Separation and Divorce Support » family law

Equal time with parents children do well

admin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:55:07 +0000

CHILDREN who spend roughly equal time with both parents after a divorce or separation are doing well, though no better or worse than children who spend most time with their mothers, a study shows.

Providing parents hold no fears for their children’s safety or for their own, most are happy with shared care, and make it work. Many mothers like the break and many children think the arrangement is ”fair.”

The study, commissioned by the federal Attorney-General’s Department, is based on the responses of 1028 parents and 136 children, and other data.

Conducted by a team under the leadership of the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW with academics from the University of Sydney and the Australian Institute of Family Studies, it is part of a government-funded investigation into the impact of reforms to the Family Law Act made in 2006.

”On the whole the more contact a child has with both parents the better for the child,” said Professor Ilan Katz, the chief investigator. ”But if you impose shared care on situations where parents live far apart, where there is conflict, and the child doesn’t like it and wants stability, it can be damaging.”

Call to make parental abductions a crime

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:42:15 +0000

The Family Law Reform Association of New South Wales is calling on the Federal Government to make it a crime for a parent to take a child out of Australia without the other parent’s consent.

About 150 children are taken overseas without permission each year, and the association says it is a form of child abuse.

It says the number of children affected is alarming and the law reformers have written to the Federal Attorney-General, asking him to criminalise the abductions.

The abductions are so common there is now an acronym for them – International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA).

Deputy Commissioner of the New South Wales Fire Brigades, Ken Thompson, had his son abducted in April 2008, and is now spokesman for the Coalition of Parents of Abducted Children.

“In April 2008, my son Andrew was kidnapped from Australia by his mother,” he said.

“They left the country, went to Singapore, then to Germany and they since disappeared without any trace. I just never imagined anything like this would happen.”

Mr Thompson said despite his wife exhibiting strange behaviour in late 2007, he had no inclination she would flee with their son.

“My wife was behaving very, very strangely in December 2007,” he said. “She was preventing me from having any contact with Andrew whatsoever.

“She then started to make some very, very serious allegations. I then took her to court to be able to resume my relationship with my son and to have her allegations investigated.”

Part way through the court process, his wife fled the country with their child.

Because she left during a court case, Mr Thompson was able to convince police she had breached the Family Law Act, enabling him to get some help.

“Because a crime hadn’t been committed under the Crimes Act, there was a lot of uncertainty about what the authorities could actually do, and that is when I realised there is a massive hole in our legislation,” he said.

“The vast majority of children who are abducted from Australia are abducted outside the Family Court process and in those cases, thorough investigations can’t be done because no crime has been committed.”

Dealing with Family Law – Slater and Gordon

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:34:39 +0000

Dealing with Family law issues are always sensitive for the clients and need to be dealt with a great deal of diligence and care, the understanding and compassion the Family Law team at Slater & Gordon offer is second to none.

The Family aspect

The breakdown of a relationship or marriage can be a stressful and traumatic event for the couple, any children and immediate family. If you decide to separate, you and your partner will need to make a variety of decisions about your children and property. At this time is where understanding family law can be essential.

Children eager to have say on custody

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:54:26 +0000

THEY are the innocent onlookers caught up in their parents’ bitter
conflict. But research suggests children of separating couples usually
want to have some say in post-marital arrangements — they just don’t
want to be forced to choose between their parents.

The extent to
which children are involved in making decisions about where they live
and how much time they spend with each parent depends to some extent on
how much their parents allow it.

But an Australian study suggests
that although most children want to be part of the discussion, they
concede that it puts them in a “difficult position”.

They were
unwilling or unable to choose between their parents because they were
concerned about the consequences of choosing, particularly about being
unfair or upsetting one of their parents. Only in cases involving
allegations of violence or abuse did children have strong views about
choosing between parents.

Most parents thought it was reasonable
for their children to have a say, but about half thought children were
possible victims of manipulation by the other parent or, less commonly,
“potential manipulators”.

Co-author Patrick Parkinson, professor
of family law at Sydney University, said it was important to listen to
children’s voices and understand how they were experiencing the
separation. But the ultimate decision should rest with the judge or
parents, not the child, he said.

“We were struck by how overwhelming the view of kids was that they wanted to have a say,” he said.

“Don’t ask children to choose but listen to their world.”

And
although judges are split about the appropriateness of children
speaking directly to judges about their wishes, almost all children
said that they should at least have the opportunity to do so, even if
they personally did not want to.

The study, published this week in the journal Family Matters, is based on interviews with 90 parents and 47 children and teenagers.

The
views of 20 Family Court judges and Federal Court magistrates, as well
as lawyers, family consultants and mediators, were also sought.

Under the Family Law Act, children’s views have to be considered by the judge, but the study says there is a paradox.

“The
more weight that is given to children’s views, the greater the danger
that they will be exposed to pressure from parents and manipulation,
and the more they are likely to experience damaging loyalty conflicts,”
it says.

Professor Parkinson said a balance had to be found between involving them without getting them caught up in loyalty conflicts.

