Malaga parents: Are you separating from your partner or thinking about separating from your partner, and do you have children, property or business interests than getting the legal advice a family lawyer is highly recommended. The cost of not doing so can be emotionally and financially devastating. You need compassionate, experienced and affordable legal representation. Our Perth Family Law experts are extremely knowledgeable and will guide you through every step to receive the best possible outcome.
Let us do the heavy lifting as dealing with family law issues is emotionally challenging. We provide the support and guidance you’ll need so you can be enjoying a new future with confidence and clarity.
When going through a divorce or separation you’ll want expert advice and representation to ensure a fair division of property assets.
The point of a property settlement is a clean break with numbers behind it, not a rough split agreed in a bad week. That usually means a modest home in the area around it, and sometimes an interest in a business as well — and where there is one, it forms part of the asset pool and has to be valued rather than set aside.
We can help you work through:
We identify and value the whole asset pool, including superannuation, work out a split that reflects contributions and future needs, then document it through consent orders so it is binding and final.
Call us and we will tell you where you stand before you commit to anything.
If you are divorced, separated and have children under the age of 18, speak to our Perth child support lawyers who know the WA Family Law.
Child support is assessed on a formula, but the formula only works if the figures going into it are right. Shift work is common, and where a parent is paid irregularly or draws from their own business rather than a wage, the assessment often understates what they actually earn. That can be corrected.
We assist with:
We can also deal with the costs that sit outside the formula — school fees, medical expenses and extracurriculars — through a written agreement.
Call us and we will tell you where you stand before you commit to anything.
Asset division for separated couples can be contentious and having a clear and thorough process will make the process easier for both parties. We can help!
Until the assets are formally divided, both of you remain exposed to the other’s debts and decisions. The asset pool is usually a house, two superannuation balances and, in some matters, an interest in something operating locally. All of it counts, including the parts held in one name only.
The exercise covers:
We locate and value everything, deal with the debts as well as the assets, and then formalise the division so neither of you is exposed to the other afterwards.
Talk to us early. It usually means fewer costs and more options.
If you are considering separating from your spouse, or have already done so, you may be entitled to, or liable for spousal maintenance.
Spousal maintenance is not automatic and it is not permanent. It comes down to whether one party can meet their reasonable needs and whether the other can afford to help. Where income is drawn rather than paid as a wage, what appears on paper and what is actually available are different figures, and both get looked at.
If you are already paying, we will tell you whether the amount is defensible and what it would take to change it.
Contact us and we will explain the realistic options for a matter like this.
Orders can be put in place or existing orders can be updated to make sure that parental responsibility of a child or children is protected.
Most parenting arrangements are settled by agreement and then formalised, which is far cheaper and far less damaging than a contested hearing. Early starts and shift rosters are the norm across the northern suburbs, so a parenting arrangement has to be written around the actual roster instead of a standard fortnight.
We draft arrangements with enough detail to be enforceable and enough flexibility to survive a change of job or school.
Call us and we will tell you where you stand before you commit to anything.
If you have been in a De-facto relationship and you are now separated then talk to our team today about sorting out your parenting plans and financial asset division.
A de facto separation raises the same questions as a divorce — property, maintenance and children — without the divorce itself. Couples in this part of Perth often buy a property with the title in one name, or one partner pays into the other’s mortgage for years. Neither of those settles who is entitled to what.
The two-year limitation period from separation is the thing to watch. We will tell you where you sit on it at the first appointment.
Talk to us early. It usually means fewer costs and more options.
Contact our experienced divorce lawyers for Malaga.
You need twelve months of separation before you can apply, and you can be separated while still living under one roof if it comes to that. The divorce itself is straightforward. The parts worth getting right are the property split and the parenting arrangements, and both should be underway before the twelve-month deadline.
Sole or joint application, we handle the filing and tell you what the court will want to see.
Give us a call and we will set out how this works in your situation.
Households linked to Malaga are the ones around it, and irregular hours shape most of what follows a separation.
Irregular hours mean a parenting arrangement built around a standard fortnight tends to fail within a couple of months, so it needs writing around the actual roster.
We act right across the northern suburbs, Marangaroo, Mariginiup, Mirrabooka included, so this is familiar ground for us.
In person, by phone or by video — whichever fits around your week.
If you are needing to get a property fixed up to be sold after a slit Electricians Near you will get your wires and lights up to code.
Legal guidance for property settlements and conveyancing, property disputes across Perth.
In the same way an electrician can help you get your house ready for sale a plumber can do the same, checking for leaks, drips or other issues in the home.
If you are moving house after a family dispute case has been finalised talk to a settlement agent today to discuss your options.
No — there is no automatic equal split in Western Australia, and that’s the most common misconception we correct. A settlement is worked out in steps: identify and value the whole pool, assess what each party contributed financially and non-financially, then adjust for future needs such as care of children, health, age and earning capacity. That process sometimes lands near half, and often doesn’t. A long marriage where one party raised children and the other built a career rarely produces an even division, and neither does a short relationship where one party brought in most of the assets.
Yes. ABMS Lawyers acts across the Perth metropolitan area from our office in South Perth – it is north of our South Perth office. Consultations can be in person, by video or by phone, documents are exchanged electronically, and signing can be arranged to suit you. Call us and we will work out the best way to handle it.
Superannuation is treated as property and forms part of the pool, which surprises a lot of people. It can be split between the parties by consent orders or by court order, and for many separating couples it’s the second-largest asset after the family home — sometimes the largest. It’s also the asset most often overlooked in an informal agreement, and the hardest to fix afterwards. Splitting it requires orders drafted so the fund can actually act on them, so it’s worth getting the wording right the first time.
No, and you should not wait. Property and parenting can be dealt with as soon as you separate. Once a divorce is final, there is a twelve-month limit to start property proceedings, which is a deadline people do miss.
Not automatically. Neither party has to leave simply because the relationship has ended, and moving out doesn’t forfeit your interest in the property — that’s another common worry with no basis. Who stays is usually a practical question about who can meet the mortgage, where the children are settled and whether both parties can reasonably remain under one roof in the meantime. Where they can’t, interim arrangements can be agreed or ordered covering who lives where and who meets the outgoings until a settlement is reached. If safety is a concern, that changes the picture and should be raised straight away.