legal drafting

Consent Orders

Consent Orders

What happens when you reach an agreement about property/financial and/or parenting arrangements?

  1. File Consent Orders with the Family Court of Australia/Family Court of Western Australia – both parties reach an agreement and file that agreement with the Family Court; or
  2. Sign a Binding Financial Agreement – both parties need specific independent legal advice for the agreement to be binding; or
  3. Do nothing.

What are Consent Orders?

If you have reached an agreement and you want to formalise that agreement and make it legally binding, you can apply to the Family Court. Consent Orders are used to formalise arrangements about:

  • the care, welfare and development of your children (known as parenting orders);
  • the division of property/financial (known as property orders); and/or
  • maintenance for a spouse/de facto spouse (known as spouse maintenance).

They can also be used if you are applying to vary or discharge existing Family Court orders.

They have the same legal effect as an order made after a Court hearing.

consent ordersWhat the Family Court does?

A Registrar of the Family Court will review your Consent Orders administratively.  This means your Consent Orders do not go before a Judge and you do not attend court.

The Registrar has to be satisfied that the agreement is just and equitable and/or in the best interests of the child/ren before they will approve your orders.

Time Restrictions

Applications can be filed any time after separation but should to be filed within 12 months of a divorce or 2 years of the breakdown of a de facto relationship if parties wish to seek orders from the court.

If you are seeking orders for a property settlement or spouse maintenance and more than 12 months has lapsed since your divorce became final, you need to seek leave to file the application. Leave can be requested as one of the orders sought.

For de facto couples, if you have reached an agreement for a property/financial division more than 2 years after separation, you need to include an order that you consent to making the orders out of time.

child support agreement

Child Support Agreements

What is a Child Support Agreement?

A child support agreement is a written agreement between parents on the amount of child support to be paid and how it will be paid. There are two types of agreements:

 

Limited Child Support Agreements
  • can be accepted if there is a child support assessment in place with the Department of Human Services and the annual rate payable under the agreement is equal to, or more than, the annual rate of child support payable under the child support assessment. You are not required to get legal advice before entering into a limited agreement, however, you can choose to do so.
Binding Child Support Agreements
  • can be made and accepted even if a child support assessment has not been made. The agreement can be made for any amount that the parents agree to. The parents must each obtain independent legal advice before entering into the agreement and attach a certificate that is completed and signed by each parent and their legal practitioner.

Please note:

(Source: Department of Human Services)

Family Law

Family Law

The Legal Drafter provides a comprehensive service in relation to drafting your family law and domestic violence legal documents, whether you have reached an agreement or proceeding to court.  If you have reached an agreement… well done!…. we can draft your financial/property agreement into Consent Orders to be filed with the Family Court of Australia/Family Court of Western Australia.

If you haven’t reached an agreement, then we can assist you to prepare and draft your court documents.  We suggest you seek legal advice before commencing proceedings in the court. There are a number of services that offer free legal advice.

Family Law
  • Divorce applications
  • Responses to Divorce
  • Contravention applications
  • Affidavits
  • Notice of Risk
  • Case Outlines
  • Submissions
  • Balance Sheets

Too often I have seen poorly drafted family law documents resulting in uncertainty and ongoing problems for families.  This results in further issues, especially when you are bound by court orders regardless of whether it was court enforced or by agreement.  Incomplete and unworkable legal documents can be avoided by ensuring that you have our experienced legal drafter assist you.

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MORE FEATURES

  • Going to court
  • Court processes
  • Applying to the courts
  • Which court?

OUR SKILLS

LEGAL DARFTING 90%
LEGAL RESEARCH 80%
PARENTING ARRANGEMENTS 96%
FINANCIAL MATTERS 75%
Parenting Arrangements

Parenting Arrangements

The Legal Drafter can assist you with your parenting arrangements by drafting comprehensive Parenting Plans or Consent Orders for your family law matter in the Federal Circuit Court or Family Court.  Everyone’s parenting arrangements are different, therefore your plan or orders are tailored specifically to what is in the best interests of your children.  There are many things to consider, such as how much time the children will spend with each parent, communication, changeovers, education, health, religion, travel, special occasions etc.

Parenting Arrangements

PARENTING RESOURCES

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia recommends various resources to help separating parents work out the best future arrangements for their children.  Click here for more information.

COURT BROCHURE

The Marriage, Families and Separation brochure provides information for people considering, or those affected by, separation or divorce.

