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GETTING DIVORCED OR SEPARATED IN A PANDEMIC
Are you thinking about Separation or Divorce and you don’t know where to start?
Get in touch with ABMS Divorce and Family Lawyers to get practical advice on your rights and entitlements and how to best handle the process and minimise the impact of separation or Divorce on your mental health and on your Finances.
It is possible to have an amicable separation and Divorce without having to go to Court. Just ask how and we provide you with practical advice and tips on how to go about it.
Going through separation or divorce can be stressful and expensive. Experiencing a family breakdown can be challenging. Our Perth Family Lawyers are experienced in assisting you in dealing with separation or divorce and the issues flowing from that. It’s important to seek independent legal advice which is specific to your situation so you can achieve the best possible outcome for yourself and your family. As experienced divorce and separation lawyers in Western Australia, we work from our Victoria Park office for all our clients in WA and beyond.
We are experienced in all areas of family law including the following:
Parenting disputes
Property Settlement
Child maintenance and support
Spousal support and maintenance
Dividing your assets and debts
Binding financial agreements
Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Locating assets overseas
All other issues arising out of your separation and divorce
I don’t want to go to Court – what can I do?
Divorce means moving on and opening another chapter of your life. Let ABMS Perth Family Lawyers help you do it properly and minimise the emotional and financial cost of dealing with Separation and Divorce. No matter what stage of separation you are at, it is important to receive legal advice so you don’t undo the good that is already done.
You can get divorced without settling your financial matters first. You can also settle your financial matters without getting divorced first. It is important to get legal advice that best suits your personal situation. Whether you are at the beginning of the process or the end it can be a confusing time. That is why you need experienced Lawyers to help you achieve the best outcome for you and your family and in understanding that:
How do I Apply for Divorce in Australia, Perth WA?
You can apply for Divorce and get divorced in Australia regardless of where you were married. You can apply for a divorce in Australia if either you or your spouse:
Depending on where in Australia you are living at the time of filing your application, you need to file your application in the Federal Circuit Court or in the Family Court of WA for those who are residing in Perth WA. You will need to apply for Divorce using a Form 3. You will be required to file a copy of your marriage certificate. If your marriage certificate is not in English, you need to obtain a translation and file an affidavit from an accredited translator. The filing fee for the application is $940. You can also make an application for a reduced fee if you are in receipt of Centrelink payments. If your divorce is contested, then you may pay a higher fee.
Applications for Divorce are now accepted via the eCourts portal. The Family Court has moved to a completely electronic divorce file. There is now no need to visit Court registries. Filing fee payments for divorce applications are processed securely online 24/7 and access to Court files has become easier. You can register on the eCourts Portal and electronically file your application for divorce that way.
You need to satisfy the criteria that you and your spouse have lived separately for at least 12 months and there is no reasonable likelihood of resuming married life as a couple. It is possible to live in the same house and still be separated. This is called separation “under one roof”.
Ordinary resident includes “habitual resident”. If you decide to apply for divorce, you must know that the Court will not grant you a divorce simply because you want it. The Court must be satisfied that your relationship has irretrievably broken down and there is no chance you and your spouse will be reconciling. Getting advice about your divorce matter will assist you going forward. There are also different requirements for couples who are separated but living under the same roof.
If you are considering divorce, you should consider getting legal advice early, at least in the first instance, so you are aware of the pitfalls and of how Courts deal with divorce applications. There are also timelines that must be complied with before a Divorce is granted. Importantly, if you own property and would like to get divorced, you need legal advice in respect to how divorce will affect your rights in relation to your assets. Our experienced Family Lawyers can help you with any questions you may have about your Separation or Divorce.
If you were or have been married for less than two years and you wish to make a divorce application, you must attend reconciliation counselling before making the application for Divorce. You must also file a counsellor signed certificate with your application for Divorce. Where such counselling is not feasible, you must file an affidavit explaining why you are not able to attend counselling.
A Divorce application can either be contested or uncontested. Contested Divorce simply means that you are not able to resolve all of your many issues which need to be resolved prior to obtaining a divorce. Such issues may include the division of your property and debts, Child Support and Child Custody or who your child should be living with.
To apply for a divorce, you need to complete the online interactive application for divorce and pay the filing fee. A copy of your application for divorce then needs to be served on your spouse together with a copy of the marriage, families and separation brochure.
Perth Divorce order
A divorce order takes effect one month (and one day) after it is made, or after a section 55A Declaration has been made, whichever is the latter made by the Court.
