Parenting skills tested in divorce case

by Lucinda Bordignon on January 21, 2012

Lucinda BordignonIn the recent case of Cappetto & Cappetto No.3 [2011] FamCA 345, his Honourable Justice Watts made findings about what parent the children should live with. The children in this case were referred to as “B,” 5 years and 8 months old and “S,” 3 years and 10 months old.

The Applicant Father wanted sole parental responsibility. The Independent Children’s… Read more

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Can a love letter save a marriage?

by Tijana Petkovic on January 17, 2012

Tijana PetkovicWith between 32% and 46% of all Australian marriages ending in divorce, depending on the method of estimation, and similar statistics in some other countries, one postal authority has come up with a novel way to save marriages.

Postal authorities in Beijing have attempted to tackle the soaring divorce rate by sending love letters written by lovers seven years ago.… Read more

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Is the Family Court a win/lose system?

by Lucinda Bordignon on January 14, 2012

Lucinda BordignonDoes the adversarial family law system in Australia have adverse impacts on the mental wellbeing of children? Many argue that when feuding parents cannot reach an agreement on parenting arrangements for the children, the children are ‘dragged’ through the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia as the parties attempt to resolve the dispute by litigating.… Read more

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Why the court is so cautious about child abuse claims

by Zoe Paterson on January 10, 2012

Zoe PatersonAn article titled “Rights of Child Supreme in Abuse Claims” was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 23 August 2011.

The opinion piece was provided by Diana Bryant who is a chief justice of the Family Court of Australia. In this article Chief Justice Bryant explains the difference between the level of proof of harm required in criminal proceedings… Read more

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Is marriage still a safe place for kids?

by Lucinda Bordignon on January 7, 2012

Lucinda BordignonProfessor Parkinson AM is an Australian author and specialist in family law. His recent report For Kids Sake” calls on the Federal Government to overhaul its policy regarding the institution of marriage.

Professor Parkinson has recently released a report titled For Kids Sake. Professor Parkinson has played an important role in the 2006 amendments to the Family Law Act and… Read more

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Domestic violence: a criminal lawyer’s perspective

by Andrew Tiedt on January 3, 2012

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Andrew TiedtTelevision shows like Law and Order are good TV. But they are a pretty poor representation of the life of a criminal lawyer.

The practice of criminal law is fundamentally different to any other area, and being a good criminal lawyer requires more than just training and experience. The area of domestic violence and AVOs is an even more specialised… Read more

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Child abduction. Why the law has to change.

by Lucinda Bordignon on December 31, 2011

Lucinda BordignonThe statistics about abduction of children from Australia are shocking. For example, on average 2 to 3 children are wrongfully removed from Australia or kept in another country overseas every week by one of their parents.

The Federal Government has heeded recommendations of the Family Law Council of Australia and has proposed to implement laws giving the Family Court… Read more

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DIY family law – the pros and cons.

by Sharda Ramjas on December 27, 2011

Sharda Ramjas
A lot of friends ask me whether it is worth paying for a lawyer to assist them in sorting out their family law matter.  The answer depends on the circumstances.

You may be concerned about incurring unnecessary legal costs in your Family Law matter, however sometimes, spending the money on a good lawyer at the start of your matter… Read more

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Time for a new definition of marriage?

by Tijana Petkovic on December 24, 2011

Tijana PetkovicRecent polls show that a majority of Australians are in support of gay marriage. Yet to date, the Government has not acted on community opinion and legalised gay marriage.

The Marriage Act 1961 defines “marriage” as “the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life”. As the divorce rate in… Read more

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Marriage vs. de facto. Does it matter?

by Kate Marr on December 20, 2011

Kate Marr
It was reported that Charlie Sheen once said about marriage “with a piece of paper……things [get] worse……. because those relationships, I want to say they were pretty good before the marriage and then something happens”.  Whilst not many people are likely to give much weight to relationship advice from Charlie Sheen, this notion is not unfamiliar to me. I… Read more

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