Source…Children eager to have say on custody: study

Family Law and Custody Issues In Divorce Cases Remain Complicated

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:36:13 +0000

by Jeremiah Denslow

With divorce rates on the rise, many children are caught in the middle of a legal battle over who has custody of them. Choosing the right lawyer helps deal with the issue promptly.

The 21st century comes with new innovations and things to make life easier, and yet it still has the age-old problems of ruptured marriages and children caught in the middle of parents battling over who gets custody. And it’s not just a battle of who gets custody. It’s when, where and how long. It can be a conflict with no real winners from the child’s point of view.

If you’re facing this situation it’s important you know your rights as a parent, what kinds of child custody agreements there are and what’s granted in each of them. While it’s not terribly complex, it’s confusing when you’re dealing with the dual stresses of divorce and child custody issues.

The most common type of custody is legal custody and it’s shared between both parents. It’s fairly straightforward and means you have the right to make decisions on day-to-day matters about your children and have the responsibility for their care.

Another form of custody is physical custody. This is the right for the child to stay with one parent for a period of time and then the other for another specified length of time. One parent usually tends to have a greater period of time simply because of the logistics of this type of a custody agreement.

This is still a “shared custody” kind of arrangement involving both parents and the child’s visitation schedule is usually worked out depending on the lifestyles of the parents. What’s best for the child is critical.

There are situations where one parent or the other gets sole custody, meaning sole legal and physical custody. This is usually the result of one parent not being able to care for the child or they may be abusive, and is only awarded in extreme circumstances.

The other form of custody you might be awarded is joint custody. This means the parents share physical and legal custody. This is the preferred option by the courts, as it seems to be best for the child, however in some cases it isn’t possible. Talking to a knowledgeable family law attorney will make this situation easier to cope with.

Jeremiah Denslow is a Dayton Divorce Lawyer in Dayton Ohio with Denslow Law Firm. The firm specializes in family law. Jeremiah also practices Dayton criminal defense. To learn more, visit http://www.denslowlaw.com.

About the Author

A Family Law Lawyer Can Make it Go Smoother

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:33:58 +0000

by Justin DiMateo

Smoothing things over becomes an unpleasant task for many amateurs in divorce cases, a task that these people are not usually prepared to face. Bitter words and harsh times can create even more uncomfortable, awkward and very tense situations or environments for the parties involved and even for those around them. Having a professional who can help to fix these situations and draft and create fair, just settlements for divorced couples can be invaluable to these couples as they go through the divorce process.

Strangely, when one thinks of a family law attorney, they often think of those lawyers we have seen on television that have sinister ideas and intricate plots to destroy the lives of their opponents. What one will discover if they spend any time at all with any attorney is that this is simply not the case. The vast majority of attorneys are committed to discovering what is fair and implementing a settlement that reflects this. A family law attorney is not interested in taking a bad situation and making it worse. This does not benefit them at all and goes against the sense of fairness and equality that they fight to protect. A family should never go through a divorce alone, without the counsel of a professional to guide them through what can become ugly situations and hard times.

Especially if there are children involved in the divorce, these situations can become bitter messes from the very beginning. Former couples sometimes spend countless dollars and a great deal of time trying to decide who is going to have custody of their children after their divorce.

What is often forgotten in situations such as these is: what is best for the children? A family law attorney will bring their expertise in these situations and past experiences in similar cases in helping the family decide what is best for the children. Many families face the unpleasant requirement of putting their children through a messy divorce when the parents cannot get along or stay married to each other any longer.

When divorce seems inevitable, the parents will usually fight often, be miserable and create tense situations inside the home, which their children often pick up on. So, getting divorced may be the best thing for the children in some cases, as nobody wants their children to grow up in these circumstances. A messy divorce, however, will often create the very thing the parents were trying to avoid, a tense and uncomfortable situation for their children. Having a family law attorney to help the parents through these troubled times will help to smooth the situation and create a fair and calm environment for the children.

As everybody knows, divorce is not a fun experience for any party involved, and that includes the children. A family law attorney can help the situation by bringing information, experience and fairness to the situation. This will help the ex-husband and ex-wife sort out their divorce and make the decisions that are best for everybody involved.

About the Author

For more information on the process for a Divorce in Irvine or to schedule a consultation with a Family Law Attorney visit the offices of Diefer Law Group

Parenting cases – the best interests of the child

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:58:20 +0000

Parenting cases – the best interests of the child

When a court is making a parenting order, the Family Law Act requires it to regard the best interests of the child as the most important consideration. Parents must also use this principle when making parenting plans.

The Family Law Act

The Act makes clear that:

both parents are responsible for the care and welfare of their children until the children reach 18
arrangements which involve shared responsibilities and cooperation between the parents are in the best interests of the child.

See Section 61DA of the Act for the detail.

No fault divorce – Family Law Courts

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:56:44 +0000

The Family Law Act 1975 established the principle of no-fault divorce in Australian law. This means that a court does not consider which partner was at fault in the marriage breakdown.

The only ground for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the relationship, demonstrated by 12 months of separation.
No fault divorce