Section 55 A Declaration
A divorce order does not take effect unless the court has declared that it is satisfied of the following:
Once a certificate of divorce is issued, from that time onwards parties are free to marry. The one-month-one-day period can be extended with leave of the Court.
If you and your spouse have been separated for at least 12 months you can make an application for divorce in the Family Court of WA if you live in WA. The only actual grounds for divorce are that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. A divorce order will not be made unless the court is satisfied that there is no reasonable likelihood of cohabitation being resumed by parties. Any other reasons, such as cheating on your spouse, is not a ground for divorce, but it can contribute to your marriage being irretrievably broken down. Similarly, any disagreement by one spouse to some aspects of the arrangements for the care and welfare of the children is not a ground for opposing divorce and should be kept for your separate child related parenting proceedings. Raising such matters at the divorce might only lead to the adjournment of the hearing for a report under section 55 A (2).
There is no filing fee on a response to a divorce application.
Have you recently separated from your partner or are you thinking about separating? We can help by making the process easier and simpler on you and your family. Separation can be a very emotional and distressing time in a person’s life. It can be hard to think clearly sometimes about what is in your best interest without an outsider looking into your situation. Other times, you just don’t know where to start. That is where we come in. We specialise in dealing with simple and difficult cases of separation and have proven results to show for it. See what some of our clients are saying about our services and how we assisted them during the time in their life.
Separation in Family Law is the end of a marriage or de facto relationship. The word separation does not mean physical separation, but simply the effective breakdown of the matrimonial relationship. This means you stop doing all the things that you and your spouse were doing as a couple. Separation can occur where both you and your spouse form the intention to sever or not to resume your marital relationship and act on that intention or alternatively act as if the marital relationship has broken down.
What if separation is disputed?
When it comes to separation a dispute can arise in respect to the actual date of the breakdown of a relationship or the date when a party moved out of the shared property. If separation is disputed by one party, it is sometimes a fact which needs to be proven in court. You can confirm your date of separation via email or text message or a written letter to your spouse or former de facto at the time of separating or shortly after. This becomes evidence that can be relied upon in Court sometimes.
If you have concerns about your own safety or the safety of your children do not hesitate to take action to ensure you and the children are not exposed to family violence or abuse. You can contact one of our experienced family lawyers at ABMS LAWYERS to obtain advice about the measures you can take to protect yourself and the children. For example, you may need to obtain a restraining order against your spouse and any other person you may be afraid of or feel threatened by. Do not engage in destructive behaviour that could be very damaging to your case such as destroying property or posting messages on social media that are harmful to a person or their reputation and which can come back to haunt you in the future.
If you wish to apply for divorce whilst living under the same roof with your spouse, instead of the usual option of 12 month, you will need to file an affidavit containing evidence that your marriage has irretrievably broken down although you are living under the same roof.
Once you are divorced your will becomes invalid. This means you need to have a new will prepared to take into account your new circumstances.
You and your spouse need to be aware that there is a time limit of 12 months once a Divorce Order has taken effect. This means you need to sort out the division of your assets or you will need to file your application for property within that 12 month period from the time of your Divorce. After that, you will need permission of the court or the consent of the other party in order to apply to the Court for property settlement.
Many people that get divorced, especially in acrimonious situations, do not want to get married again or at least not so soon after they divorce. However, there are some people who do. If you are one of those people you need to understand a few things:
When you file a form 3 application for divorce you will need to wait until one month and one day after the order is made. If you get married before the order has taken effect you will be committing a crime called bigamy. This is according to section 94.(1) of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth).
You do not want to be an accidental bigamist. Bigamy is not legal in Australia. It is important to seek legal advice to ensure you don’t find yourself in this situation.
To find out how to avoid this situation or any other issues you may be having in respect to your Family Law matter, get in touch with one of our Family Lawyers on (08) 9468 3297 or via email at office@abmslawyers.com.au
Making an appointment to see a divorce lawyer should not be considered a scary step or an act of going to war with your former spouse. It could be the most sensible step you take in trying to resolve your family law dispute. We often have clients who attend their first appointment concerned about what it means to have instructed a divorce lawyer. It is a common misconception amongst people that when you instruct a divorce lawyer you have reached a point of no return and it is now “game on”.
A couple of things to note when you are thinking about seeing a Family Lawyer for the First time.
We always provide clients with options at the end of their first appointment as to where they would like to go from that meeting. This could just mean writing to the other party, attending court or waiting to hear from them.