INFORMATION SHEETS

Parenting Plans

Parenting Orders – What you need to know

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) is the main law governing children’s matters.  The courts that exercise jurisdiction are the Federal Circuit Court of Australia or Western Australia and the Family Court of Australia or Western Australia.  When the court considers making an order (Consent Orders), the court will consider what is in the ‘best interests’ of the children.  The ‘best interests’ of the children are considered under section 60CC of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

IMPORTANT

  • Before you can make an application to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia for parenting orders, you must firstly attend mediation and obtain a mediation certificate from a registered family dispute resolution (FDR) provider. For more information on how to find an FDR provider, please visit Family Relationships Australia.
  • Equal shared parental responsibility is not the same as equal parenting time.

MORE FEATURES

  • Have you been to mediation?
  • Do I need a Section 60I certificate?
  • Parenting plans
  • Consent orders

OUR SKILLS

LEGAL DRAFTING 90%
LEGAL RESEARCH 80%
PARENTING ARRANGEMENTS 96%
FAMILY LAW 97%
financial matters

Financial Matters

At The Legal Drafter we can assist with your financial matter and property settlement by drafting the correct financial documents to divide your assets, liabilities and superannuation, whether or not you and your former spouse have reached an agreement.

If you have reached an agreement, you will need to file Consent Orders to finalise your agreement and make it binding on both parties.

If you can’t reach and agreement, and have attempted mediation, you will need to commence proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

Binding Financial Agreements

Marriage

  • Pre marriage
  • During marriage
  • After separation
  • After divorce
Family Court Property Settlement

Binding Financial Agreements

De facto

  • De facto pre cohabitation
  • De facto during a relationship
  • De facto after separation

Time limits – marriage, an application for a property settlement must be made within 12 months of your divorce becoming final.

Time limits – de facto relationship, an application for a property settlement must be made within 2 years of the breakdown of your de facto relationship.

If you have reached an agreement, you can make an application to the Family Court to formalise your agreement by applying for Consent Orders.  Or alternatively, you can enter into a Binding Financial Agreement.

If you can’t reach an agreement, you can file an application for financial orders in the Federal Circuit Court, including orders relating to the division of property and payment of spouse or de facto partner maintenance.

THE PROPERTY POOL

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) sets out the guiding principles in which the court will consider making an order for a property settlement.  The court will look at the ‘property pool’ which will include you and your former spouse’s assets, liabilities and superannuation.  You can also make an application to the court for spousal maintenance – spouse maintenance or de facto partner maintenance.  If you can not meet your own reasonable expenses from your personal income and assets, under the the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), your former spouse has a responsibility to financially assist you.

FACTORS

  • Direct financial contribution
  • Indirect financial contribution
  • Non-financial contribution
  • Future requirements

OUR SKILLS

LEGAL DRAFTING 90%
LEGAL RESEARCH 80%
FINANCIAL MATTERS 96%
FAMILY LAW 97%
Divorce Decree

Divorce

We offer a comprehensive legal drafting service for your divorce.  The Federal Circuit Court has jurisdiction to grant it under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).  It is important to seek legal advice before making an application if you need to make a decision about parenting arrangements and property settlements.

How long do consent orders take?

You can apply for a divorce in Australia 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 need to satisfy the Court that you and your spouse have lived separately and apart for at least 12 months and 1 day, and there is no reasonable likelihood of resuming married life. It is possible to live together in the same home and still be separated.

Your divorce will be become final one month and one day from the date of the court hearing.  The order will be sent to you and your former spouse.

How do I apply for a divorce?

Divorce applications can only be completed online via the Commonwealth Courts Portal.  For more information on eFiling your Divorce Application please visit the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

NO-FAULT DIVORCE

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) established the principle of no-fault divorce in Australia.  This means that you do not need to prove that the other spouse did something wrong in order to obtain a divorce. One spouse must simply show that their relationship has suffered an irreconcilable breakdown in order to get a divorce.

IMPORTANT

  • If you need to make a decision about a financial and property settlement, you must file a separate application within 12 months of the date the divorce becomes final. Otherwise, you will need the Court’s permission to apply.
  • Other things to consider when separating are superannuation beneficiaries, insurance policies, mortgages, rentals, power of attorneys, loans, debts, wills etc.  There are government departments that can help you with this.

MORE FEATURES

  • Do I attend court?
  • Can I oppose a divorce application?
  • I have been married less than 2 years
  • I married overseas

OUR SKILLS

LEGAL DRAFTING 90%
LEGAL RESEARCH 80%
DIVORCE 96%
FAMILY LAW 97%
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