Perth Divorce Lawyer
Radio National Law Report – Wills & Intestacy
The Law Report program on Radio National broadcast on Tuesday the 3rd of March discusses a dispute involving the estate of a young man who died without a will leading to an unexpected outcome. Under the law of intestacy, his estate of $600,000 goes to his estranged wife, despite the couple already finalising their property settlement.
Wills & Intestacy
The young man died unexpectedly aged 30 and never wrote a will. He neglected to tie up the loose ends of a marriage that had effectively ended about two years before his death so it seems his estate will go to his long estranged wife. Even though they did lodge, by consent, a property settlement with the Family Court – the couple never finalised their divorce.
Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here: Radio National Law Report – Wills & Intestacy
Divorce in Western Australia
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest data for Separation and Divorce late last year. This data consisted of 2013 figures and show that 5268 applications for divorce in Western Australia were granted. This was an increase on the previous years figure of 5073 and went against every other state and territory in Australia, as they all recorded decreases.
Other divorce statistics highlighted included the average divorce age, which for males was 45.5 years, and for females it was 42.8 years of age.
2473 of these applications were joint, while 1491 were female and the remaining 1304 were male.
The average length of a marriage before Separation and Divorce
In 2013, the average length of a marriage before separation was 8.6 years, and to divorce was 12.4 years.
Divorces involving children
The percentage number of divorces that affected children in Western Australia is 47%.
Australia Wide
Throughout Australia in 2013, the highest proportion of divorces granted was to people 40-44 years of age.
The median age of males at divorce was 44.8 years and 42.2 years for females, whilst the median age at marriage for those divorcing in 2013 was 28.6 years for males and 26.2 years for females. The median age at separation for those granted a divorce was 41.3 years for males and 38.7 years for females.
Applications for Divorce
Over the last 20 years, the proportion of joint applications for divorce has been increasing, while the proportion of applications by one applicant has continued to decrease. The number of joint applications in 2010 outnumbered male applications and female applications for the first time. The proportion of joint applications continued to increase in 2013 and remains the highest applicant type at 41.2% of all applications.
You can view all the statistics on divorce in Western Australia and other states here
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.
Things to know about Divorce
Family Court of Western Australia
Applying
You can apply for a divorce by yourself (known as a sole application) or together with your spouse (known as a joint application). When making a sole application, the spouse making it is known as the applicant. The other spouse is therefore known as the respondent. When a joint application is being made, the husband and wife are known as joint applicants.
Application for a divorce in Australia can be made if either you or your spouse:
- regard 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
- ordinarily live in Australia and have done so for 12 months immediately before filing for divorce.
You also need to satisfy the Court that you and your spouse have lived separately and apart for at least 12 months, and there is no reasonable likelihood of resuming married life. It is possible to live together in the same home and still be separated.
Property and Parenting Arrangements
When separating, you and your spouse need to make important decisions about the future care of any children you may have, and how to divide your property, money and belongings. The granting of a divorce does not decide issues about parenting arrangements for your children or property and maintenance.
Remarrying
Plans to remarry should not be made until the divorce order is finalised (which in most cases is one month and one day after the divorce hearing).
If intending to remarry, the marriage celebrant must be given a Notice of Intended Marriage at least one month before the wedding date, as well as complying with other requirements of the Marriage Act 1961.
As soon as the divorce order is granted, the marriage celebrant may accept the Notice of Intended Marriage. You must show a copy of the divorce order to the marriage celebrant before the wedding can take place
Kavanagh Family Lawyers can help
When applying for Divorce, Kavanagh Family Lawyers can help you understand your legal rights and responsibilities, and will explain how the law applies to your case.
Next Steps
- 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.
Separation and Divorce
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest data for Separation and Divorce last week. These 2012 figures show that in Western Australia, 5073 divorces were granted. A slight increase on the previous years figure of 5020.
2218 of these applications were joint, while 1541 were female and the remaining 1314 were male.
Other divorce statistics highlighted included the average divorce age, which for males was 45.7 years, and for females it was 42.8 years of age.
The average length of a marriage before Separation and Divorce
In 2012, the average length of a marriage before separation was 8.9 years, and to divorce was 12.6 years.
Divorces involving children
The number of children affected by divorce in Western Australia has decreased from 54.2 in 2011 to 52.8% in 2012.
You can view all the statistics on Separation and Divorce here.
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.
Divorce by power of attorney
ABC Radio’s Law Report on Tuesday the 3rd September highlights the unusual process of divorce by power of attorney. In most cases, the law requires one person in a marriage to want it to end in order to obtain a divorce. However a recent case in Queensland saw a divorce granted even though neither the wife nor husband requested it. It’s also not the only decision like this to occur. There have been numerous cases where an adult son or daughter, appointed as their parent’s power of attorney, has taken their parent’s second spouse to court to seek a divorce.
You can hear the audio and read the transcript here.
These scenarios help highlight the fact that, as in all areas of Family Law, each divorce case can be unique and it is never possible to just receive general advice. With this in mind, it is prudent to obtain the advice of a lawyer practising exclusively in the area of Family Law, such as Kavanagh Family Lawyers. Read more about how we can help you with divorce.
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.