An initial meeting does not mean your matter is heading straight to the Family Court unless of course there are circumstances requiring that to be the case.
We always suggest a number of options for the client which include alternative dispute resolution options at your first appointment.
A suggestion to commence proceedings in the Family Court does not necessarily mean that your matter is going to trial even if an application was made. There are a number of interim hearings and Court initiated dispute resolution options which provide an opportunity to reach a settlement. The current percentage of matters that start in the Family Court and remain in the Family Court system until a trial, is much less than the percentage of matters that settle along the way. It is better to avoid Court to begin with.
Your relationship with your former spouse does not need to be acrimonious for you to have a need to seek legal advice from an experienced Lawyer.
Often a client will just need some initial advice as to their rights and entitlements. Parties may also need advice as to how to practically resolve their matter and formalise any agreement that has been reached between them either through a Financial Agreement or a Form 11 Consent Order. Ask one of our experienced Family Lawyers on how to go about it.
You do not need to tell people that you’ve been to see a lawyer. This includes your former spouse. There is no requirement that you inform your spouse that you have been to see a lawyer or that you have received legal advice. You can do it as discreetly as you wish. Also, do not pay your initial consultation fee with your credit card or joint account if you don’t want your partner to know that you’ve been to see a lawyer.
Your lawyer can be as involved or uninvolved in the negotiations for parenting or financial matters as you want them to. There is no obligation to continue to instruct a lawyer after the first appointment. We always provide clients with options at the end of their first appointment and guide them to where they would need to go from there. Sometimes we limit work to simply writing correspondence to the other side, attending court or waiting to hear from the other side.
An initial consultation does not mean that your matter is heading straight to the court or that we will be taking you on or that you will be instructing us to be your lawyer. The initial consultation gives us an opportunity to assess your case and give you some advice on the process, your responsibilities, and rights and just the overall view of what your case means for you and the decisions that you will need to make going forward. If we suggest you take the matter to court or to commence proceedings in the Family Court, it does not necessarily mean that your matter is going to trial. There are opportunities to settle your matter from the commencement of the proceedings up to the trial. There is a process when a matter is found in court. There are several interim hearings and court-initiated dispute resolution options which provide clients with opportunities to reach a settlement. The current percentage of matters that start in Family Court and remain in the Family Court system until a trial is about 2%. The remaining matters settle at some stage between the initial stage and the trial.
Your relationship with your former spouse does not need to be acrimonious for you to have a need to seek legal advice. Getting legal advice means you arm yourself with the necessary knowledge to be able to make decisions that are in your best interest. Our clients need initial advice to assess their rights and entitlements and also their responsibilities in respect to joint debt or personal debt of their own. Parties may also need advice to see how to practically resolve matters and to formalise any agreement that has been reached between the two of them outside the whole process.
Making an appointment to see a lawyer should not be considered a scary step or an act of going to war with your former spouse. It would likely be the most sensible step you can take in the direction of resolving your family law dispute. It will also prevent you from making decisions that may later come back to haunt you. We see this often when clients make by decisions after they separated or prior to separation that later come back to haunt them because they did not seek legal advice.
If you are going to communicate with your spouse or former de facto, make sure that your language is not emotive or aggressive and keep your communications focused on how the issue at hand can be progressed, rather than dwelling on what has happened in the past.
Do not engage in destructive behaviour. Whilst you may find it momentarily satisfying to cut up your spouse’s suits or destroy family photographs, the satisfaction is short-lived and overshadowed by the negative response from your spouse or former de facto. If you dispose of or damage any valuable asset which would form part of the pool of assets, you may be held accountable for the damage. Getting caught up in a moment of frustration or anger could prove to be very costly.
Change the accessibility to your computer and online accounts. Even if you think that your spouse or former de facto does not know your passwords or how to access your online accounts, resetting any access codes or passwords is relatively simple and can make sure your personal information remains confidential.
Make an appointment to consult one of the experienced family and divorce lawyers at ABMS LAWYERS and obtain tailored family law advice. Each family has a different set of circumstances and there is no “one size fits all” solution to a family law dispute. You should take affirmative action to find out what your entitlement to a property settlement is, what arrangements are appropriate for your children and what spousal/de facto partner maintenance and child support you may be entitled to receive before you separate or shortly afterwards.
You may need to take urgent action to freeze any joint accounts or to take legal action if a property is held in your spouse or former de facto partner’s name, to prevent its sale or dissipation before a final property settlement occurs.
