Midland parents: Are you thinking about separating or partner, or are you already separating from your partner? If you have children, property, or business interests then getting the right family law advice is a must. It might surprise you but the cost of not doing so can lead to both emotional and financial ruin. We are experienced, compassionate and affordable legal advisors in all matters of Family Law. Our local Perth Family Lawyers team will guide you through every step to receive the best possible outcome for your family.
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.
A property settlement ends the financial relationship. Until it is done properly, your former partner still has a claim on what you own. Around Midland the housing runs from units close to the centre to established homes further out, so what a settlement looks like depends heavily on which of those you own — a unit is easier to value and easier to sell, a family home usually is not.
We can help you work through:
We will tell you early what a realistic range looks like, so you are negotiating against a number rather than against a feeling.
If this is where you are at, call us and we will talk it through.
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.
The assessment is one thing. Whether it gets paid, and what to do when it does not, is another. Midland is a centre for the district, so schools, childcare and work are often within a short radius and shared care is practical. How many nights the children spend with each parent changes the assessment, so it is worth getting that right from the start.
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.
Talk to us early. It usually means fewer costs and more options.
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!
Asset division is where the detail lives — superannuation, offset accounts, vehicles, business interests and anything held through a company or trust. Around the north-east and Swan Valley district it is common to see an owner-occupied home plus a unit held as an investment, and the investment property carries tax consequences on transfer that the family home does not.
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.
Give us a call and we will set out how this works in your situation.
If you are considering separating from your spouse, or have already done so, you may be entitled to, or liable for spousal maintenance.
Where one party stepped back from work during the relationship, maintenance is often the bridge between separation and getting back on their feet. Around the north-east and Swan Valley district incomes are mixed — retail, trades, office work and self-employment — and where one party’s income is irregular, a maintenance figure needs to be set against a realistic average.
If you are already paying, we will tell you whether the amount is defensible and what it would take to change it.
We take these matters on regularly. Call us and we will be straight with you about it.
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. With schools, work and both households usually close together, arrangements around the north-east and Swan Valley district tend to be workable in practice. The value is in writing them down before they are tested.
We help negotiate a parenting arrangement, then formalise it as a parenting plan or consent orders so everyone knows where they stand.
If this is where you are at, call us and we will talk it through.
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.
If you lived together on a genuine domestic basis for two years, or you have a child together, the law generally treats it as a de facto relationship. Around the north-east and Swan Valley district it is common for one party to have owned a unit before the relationship started, with the other contributing to the mortgage since. That contribution counts, regardless of whose name is on the title.
We advise on whether the relationship meets the definition, what you are entitled to, and how to deal with property and children.
We take these matters on regularly. Call us and we will be straight with you about it.
Contact our experienced divorce lawyers for Midland.
The divorce application itself is usually the simplest part of a separation. It is a court order ending the marriage, nothing more. For clients here the divorce is the straightforward part — the settlement and the parenting arrangements are the work, and they should be underway well before the twelve-month deadline bites.
Where you have been married under two years, or your former spouse cannot be located, there are extra steps and we will walk you through them.
We take these matters on regularly. Call us and we will be straight with you about it.
Households in Midland cover the full range — renters, young couples, families who have been there for decades — so there is no typical Midland matter.
Because both parties usually stay close, shared care is genuinely workable — the value is in writing the arrangement down before it gets tested rather than after.
We act right across the north-east and Swan Valley district, Midvale, Millendon, Red Hill 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-east 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.