happenings in a household Brisbane Family Law attorney's list of duties. Sure, the divorce is awful. It divides a marriage bound by law and guarantees. I imagine that's quite exhausting also. But, in addition, there are fantastic minutes, and among these is managing an adoption situation. Some couples need to watch for months, sometimes even decades, simply to wind up with a child to embrace. But when that eventually happens, a family attorney can not help but talk about the joy and blessings of this few he or she assisted.

Tuesday 5 September 2017

The Ten Essential Qualities of a Civil Litigation Attorney

In every area of law, any brisbane lawyers who wants to be successful should have certain abilities and personality traits that will enable her or him to differentiate themselves from the rest of the bunch of lawyers. These abilities vary with the areas of legislation. Organizational and trade skills are most advantageous for the company planning lawyer, whereas technical and scientific knowledge will permit the patent lawyer to be successful. Civil litigation lawyers must also aim to attain or posses particular skills that can aid them in attracting and keeping customers, winning cases and possibly making new law. Following is a listing of the 10 main qualities that a civil litigation lawyer should have in descending sequence.

Knowledge of the Rules of Evidence:

Many practicing brisbane lawyers fail to get a suitable comprehension of the principles of proof, and lack the understanding about how and when to thing and the way to answer an event. Quite often, failure to object or maintain an issue for appeal could cost the customer significantly longer in legal penalties, or even worse, cause the customer to eliminate the situation.

Confidence

A vital element of bringing business is the way a lawyer jobs him or herself. Confidence is more than simply hollow bravado or lost self-assurance . Confidence conveys to the customer, judge and opposing counsel that you get a complete deal of this situation and can control exactly how and at which it flows. Included in projecting a feeling of confidence it's first required to see your audience and adapt your behaviour accordingly. A customer doesn't need a lawyer who just offers them choices for them to pick. A customer wants a lawyer as a genuine advocate, one that will give them an answer along with also a company and positive recommendation. Without assurance in their lawyer, a customer's trust for this lawyer will decrease, and also the possibility of repeat business is modest.

Organizational Skills

While maybe not the most important ability, especially for the seasoned litigator, organizational abilities are significant, both for efficacy and the picture one leaves on customers. Litigators aren't generally the most coordinated attorneys, but it's crucial to take the additional time to arrange files and work locations. The organization will endeavor to the customer that you're in management and will also let you utilize your own time in an efficient method.

Honesty

Too often, lawyers tend to tell a customer what they need to hear, as opposed to what they need to listen. Appeasing a customer with a wrong or misleading response may earn that customer happier for that instant, but will cost you in the long run. Honesty involves telling a customer when it's the sort of situation which you don't normally manage, while speaking them to a different qualified lawyer. Losing this company may hurt in the brief term, but that customer will remember you if they confront a matter which you get a firm grasp or specialty in.

Ability to Learn

In addition to being fair, an lawyer should try to never lose the capacity to find out about a new field of the law. Most customers have come for you to take care of their particular and specific problem, and see it as a hassle and waste of time for those who have to refer them to a different lawyer. Just when the new place is so technical that you'd do them a disservice if you consult with the customer to other counselor. The law will constantly change, but it's the lawyer who will always assess and interpret the law that will stay successful.

Certainly Explained Fee System

One of the most frequent complaints made concerning one's lawyer stems from reimbursement disputes. To prevent this, it's always crucial to place in writing and clearly describe to the customer the procedure of billing, while it's contingency or hourly billing. A clearly explained and thorough fee arrangement accomplished in the very first intake meeting can prevent lots of the post event disputes, and may also help to prevent potential complaints being registered with the state disciplinary committee.

Negotiation Skills

When negotiating, it's essential to do this in good faith, however you has to make certain to bear in mind that the objective of getting the best price possible for a customer. Various studies have proven that the combined, when compared with the competitive combative negotiator, can attain a more desirable settlement deal. Whatever your distinct style, it's necessary to bear in mind that you will probably deal with that individual within your field of work again later on, so great faith dealing is imperative to ensure proper behaviour and provides later on.

Interpersonal Skills

The demand for honed social skills isn't unique to the legislation, but its significance is greater for educating lawyers compared to many other professions. Each connection needs a different and distinct set of social skills. A few of those relationships demand management skills, but some need the capacity to listen to and respond meaningfully. Unlike transactional lawyers, civil litigators have to be comfortable speaking to people and has to have the ability to get along with many distinct sorts of individuals. If a customer doesn't personally like her or his lawyer, they are not as inclined to return to this lawyer later on, sometimes no matter the prior result.

Persuasiveness

Any litigator must have the abilities to convince a judge, jury, customer or opposing counsel about any specific matter. When it's hoping to convince opposing counsel that your case is more powerful than it's, or persuading a customer that a settlement deal is the best that they'll get, the grade is of main significance. Underlying the concept of persuasiveness is your capacity to comprehend and relate to individuals. If you're able to identify and link to your viewers, persuading them only includes fixing their concerns and emphasizing the benefits to your perspective. A command of the ability of persuasion is going to cause achievement in the civil litigation area.

Ability to Clearly Communicate

So you've got a fantastic case, or a situation that's winnable provided that people are able to understand your concept of law. What distinguishes effective from unsuccessful lawyers and instances is your attorney's ability to convey with the decision maker, be it that the judge or the jury, the assumption of this theory and the main reason for picking your planned outcome. Communication is more significant than persuasion or social abilities or another variable combined. The main reason being is that communicating underlies every important feature that a prosperous civil litigation lawyer must obtain.

Monday 4 September 2017

What Does a Civil Lawyer Do?

A attorney that specializes in civil law is called a civil attorney. Civil legislation has many areas such as business laws, company laws, intellectual property laws, family laws, personal injury legislation, probate legislation, property legislation, tax laws, etc.. A civil attorney not merely reflects the customer in a legal proceedings but also provides legal information to the customer in civil trades.

Civil legislation encompasses all law which isn't criminal law. Civil brisbane lawyer handle lawsuits that call for people, companies, as well as the authorities.

Civil attorneys will normally select one or more areas of legislation to concentrate in. Should you require help with taxation legislation, you need to visit a civil attorney that specializes in taxation legislation. In case you were hurt in an accident and you also would like to file a law suit seeking damages, then you'll require the assistance of a civil attorney specializing in personal injury suits. If you're filing for divorce or looking for custody of your child, a civil attorney specializing in family law will have the ability to give you a hand.

A brisbane lawyer can also assist you when you're operating a business by providing you with timely advice that could save you from costly civil law litigation. A civil attorney specializing in company laws can counsel you on the regulations that your company should comply and the permits needed by your company. He can also help you get the licenses. Laws regulating the operation of corporations are complicated. There are civil attorneys who focus on corporate legislation. At a real estate transaction, an attorney specializing in real estate legislation can ensure that the trade has been conducted in the appropriate manner, the essential documents are properly implemented and the sale continues correctly paid out and accounted for at closure.

There are no particular qualifications for getting a civil attorney. Prior to a attorney can practice in a country, he should pass the state bar examination.