If you are going to move out of the former matrimonial home, make sure you are thorough about removing all of your belongings. It is often the case that parties leave behind treasured possessions or documents which later becomes awfully expensive or difficult to recover.
Do not engage in petty behaviour, such as cutting off the electricity at the former matrimonial home where your spouse or former de facto is living or removing your spouse or former de facto or even your children from your private health insurance policy without first providing notice. There may need to be some changes to the way that mortgage or loan repayments, household expenses, utilities and family costs are paid after a separation occurs. Any action you intend to take should be discussed with your spouse or former de facto and your lawyer prior to being taken. You should also consider the impact that your actions will have on your children, who may be living with your spouse or former de facto.
Parties involved in a family law dispute spend significant sums of money attempting to obtain copies of documents from the other party which were readily accessible to them prior to their separation. Whilst parties are obliged to give disclosure to each other of documents relating to their financial position, it is not always the case that all parties readily comply with their disclosure obligations.
You can also start collating information in readiness for your property settlement discussion and your entitlements. It is to your benefit to record or obtain details of the following:
Make sure you collate and take copies of documents which relate to the assets, liabilities and superannuation entitlements you and your spouse or former de facto have and what each of your respective sources of income are.
In addition, make sure you go to your bank and your accountant to obtain what information you can about your financial position. Discuss with them your changing circumstances and what action they suggest you take. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and to demand answers from people so you can get the help you need.
Consider your immediate living arrangements and support. Where will you live? How will you meet your living expenses? The family lawyers at ABMS LAWYERS can provide you with legal advice about issues such as exclusive occupancy of the family home, and funding to meet your legal expenses.
Our other Perth Family Law services
Asset Division & Financial Separatioin|Binding Financial Agreements|Child Support And Child Maintenance
|De Facto Relationships|Divorce & Separation|Contraventions and Breaches of Court Orders and Enforcements|Family Violence Restraining Orders (FVROs) & Violence Restraining Orders|Form 11 Consent Orders|Mediation|Form 11 Consent Orders|Property Settlement
Divorce in Australia is defined by law as the termination of a marriage. Once your marriage is terminated by the Court, you will get a “Divorce Order”. Divorce Orders are granted by the Family Court. A legal divorce is not needed to start a de facto relationship with other people. A divorce order allows you to remarry.
Some people separate and do not bother getting divorced. Generally, that is not a legal problem if you don’t marry again. If you never get around to divorcing and get yourself into another relationship, you can create problems for yourself as relationships can get too complicated. By law, you will still be regarded as “married to that other person.” If you marry someone whilst married to another person, it is considered bigamy. It is not legal in Australia.
After you file your application for divorce you must let your spouse know about your application by serving a copy of the application on them. Personal service is required. Parties are not allowed to serve their own court papers on their spouse.
Parties can use process savers who are familiar with family law procedure so they can effect service on the spouse personally. Service of court documents on the respondent is to be completed within 28 days before the hearing for the divorce application. The process server will have to provide the documents to your spouse as well as a blank affidavit of service for a divorce and an acknowledgment of service forms.
Good process servers will return the service papers to you promptly completed, the affidavit may be found without a signed acknowledgement of service being attached or with it attached if it has been signed by your spouse. Any photo used to identify your spouse is also attached. You can also file the affidavit of service.
You need to be careful not to be tempted to send it to your spouse or their lawyer in the hope that either of them would dutifully sign and return the acknowledgment before the service deadline.
If your spouse cannot be found, you should file an application to dispense with service or for substituted service. You should set out your evidence in your affidavit that the court would take into account in support of your orders for substituted service.
You and your spouse do not need to attend the hearing for the Application for Divorce where there are no children below the age of 18 but should attend if there are children. At the hearing, the court will grant you the divorce order and make a section 55A declaration as to children if it is satisfied that the grounds for Divorce have been met.
One month and one day later, the court will issue a certificate of divorce certifying that a divorce order has taken effect.
It is still possible to get divorced in Australia, even if you were married overseas. You will need to provide the original certificate of marriage or a certified copy of the certificate, an entry or record of your marriage in accordance with the laws of that country. If it is not in English, you will need an affidavit translating those documents.
You can apply for a divorce 12 months from the date of your separation.
Yes. Same-sex couples whose marriages are recognised can access Australia’s divorce system if they meet the requirements for divorce under the Family Law Act 1975, regardless of when the marriage was solemnised.
A Divorce Order does not deal with a property or parenting issues except that the children’s welfare, care and development are taken car of at the time of getting divorced. Property division and parenting arrangements will need to be dealt with separately.
