family law solicitor perth
Non-Commercial Surrogacy
The desire to have a child is very powerful. For some couples surrogacy may be a solution.
However, surrogacy is a complex area of law and in Western Australia is governed by the Surrogacy Act 2008. The act sets out the legal requirements for non-commercial surrogacy arrangements that can be made between suitable persons.
Assessment requirements under the Surrogacy Act 2008 require parties to obtain independent legal help and advice so all parties are fully informed about the legal consequences of a surrogacy.
Kavanagh Family Lawyers can provide the required independent legal advice prior to surrogacy and assist you in making a surrogacy agreement including defining the agreement terms and obtaining the parenting orders.
Commercial Surrogacy
Commercial surrogacy is illegal in Western Australia and is a criminal offence under the Surrogacy Act 2008.
Next Steps
Call Kavanagh Lawyers on (08) 6557 5888 to speak to one of our lawyers.
Kavanagh Family Lawyers – A Conveniently located Family Law Firm in Perth
Kavanagh Family Lawyers are conveniently located at 1/100 Terrace Road in East Perth. It’s walking distance to Perth’s city centre, and if you live or work in the Free Transit Zone region of the Perth City then you’re only a free bus trip away. With plenty of parking along the picturesque Langley park, you’ll have no trouble finding parking near this family law firm in perth. Adding to it’s convenience is the location of The Family Court of Western Australia, which is only two blocks away on the same street (150 Terrace Road, Perth).
Terrace Road is a street that normally avoids the peak hour congestion and is easy to access via Riverside Drive to the West, The Causeway in the South East, and via East Parade and then Plain St from the North. View the map location here.
A Conveniently located Family Law Firm in Perth
Take advantage of Kavanagh Family Lawyers convenient location when you require a Family Lawyer. Their direct, no nonsense advice will help you to resolve your issue with the minimum emotional and financial cost.
Call Kavanagh Lawyers on (08) 6557 5888.
Property Settlement after Separation
Kavanagh Family Lawyers can assist with drafting consent orders once agreement about property settlement has been reached. We can then help you apply to transfer any land from joint names. Any stamp duty payable on the transfer is assessed at a nominal rate rather than at market value. These Transfers of Land are lodged with the Department of Land Administration and stamp duty is assessed by the Department of State Revenue.
The State Revenue Department will assess the stamp duty at nominal rates on both the transfer and the court order, where the parties have a sealed Family Court order specifying a property transfer from the names of both parties to one party.
Property Settlement after Separation: Next Step
- If we may be of assistance, call Kavanagh Lawyers on (08) 6557 5888.
Family Law Solicitors Perth
Kavanagh family lawyers have three highly experienced Family Law Solicitors in Perth. Their focus is on providing meaningful solutions for clients in all aspects of family law.
Our Family Law Solicitors undertake complex and intricate family law litigation in Western Australia, as well as effectively acting for clients whose legal issues are reasonably uncomplicated and who wish to resolve the matters quickly and cost effectively.
Family Law Solicitors – Expertise
All areas of family law including:
- Restraining order matters
- Child protection matters
- Divorce
- De Facto Relationships
- Same Sex Relationships
- Child Support & Custody
- Binding Financial Agreements
- Spousal Maintenance
- Property Settlements
- Wills
Next Steps
- Call Kavanagh Family Lawyers on (08) 6557 5888 to speak to one of our solicitors.
Need a Perth family lawyer?
Need a Perth family lawyer? – Choose Kavanagh Family Lawyers Perth
When requiring a Perth Family Lawyer, Kavanagh Family Lawyers offer a wealth of experience in all aspects of Family Law. From Divorce and De Facto Relationships, including Same Sex Relationships, and the resulting Child Support and Custody, Spousal Maintenance and Property Settlement.
Kavanagh Family Lawyers can draw up Binding Financial Agreements (BFAs) (known in some other countries as a ‘pre-nuptial agreement’) as well as Violence Restraining Orders and Misconduct restraining orders.
We also have vast experience in Enduring Power of Attorney and Wills & Inheritance.
For a full list of services, visit our Legal Services page.
Kavanagh Family Lawyers practise exclusively in the area of Family Law and are well assisted by skilled and committed paralegal, secretarial and administrative staff. We undertake many complex and intricate family law litigation in Perth, and as well as effectively acting for clients whose legal issues are reasonably uncomplicated and who wish to resolve the matters quickly and cost effectively. Give us a call on (08) 6557 5888 to speak to a Perth family lawyer.
News
Stay in touch with all the latest news on family law in Perth with Kavanagh Family Lawyer’s News Section. Included are topics such as Child Relocation Orders and Breaching Family Court Orders as well as discussions on the Importance of Making a Will and the nature of Pre-nuptial Agreements (known as Binding Financial Agreements in Western Australia).
Publications
Kavanagh Family Lawyers also have a Publications section where papers and documents on the various aspects of Family Law can be found. The majority of these have been previously presented at Law conferences throughout the country and internationally by Kavanagh’s lawyers. In particular, publications on Violence Restraining Orders (VRO’s) which utilise the knowledge and expertise in this area from Kavanagh Family Lawyers.
Legal services offered by our Perth Family Lawyers
Kavanagh Family Lawyers – Legal Services
Offering legal services exclusively in the area of Family Law, our Perth Family Lawyers can provide the following specific services:
- Divorce: Divorce involves the cancelling of legal responsibilities and duties of the marriage as well as dissolving of the ties of matrimony between a married couple.
- De Facto Relationships: Kavanagh Family Lawyers assist in the event of a breakdown of a de facto relationship. We also provide advice on steps that can be taken before or during a de facto relationship which may prevent future disputes in the event the relationship breaks down.
