White & Mason Lawyers Expand into Family Law

One of the primary reasons behind our firms decision to enter into this area is the advent of the new equality legislation permitting same sex marriages in Australia.

With that legislation comes an ever increasing new range of challenges, not only for the lawyers, but ultimately for the judges sitting on the Family Court bench.

As I have raised with a number of colleagues, the Family Court jurisdiction in Australia has always had a bias towards the mother or the wife. 

How does a judge now determine their preference when there are two dads and two mums?

It is just this simple question that has opened up a whole Pandora’s box as to what the courts will do moving forward.

It is in view of the above that I set out the areas of family law that our firm is now available for and you will note there is a clear commercial flavour given the fact that we are primarily a commercial law firm where we seek to provide our family law clients with commercial outcomes that the court system can simply not deliver.

A further challenge has also arisen in November 2017 when the High Court of Australia handed down a decision which effectively set aside a prenuptial agreement.  Until then the courts had displayed a reluctance to set aside such agreements, but given that it has now been done by the High Court, this area of the law is also under review and we have developed agreements that address these issues and should remain solid for the parties until the High Court changes its direction again.

We see that we may be of assistance to the entire IR Global network in offering our family law services, not only with respect to disputes that may arise between couples, but also with regard to illegal abductions, the quest to find hidden assets or the quest to secure assets that are located within the Commonwealth of Australia that need to be protected from wrongful sale or opportunistic sale which would negatively affect the rights of the other party.

This is indeed an exciting development for our firm.

Please see Family Law areas below:

Family Law

From the point that you enter a relationship you should be aware of time frames and your exposure through to the unfortunate event of the failure of a marriage.  We can help you in all aspects of matrimonial law, including premarital and cohabitation agreements through to children and property arrangements should the relationship or marriage fail.

  • Court Applications

Collation of all relevant information, setting legal strategies, and preparation of court documents from the commencement of a matter through to a concluded Final Hearing, including enforcement and appeal if required.

  • Financial and Property Matters

Family law encompasses many areas of law, including complex trusts and business structures, royalties, patents, copyright, superannuation, leases, licences, complicated property holdings, artworks and any property holding a value and Douglas can assist in these areas.

  • Binding Financial Agreements

Binding Financial Agreements give clients the ability to resolve their property matters without resort to Court action.   Binding Financial Agreements gives clients the option of keeping their agreements confidential as a Binding Financial Agreement is not necessarily registered with a court.  Regarding Binding Financial Agreements before marriage, it is important to consult with a solicitor well prior to any wedding so as to give both parties plenty of time to properly consider the consequences of entering into such an agreement.  These types of agreements are also available during a relationship and after separation.

  • Family Violence, Intervention Orders and Criminal Law

Family violence is prominent in family law matters with Intervention Orders impacting on the amount of time a parent may, or may not, spend with children.  Breaches of Intervention Orders and subsequent criminal charges brought by Victoria Police can result in significant fines and imprisonment.  Adverse findings against a parent in family violence matters can have significant implications and consequences in family law matters, and in general.  Douglas provides advice in all of these areas, and many family law firms do not provide advice with respect to Intervention Order Applications and criminal matters as they relate to a family law proceeding.

Douglas’ role as instructing solicitor in the “Snowtown” murder trial for a period of time, and many other criminal law matters, assists his understanding of the criminal law jurisdictions and our client’s benefit from his experience.

  • Relocation

Given the increase in marriages between people from different countries, and a highly mobile community at large, more people are seeking to relocate interstate or overseas or to country locations.  It is improper to move without giving notice to the other parent, and receiving their consent.  If there is no consent then a court application is required prior to moving.  Legal advice should be sought in these matters at the earliest time.

  • Abduction

Regarding international aspects of family law, The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported in 2015 that 81% of marriages were between couples born in different countries and Douglas understands the complexities of this aspect of family law, including child abduction in Australia and overseas

  • Adoption

People wishing to adopt a child to have the opportunity to be parents must apply to the Family Court to commence the process.  Once the Court makes an order to proceed, there is significant input from the Department of Human Services about the motivation, and level of understanding the clients with respect to the difficulties that adoption poses.  Douglas can assist with adoption matters.

Should you have any queries, please feel free to contact Mark White.