Kaela Louise

Separating with children is hard enough without wondering how a divorce will affect them. The short answer is that a divorce does not decide where your children live or how they spend time with each parent. Divorce with children Australia-wide follows the same basic path as any other application, with one important addition: the court must be satisfied about the arrangements for your children before the divorce can take effect. In short: if you have children under 18, the court must be...

Representing yourself in a family law matter, without a lawyer running the file from start to finish, is far more common than many people expect, and it is a legitimate way to manage a separation. Cost, a wish to stay in control of the process, or simply feeling the matter is straightforward enough to handle personally are all reasonable reasons for self representing in family court in Australia. What matters is knowing where the genuine risk points sit along the way, and recognising that...

If you and your co-parent have reached agreement on where your children will live, how time will be shared, and how decisions will be made, you have already done the hardest part. What many parents do not realise is that an agreement, however clear and well-intentioned, carries no legal weight on its own. It can be varied unilaterally, ignored under pressure, or simply drift as circumstances change, and there is nothing to point to if that happens. Parenting consent orders are the mechanism...