- Same Sex Relationships: Kavanagh Family Lawyers are fortunate to have many same sex clients. Our Perth Family Lawyers are highly experienced in dealing with the various challenges that same-sex couples face with regard to family law, and legal recognition of their relationships.
- Child Support and Custody: Our Perth Family Lawyers can provide prompt and professional legal advice on child support and custody, to help separated or divorced parents reach agreements quickly and protect the best interests of the children.
- Binding Financial Agreements (BFAs): A Binding Financial Agreement (known in some other countries as a ‘pre-nuptial agreement’) can deal with how your property would be settled upon the breakdown of the marriage or de facto relationship, and how one or both parties are to be maintained during and/or after that breakdown. Binding Financial Agreements can protect finances and property.
- Spousal Maintenance: After a marriage or de facto relationship has broken down, Spousal Maintenance is the financial support that one party to a marriage or de facto relationship may be required to continue to provide to the other party.
- Violence Restraining Orders: A violence restraining order (VRO) is an order of the court designed to stop threats, property damage, violence, intimidating behaviour and emotional abuse. It tells the offender to stay away and/or to stop behaving in certain ways towards the person.
- Misconduct restraining orders: A misconduct restraining order (MRO) is an order of the court designed to stop someone behaving in a way that can be offensive or intimidating towards another. It can also prevent someone from causing damage to a person’s property or acting in a way that may lead to breeching of the peace.
- Property Settlement and Conveyancing: When a breakdown of a marriage or de facto relationship occurs, the division of property and other assets becomes critically important to the financial future of both parties. Our Perth Family Lawyers know how important it is to obtain legal advice before trying to negotiate any property settlement with your spouse or partner.
- Enduring Power of Attorney: An enduring power of attorney is a legal document created to allow a person to appoint another who will make financial and/or property decisions on their behalf.
- Wills & Inheritance: As a Will is the document which sets out a person’s wishes for his or her property to be disposed of in a particular way upon death, it is important for it to be valid. A will has to meet certain formal requirements which are prescribed by the Wills Act.
Our team of Perth family lawyers can provide meaningful solutions for clients in all aspects of the family law services mentioned above.
Next Steps
- If we may be of assistance, call Kavanagh Lawyers on (08) 6557 5888.
Same Sex Couples living in Australia
The Australian Social Trends (AST) report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in July has looked at many of the characteristics of same-sex couples living in Australia.
Information from the latest Census shows 33,700 couples reported living together in a same-sex relationship, with 17,600 male couples and 16,100 female couples.
It was also noted that there were also almost twice as many children living in same-sex couple families as there were in 2001 – and most of these children were living in female same-sex couple families.
Other aspects of the report show:
- Housework is more evenly shared in same-sex couples, unlike opposite-sex couples where women tend to do more than men.
- People in same-sex couples tend to be younger than people in opposite sex couples, but they also tend to have a greater age gap between partners. It was found that with around a quarter of male same-sex couples there was an age difference of 10 or more years between the partners, compared with only 8 per cent for opposite-sex couples and for women in same-sex couples, 15 per cent had a similar age difference.
- People in same-sex couples tend to be more highly educated, with a Bachelor degree or higher qualification being almost double those in opposite-sex couples.
- They tend to have higher labour force participation, and higher incomes.
- Same Sex couples also move more often than other couples.
- Around two in five said they were Christian but most people in same-sex couples were also more likely to report having no religion.
You can read more about the AST article here
Kavanagh Family Lawyers consider it very fortunate to have many gay and lesbian clients and are proud to be part of the gay and lesbian community.
Kavanagh Lawyers are sensitive to the particular challenges that same sex couples face with regard to the legal aspects of their relationships. The emotional aspects of a separation are difficult enough without the possibility of having to endure insensitivity or lack of understanding about you and your relationship. Read more about what Kavanagh Family Lawyers can offer Same Sex Couples.
Divorce Lawyers in Perth
Why choose Kavanagh Family Lawyers as your Divorce Lawyers in Perth?
Kavanagh Family Lawyers are highly experienced Divorce Lawyers in Perth. Practicing exclusively in Family Law, our lawyers provide calm, objective, expert legal advice when it comes to divorce and we understand that the decisions involved will have to be made at highly emotional time of life.
What constitutes a divorce?
Divorce is the termination of a marital union, and involves the cancelling of legal responsibilities and duties of the marriage as well as dissolving of the ties of matrimony between a married couple. In Australia, we have a no-fault divorce system, which requires no allegation or proof of fault of either party.
You can apply for a divorce if either you or your spouse:
- consider Australia as your home and intend to live in Australia indefinitely, or
- are an Australian citizen (by birth, descent or by grant of Australian citizenship), or
- live in Australia ordinarily and have done so for at least 12 months before filing for divorce.
The Court will need to be satisfied that you and your spouse have be separated (lived separately and apart) for at least 12 months, and that there is no likelihood of resuming married life. It is considered possible to be living together in the same home and still be separated.
You can find out more about our Divorce Lawyers in Perth at these links below:
or call Kavanagh Family Lawyers on (08) 6557 5888.
Violence Restraining Order Mention Hearings
Kickett v Starr
The appeal point
The appeal case of Kickett v Starr[1] which was delivered on 15 April 2013 raises interesting questions about whether the listing procedure commonly adopted after an ex-parte VRO hearing is valid. Read More
Violence Restraining Orders: A Few Things Worth Knowing About VROs
The following is a summary of the key points arising from Marty Kavanagh, Kavanagh Lawyers WA paper to the 2013 Law on the Lounge Family Law Conference, Bali 2013. Read More