You and your spouse will need to commence proceedings in Court for property, superannuation splitting Orders or spousal maintenance within 12 months after the Divorce Order is granted. You do not necessarily have to go to Court to have your property and parenting issues sorted.
If you were married, applications for property adjustment must be made within 12 months of your divorce becoming final. If you fail to apply within these time limits, you will need special permission of a court. This is not always granted.
If you and your partner have children together who are below the age of 18, the Family Court will not grant you the Divorce Order unless it is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for their care, welfare, and development. This includes making sure that the children are financially supported including housing, education, and medical needs. Children includes your own or your partner’s, and adopted children, whether yours or your partners etc.
If the Court is not satisfied that the arrangements in place for the children’s care, welfare and development are met, it may adjourn the Application for Divorce until such time as those issues are sorted. The Court may require a report from the Family Consultant about these issues.
If you need help with parenting or custody issues ABMS LAWYERS can help you. ABMS LAWYERS can also help you on how to deal with Financial issues following from your separation or Divorce. We can also assist you with Mediation.
Once the Order for Divorce is made by the Family Court, it takes one month and one day for it to take effect. So you can’t remarry immediately. You or your partner can appeal before the Order has taken effect after the expiration of one month from the day the appeal was determined or discontinued. The Divorce Order cannot be appealed after it takes effect.
If one party passes away before the Order takes effect, the Order does not take effect.
Yes. If a divorce Order has been made by the Family Court but has not yet taken effect, the Court may rescind the Order if you and your partner reconcile. The Court can also rehear the Application on the grounds of fraud, perjury, suppression of evidence or any other reason it thinks fit on the Application of one of the parties or the Attorney General of the State.
Unfortunately, a divorce is still possible even if one party does not wish to be Divorced. If you can prove to the Court that your marriage has irretrievably broken down, the grounds for divorce are established. Your marriage will be considered irretrievably broken down if you and the other party have been separated for a period of 12 months and have no intention of resuming the marriage. One party can make an application to the Court on their own for a Divorce Order without agreement from their partner.
There are however strict rules in respect to Divorce Applications that must be complied with which includes the service of the Application on your partner.
Yes. If your partner opposes the Application for one reason or another, he or she can file a response to the Application prior to the hearing date. You must file the Response to Divorce within 28 days of receiving the Divorce Application or within 42 days if you are outside of Australia.
If you make an Application for Divorce on your own, you must personally serve your spouse a copy of the Application within the stipulated time frames – 28 within Australia and 42 days if outside Australia. That does not mean hand a copy of the Application on them yourself. You must instruct a process server to do it for you. They are familiar with the process and they know what is required by the Court in respect to service of your application. Personal service simply means the Application has been brought to the attention of the other party.
There are occasions however, when service is dispensed with if facts permit, but you must seek legal advice first.
If you have been married for less than 2 years, you and your spouse will first need to attend a counselling session to get a certificate from your counsellor. If this is cannot be done for special reasons, you will need to file an affidavit to Court explaining your situation. The standard requirement for Divorce will still apply including the 12 month separation period.
Separation involves the breakdown of the marital relationship. It is more than ‘mere’ physical separation between you and your spouse. If you are still behaving or acting like a couple in one way or another, such as attending social functions together, maintaining a sexual relationship, operating joint accounts and intermingling funds, you may have difficulty satisfying the Court that you are no longer a couple.
The Court will look at your actions and intentions and at the communications between the two of you.
If you resume co-habitation on one occasion for not more than 3 months, the Court can add-up or aggregate the periods of separation. The period of co-habitation is not included as part of the period of separation. Just so you know, resuming a sexual relationship does not in itself constitute co-habitation of a relationship, it is just one of many factors that the Family Court may consider. If you file an application for Divorce, the Court will consider the likelihood of you further co-habiting with your spouse.
The established principle is of no-fault divorce in Australian law. This means that a court does not consider why the marriage ended.
The only grounds for divorce are that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. That is, that there is no reasonable likelihood that you will get back together. You must have been separated for at least 12 months to satisfy the Court that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
If there are children aged under 18, a court can only grant a divorce if it is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for them.
If you have been separated for more than 12 months, there are few opportunities to oppose a divorce application. You can only oppose the divorce where:
If you do not want the divorce granted, you must complete and file a Response to Divorce and appear in person on the hearing date.
You need to set out the grounds on which you seek the dismissal in the Response to Divorce.
