Divorce Lawyers Central Coast – Legal Services Tailored to your Needs
Darley Legal is a law firm at Umina with a team of experienced divorce lawyers Central Coast. Our expertise ranges from conveyancing and family law to wills and probate. Divorce is a difficult process for all parties involved especially when children are in the mix. Divorce, unfortunately, leads to many issues with respect to parenting arrangements and as well as child support issues. It also leads to property conflicts and money.
At Darley Legal, our team of lawyers will always explore the options for your case and will work with your every step of the way to achieve the desired outcome. Our Central Coast Lawyers take the time to listen to your concerns and answer any questions you have, we then review your situation, explain our findings and work with you towards a solution or a way to proceed.
We pride ourselves on providing our clients with expert advice in a friendly and efficient manner. We value referrals more than fees, and our integrity and ethics are our strongest selling points. We are highly committed to encouraging the legal profession to be more than just lawyers. If you find yourself in need of a lawyer in Umina and surrounds, contact us today for your free first consultation.
In order to obtain a divorce, you will need to show to the Court that:
- the marriage has broken down irretrievably;
- You have been separated for a period of 12 months (even if you have continued living together); and
- where there are children of the marriage who are under 18 years of age, that there are arrangements in place for the care and welfare of the children.
Divorce
In case of an unfortunate end to the marriage, the emotional trauma may further complicate the situation, if not handled properly. At the time of divorce, the ex-partners must hire family lawyers to legally settle family matters.
In order to obtain a divorce, you will need to show to the Court that:
- the marriage has broken down irretrievably;
- You have been separated for a period of 12 months (even if you have continued living together); and
- where there are children of the marriage who are under 18 years of age, that there are arrangements in place for the care and welfare of the children.
What arrangements do I need to show for the children, and will I need to attend a Divorce Hearing?
A divorce will not be granted if there are children of the marriage, under the age of 18, unless appropriate arrangements have been made for the care of the children. These arrangements do not need to be put into writing by way of a parenting plan or consent orders. They can simply be agreed between you and your spouse.
The divorce application form requires you to state what arrangements have been made for the Children. If you wish to formalise arrangements for care of the Children, you can do so through either a parenting plan or consent orders, however, there is no requirement to do so in order to obtain a divorce.
If the application for a divorce is a joint application by you and your spouse, there will be no need for you and/or your spouse to attend the Hearing. However, if the application is a sole application, you will need to attend Court in order to verbally state that the application was served on your spouse and advise the Court of the arrangements in place for the Children.
How Can Family Law be Helpful for You?
Usually when clients first come to see us, they state that they are separating and Divorce is at the forefront of their mind, however Divorce should quite often be the last step, firstly due to Court time limits it is wise to leave a Divorce to the end, as (unless you have the permission of the Court) you only have 12 months from the date of divorce to settle property matters in the case of married couples, or 24 months in the case of de-facto couples, however, the most important factors at this stage for you to be considering are:
- Care arrangements for any children, i.e. who will the children live with? How often will they see the other parent and when? Where will they see the other parent? Who will they spend Christmas and birthdays with;
- Whether spousal maintenance is required to enable you to support yourself and any children pending a property settlement – can you cover mortgage repayments and school fees alone;
- how property should be divided between you? Who contributed what and who has the most need moving forward? What is a fair split?
- Do you need to change your Will or create a Will? The answer will always be yes, as your current will is cancelled on a divorce, and prior to divorce it is unlikely that you would want your assets to be left to your former partner. You can only ensure that this doesn’t happen by drafting a new Will;
- What are the tax implications of a divorce in relation to the division of property? Will you have to pay stamp duty again?
- Is there a need to apply to the Court for protective orders such as an AVO for you and the children? Do you need an exclusive occupation order so that you are permitted to reside in the family home alone with the children?
These are the type of concerns that can be discussed with our family lawyers.
How long does it take to get divorced and is it expensive?
The length of time it takes to get divorced will depend on your personal circumstances.
If the application for divorce is a joint application, you and your spouse will submit the application and necessary affidavits and you will be given a ‘hearing date’. In the case of a joint application there is no need for you or your spouse to attend Court and the Registrar will consider the application in chambers. Once the Registrar has decided to grant the application you will be formally divorced one month and one day from the date of hearing.
If you are making a sole application the process may be longer as you will need to serve the application on your spouse. If your spouse is in Australia, you will have to serve the application on your spouse at least 28 days before the hearing. If you spouse is overseas you must serve the application on your spouse 42 days before the hearing. If there are children under the age of 18 years you will need to attend the hearing and the divorce will be formally granted one month and one day after the hearing.
The filing fee for divorce changes from time to time and fees can be found on the Family Court of Australia website. You may be able to make an application for a reduction of these fees on the basis of hardship.
Why Us? – Family Lawyers Umina
There are a lot of firms out there that can advise you on your options in a divorce/separation, so what makes us different from the rest?
- We pride ourselves on our ethics and our compassion, we will tell you upfront your options and likely outcome, without you spending significant hard-earned monies on legal fees without any realistic prospects of being successful in obtaining the result you desire.
- We understand that clients do not have unlimited access to funds and legal fees and court fees can be expensive, for that reason we offer payment plans and a high degree of compassion in relation to fees.
- We understand that you don’t want to have to repeat yourself over and over, and for that reason you’ll be appointed the same solicitor that will assist you from start to finish.
- We understand that you also need to work and have other commitments and for that reason we are happy to conduct appointments on the weekends or after hours.
- We practice in a number of areas and can offer you expert advice on other matters ancillary to your separation, such as making or changing a Will, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Enduring Powers of Guardianship, purchasing or selling a property, even obtaining an AVO or defending one.
