How A Family Lawyer Can Help You With Your Divorce
You will need a family lawyer when divorcing your spouse. The professional is a reliable partner who significantly eases the divorce process. Below is an extract detailing how a family lawyer can help you as you divorce your spouse.
Assessing Your Eligibility
Although Australia adopts a no-fault divorce principle, couples must meet specific criteria when divorcing. For example, the couple's marriage or de-facto relationship must exceed two years. If not, they will be required to undergo counselling before filing for divorce. The couple must also prove they have been separated for at least one year. Your family lawyer will assess your situation to establish whether the family court will grant your divorce. For example, if you have been living under one roof during the separation period, the lawyer could recommend that you get an affidavit before filing for divorce.
Divorce Conduct
Most divorce applicants make minor oversights once they make their application. This complicates the divorce process and predisposes the courts to rule against them. Once you hire a family lawyer, they give instructions to ensure your conduct does not affect the court's ruling. For example, many family court judges give temporary orders detailing how the parents should raise their kids. If you disregard these orders, you could be held in contempt of court. Your lawyer could also prevent you from contacting your spouse before the completion of the divorce. It is especially so if they are confident the other party could falsify claims to gain the upper hand in court. For example, they could claim that you were violent towards them.
Some spouses hide joint property to have the upper hand during property settlement negotiations. While this seems like a viable solution, there is a probability that the strategy could work against you. Remember, your spouse's lawyer conducts due diligence before negotiations. Therefore, they are bound to discover financial misappropriations during the separation period. In this case, you could suffer severe penalties.
Drafting Agreements
The Australian legal system encourages divorcing spouses to use out-of-court agreements to settle their marriages. Your lawyer is best placed to negotiate these agreements. There are several reasons to let your family lawyer handle these agreements. First, the lawyer takes a professional approach to the negotiation process. For instance, they use facts and legal statutes instead of emotions to argue your interests. Second, family lawyers come equipped with various negotiation strategies to ensure a positive outcome. Finally, the lawyer files your agreement in court to legalise your agreement.