Family Law

The Family Law Act 1975 (‘Act’) is a Commonwealth Act which means that it governs all Australian married and de-facto relationships, including same-sex relationships.  There are strict time limitations for people to seek legal outcomes under this Act – meaning, if you want to get a Court order, you must do so within 12 months of a divorce (for married couples) or 2 years from the date of separation (for de-facto couples).

There are a number of steps that parties can take and other steps that parties must take in order to resolve their dispute.  These steps include efforts to resolve the dispute without going to Court (e.g. mediation or negotiation) and the duty of disclosure (i.e. sharing information with each other).

There are a number of options to resolve the matter: negotiate an outcome, consent orders (i.e. agree) or have a Court make orders after a trial.  Each of these options have pros and cons in relation to things such as cost, time, effort, legal assistance, certainty etc.

Our firm takes the view that it is important for clients to have a thorough understanding of their rights and obligations BEFORE forging ahead to Court.  Knowing what options you have and what strategy works best for you will often result in you achieving the outcome you want more quickly and at a lower cost.  We therefore spend time with you so that we can have a deep understanding of your circumstances, your ex-partner’s attitude and your goals so that we can tailor a strategy for you.

Wallace Law Group is also very mindful that in the circumstances where you are dealing with a relationship break down, things are and will be emotional yet you are being asked to make very serious decisions about your future.  We therefore take the time to guide you through the process, communicate with your ex (or their solicitors) on your behalf, allow you time to work out what is right for you and work with you at your pace. 

Costs are also a big issue for many clients.  Before we do any work, we will disclose to you what we estimate our costs to be for each and every step that can or will need to be undertaken.  If there are things you can do to reduce your costs, we will let you know.

If you do wish to engage our firm to act for you, we will send you out a disclosure notice (setting out these estimates) along with a costs agreement (which sets out the terms under which we will provide legal services to you).  Once you have engaged Wallace Law Group, we will send you out written advices about a number of things such as “How the Court process works”, “Mediation and alternative dispute resolution options” and “Disclosure”.  We will also formalise our advices to you about your entitlements and strategy options once we have met with you to take your detailed instructions.