Szabo & Associates News & Updates

COVID-19 does not affect the validity of existing parenting orders. It remains the case that compliance with orders is required unless the child is at risk of exposure if placed in the other parent’s care.

If you need legal advice surrounding your divorce, having empathetic expert advice can make all the difference. Sometimes the division of financial assets is one of the main issues to resolve during divorce proceedings. Even if you have both kept your finances separate during your marriage, a final financial (property) settlement needs to be reached on divorce.

In family law, the term child relocation refers to a change of residence that will also involve a significant shift in the living arrangements of a child, living with one parent, making it difficult for the other parent to spend time with the child. This can involve relocating interstate or overseas.

In the case of Elford & Elford (2016), the Full Family Court dismissed the appeal of a wife who was seeking an increase from the 10% of the $1.4m asset pool she had been awarded, on separation, to 32%. A large part of the pool consisted of a lottery win of her husband. The wife, on appeal, argued that the Federal Circuit Court trial judge had incorrectly decided that the lottery win was a contribution by the husband rather than a “joint contribution” of them both.

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia recently had to consider whether it should make property orders in respect of a relationship that had lasted just 14 months. Adesso & Payton (2019) involved a pilot and an unemployed woman who was caring for a child of a previous relationship.