If you file a response, you should attend the divorce hearing. If you do not attend, the Court may decide the divorce application in your absence. If it is difficult for you to attend in person, you may ask the Court to appear by telephone.
If you want the divorce granted but disagree with the facts in the Application for Divorce, you may file a Response to the Application for Divorce.
You need to state which facts you disagree with in the Response to Divorce. The errors might, for example, be that dates of birth are incorrect or the details regarding the children are no longer correct. You do not need to attend the hearing.
If you want to file a Response to Divorce, you need to file it:
Yes and No. If you have made the Application for Divorce on your own and there is a child of the marriage under 18 years, you must attend the court hearing. If there are no children of the marriage under 18 years of age you are not required to attend the court hearing. This applies for both sole and joint applications
If you have made a joint application, you and your spouse are not required to attend the court hearing even if there is a child of the marriage aged under 18.
If you have made a sole application and there is a child of the marriage aged under 18 years, you (the applicant) are required to attend the court hearing unless circumstances prevent you from attending.
If there is no Response to Divorce, the other party is not required to attend, although they may do so if they wish.
If a respondent has completed and filed a Response to Divorce, but does not oppose the application, he or she does not need to attend the hearing.
If a respondent has, in a Response to Divorce, opposed the application, the respondent must appear in person on the hearing date.
A child of the marriage includes:
If it is difficult for you to attend in person, you may ask the Court to appear by telephone. You must complete a form requesting permission of the Court for you to attend the hearing via telephone or video link setting out the reasons why you are requesting to attend by telephone/video link.
You should not make firm plans to marry on a specific date until the divorce order is finalised. You may, however, complete and lodge a notice of intended marriage with an authorised celebrant before the divorce order is finalised.
If you intend to remarry, you must lodge the notice of intended marriage with an authorised marriage celebrant at least one month before the date the marriage is solemnised and comply with other requirements of the Marriage Act 1961. The authorised celebrant must sight a copy of the divorce order before the wedding can take place.
In most cases, the divorce order takes effect one month and one day after the divorce is granted. You should not assume the divorce will be granted at the first court hearing. For example, you may be told at the hearing that you need to provide more information about your situation.
It is possible for you and your spouse to be separated but to continue living in the same home during the 12 months before applying for divorce. This is known as ‘separation under the one roof’. If this applies to your situation, you need to prove to the Court that you were separated during this time.
If you have been married less than two years you will need to file a counselling certificate and attend counselling. If you are unable to attend counselling with your spouse, you will need to file an affidavit as outlined in the fact sheet.
The two years are calculated from the date of the marriage to the date of applying to the Court for a divorce. You and your spouse must also have been separated for at least 12 months before applying for a divorce.
You can apply for a divorce overseas. Australia will recognise a divorce if it was effected in accordance with the laws of that country.
Separation under one roof is when a husband and wife separate but continue to live in the same home. It may be for a few days, weeks, months or years following separation. If you and your spouse lived in the same home during part or all of the required 12 months separation period, you need to provide extra information to the Court. You need this information before you can apply for a divorce.
You will need to support your divorce application with an affidavit if you and your partner are going through separation under the same roof. An affidavit is a written statement prepared by a party or witness. It is the main way in which you can present evidence (facts of the case) to the Court. You must swear or affirm the affidavit before a person authorised to witness affidavits, for example, a lawyer or Justice of the Peace. You will need to show that there has been a change in the marriage, gradual or sudden, showing you and your spouse have separated:
Your affidavit should also explain:
Divorce does not mean war on your spouse and you or your spouse do not need to be nasty. Instructing a divorce lawyer does not mean going to war and it also does not mean that when your lawyer is aggressive, they are effective. Aggressiveness does not mean effectiveness.
It is a common misconception among certain members of our society that when your lawyer is aggressive then your lawyer is effective. Sometimes aggression can inflame the situation and make the situation more emotional or volatile than it needs to be. That does not necessarily achieve anything or, if it does, it comes at the great cost of alienating parties further. This can be very harmful especially if there are children involved and/or property settlement is pending.
You can have an amicable separation and still get a good settlement without being too acrimonious. Acrimony can have a lasting impact on parties in Divorce especially where there are children. We understand events leading up to separation can be very painful, but we encourage our clients not to burn bridges.
Let the Family Lawyers at ABMS LAWYERS help you to resolve your Divorce and Separation issues so you can move to the next stage. Contact us on (08) 9468 3297, via email, or make an online booking.
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