May 2015

01 May

Posted at 00:00h in Family Law

When you are going through the pain of a divorce or separation it is sometimes hard to imagine a future where the hurt and the pain is a distant memory. To guide you through the tough times it may be helpful to commit aspirations that may keep you on track to that amicable divorce you want to achieve. The following are ideas that may assist you in creating your own aspirations checklist: At the end of my divorce, I want the following to be true:  I was honest and had integrity throughout the entire process;  My former spouse and I were kind to each other;  My children are supported by two parents who are able to cooperate in co-parenting;  We did not need to go to Court to settle our differences;  We spent as little money as possible on our separation process and preserved our assets for ourselves and our children rather than paying for expensive litigation;  My former spouse and I were fair to each other in the division of our assets and resources;  I respect my former spouse;  My relationship with my former spouse is friendly, civil and respectful;  My children were not exposed to conflict between their parents;  I...

01 May

Posted at 00:00h in Family Law

According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies,  approximately 40 percent of marriages end in divorce in Australia. We are committed to non-court resolution options (mediation, negotiation, collaborative resolution) where ever reasonably possible. Settlements will often be “registered ” with the Family Court by way of an Application For Consent Orders. Court fees apply. Divorce Applications also attract court fees. Sadly separating couples who are planning to get a divorce or families experiencing a breakdown will be subject to dramatically increased court fees under the federal government’s new budget. It has been reported that the fee to apply for divorce will “significantly rise” under the new fee schedule. It is currently $845.00.  It is suggested that the divorce fee may raise to $1200 from July 1 this year. Details will be available from late June early July. A spokeswoman for the federal Attorney General has confirmed the fee increases but said the full details would not be available until July 1st. Accordingly separated couples considering a divorce application or court applications (including consent orders) may want to obtain urgent advice about commencing such application before the 1st of July. ...

01 May

Posted at 00:00h in General

The ancient office of Notaries Public is little understood by many in the legal profession and the wider community. Its modern day role has become more important with the increase in international trade and the global movement of people. It is time for a serious review of the office, function and regulation of Notaries in this State. Historically Notaries were the recorders of facts, often the only persons in the village or town able to read or write and hence the responsibility of recording births, marriages, deaths and business activities rested with them. In mainland Europe, they deal with all things non-litigious with formality, gravitas and a charging structure reflecting that. In the USA a Notary is found in every shopping mall and pays an annual licence to be able to operate. In the UK and Australia, a Notary is qualified for life and provides services somewhere between the two. The world is getting smaller, no longer is it the privilege of the few to have a holiday home abroad or dabble in foreign investments.  Even small companies have no qualms about looking abroad to enhance their business. Involvement with foreign countries is inevitable and to have a system in place to facilitate...

01 May

Posted at 00:00h in General

“You have clever ideas which you wish to be used only by your business? Would you like to know about Intellectual Property (IP)? Trademarks? Patents? Registered Designs? Would you like to see how some use their IP to generate more income? Then attend at the Eastside Business Enterprise Centre workshop where Eugene Reinboth from Belperio Clark will be facilitating. Registration is open at http://e.mybookingmanager.com/BelperioClarkLawyersJune15 “...

01 May

Posted at 00:00h in General

Bev Clark from Belperio Clark attended the International Academy of Collaborative Practice Conference held in Queensland in April 2015. Bev attended a fascinating two-day workshop in which the focus was on helping to shift separating and divorcing family law clients from a position of judgement to one of curiosity. Family law clients enter the collaborative process with feelings of hurt, anger and defensiveness. They may often have a very narrow view of what may be possible. Judgements and assumptions abound. As collaborative professionals, our job is to help them move through their hurt, anger and defensiveness and open themselves up to the possibilities for the future. Bev prefers to work in a collaborative team model which includes a Family Relationship Specialist and a Financial Expert. Each member of the professional team brings tremendous knowledge and experience to the collaborative case. We need to have sound judgement and strong analytical skills. We work hard to deliver a client centred process that focuses on the client’s abilities to make their own decisions. Lawyers commonly think we know what is best for our clients but in a collaborative model, we truly want to understand the client’s separate and common interests. Enquires with respect to their interests include: ...

01 May

Posted at 00:00h in General

One of the hardest and most important decisions that separating couples need to make is how they are going to conduct themselves and which process they will choose to resolve any issues in dispute. The simplest, cheapest and most respectful approach would be for the parties to deal with the matter themselves and perhaps only revert to lawyers in the event that they wish to have some or all of their agreements recorded in a binding legal document. Unfortunately, only about 5% of matters are settled in this way. This is not because 95% of people are not well-intentioned and would not like to sort things out in such a straightforward manner, but often there is so much hurt or emotion for one or both parties around the time of separation, that they are not able to have the conversations they need to have without some assistance. The worst way of going about resolving a dispute is going to Court. Approximately 5% of matters need to go to Court and it is appropriate when no other dispute resolution process would be viable, for parties to have the option of taking their matter to Court. For the vast majority of cases however, it...

01 May

Posted at 00:00h in General

At Belperio Clark we recognise that when parties are recently separating in family law matters there is often a lot of issues that need to be sorted out between them at a time when emotions are running high or there is a high degree of conflict and tension between the parties. There are also financial stresses around that time, particularly where one party has moved out and the same combined family income is funding two households plus re-establishment costs for the moving party. At Belperio Clark we recognise that this may not be an easy time for parties to take time away from work for the purposes of attending mediation and as such we are launching a new weekend mediation program. Parties will not only have the benefit of being able to attend to their mediation on the weekends rather than needing to take time away from work, but they will also have the benefit of a fixed price for our services. Take a look online at our Weekend Mediation Services or call us on 8212 1322 for information. ...

Contact
close slider

Contact us