Family Law
property settlement experts

Separation is a major life event and is a time when you need help and information. Our Accredited Specialists in Family Law can provide expert legal guidance at all stages of separation.

Everyone is affected differently by separation, including the children involved in the relationship.


If you separate, you and your former partner will need to make some immediate decisions about practical issues concerning your children and your assets. You may not be able to agree on all these things at the time of separation, but it can greatly help you and your family if you try to reach a temporary agreement. At Robert Halliday & Associates we provide expert legal advice, guidance and drafting services for Parenting Plans and Financial Agreements.

Some of the things that need to be considered during separation are:

• where your children live and who will take care of them
• how you and your former partner will support yourselves and your children
• who will pay outstanding bills or debts
• who will stay in the house
• how will the rent or mortgage be paid
• what will happen to any joint bank, building society or credit union accounts
• what will happen to the house, car, furniture, pet(s) and other property.

Our expert legal advice may help you understand the law relating to family disputes and help you understand your legal rights and responsibilities.

We also assist our clients by providing referrals to outside support services such as counselling and advocacy services. Separation counselling or mediation may help you to sort out any problems you have about settling your arrangements if you decide to separate.

In order to obtain a divorce, you need to provide evidence that you have been separated (i.e. your marriage has “irretrievably broken down”) for at least 12 months. This can include being separated but living under one roof.

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.

A divorce order does not include parenting or property arrangements. Learn more about Property and Parenting Applications below.

A de facto relationship is defined in Section 4AA of the Family Law Act 1975. The law requires that you and your former partner, who may be of the same or opposite sex, had a relationship as a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis. However, your relationship is not a de facto relationship if you were legally married to one another or if you are related by family.

From 1 March 2009, parties to an eligible de facto relationship which has broken down can apply to the Family Court or the Federal Circuit Court to have financial matters determined in the same way as married couples.

You must apply for de facto financial orders within two years of the breakdown of your relationship. After this time you need the Court's permission to apply.

There are further criteria you must satisfy before the Court can determine your financial de facto dispute. Request an appointment with one of our Accredited Specialists in Family Law today to obtain legal advice about whether your circumstances satisfy the criteria and file an application.

The Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court deal with issues related to the children of de facto relationships in the same way as the children of married couples. 

If you and your former partner come to an agreement regarding the division of your property and financial assets, this can be written up in a Financial Agreement.

Your property may include:

• the family home
• cash
• bank accounts
• investments
• businesses
• family trusts
• insurance policies
• superannuation
• shares
• inheritances
• vehicles
• jewellery
• household chattels
• liabilities (debts) including mortgages, loans, credit cards and personal debts.

Robert Halliday & Associates provides the tailored expert legal advice you need when mediating on Financial Agreements.

For more information, read the Family Court of Australia’s brochure on Marriage, Families and Separation (PDF file size 247KB).

Financial Agreements can be made for separated married, de facto and same-sex couples.

We can formalise your Financial Agreement with the Family Court of Australia by making an Application for Consent Orders. More information on Consent Orders is available on the Family Court of Australia website.

Any application to the Court for Property Orders must be made within 12 months of your divorce becoming final.

There are two kinds of Spousal Maintenance dealt with by the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court:

1. Spousal Maintenance is financial support paid by a party to a marriage to their former husband or wife in circumstances where they are unable to adequately support themselves.
2. De Facto Partner Maintenance is financial support paid by a party to a de facto relationship that has broken down to their former de facto partner in circumstances where they are unable to adequately support themselves.

The Court will consider the following about both parties when making a decision about a Spousal Maintenance application:

• your age and health
• your income, property, and financial resources
• your ability to work
• what is a suitable standard of living
• if the relationship has affected your ability to earn an income, and
• with whom the children live (if applicable).

If you were married, applications for spouse maintenance must be made within 12 months of your divorce becoming final.

If you were in a de facto relationship, your applications for de facto partner maintenance must be made within 2 years of the breakdown of your de facto relationship.

Contact us today to learn more about your application for spousal maintenance.

A will is a legal document that sets out how you want your assets to be distributed after your death. It gives you the opportunity to provide for your loved ones after you die. A will also lets you choose an executor who will manage your estate after you die. This can be a family member, friend or professional, such as a lawyer, an accountant or trustee company.

In some circumstances, having no legal will can be disastrous for your family or loved ones. If you do not have a will, your estate will be distributed according to a formula set out by the law.

Request an appointment with one of our Accredited Specialists in Family Law today to prepare a will now that ensures your assets will be given out according to your wishes.

You can be confident that our Accredited Specialist Family Lawyers can provide you with an unbiased and objective professional opinion on how you should dispose of your estate and guiding you on the procedure that needs to be followed in preparing a will.

Our lawyers can help guide and advocate for you through the potential issues and litigation that can arise in planning your estate, changing your will, or challenging a will. Contact us today to arrange a no-obligation initial consultation.

The Family Law Act 1975 provides for parties to a marriage (sections 90B-90KA of the Act) or de facto relationship (sections 90UA-90UN of the Act) to enter into a binding financial agreement (also known as ‘prenuptial agreements’) about their financial arrangements should their relationship break down.

You can make a financial agreement before, during or after a marriage or de facto relationship. These agreements can cover:

• financial settlement (including superannuation entitlements) after the breakdown of a marriage or a de facto relationship
• financial support (maintenance) of one spouse by the other after the breakdown of a marriage or a de facto relationship,
• any incidental issues.

For a financial agreement to be legally binding, you must both have:

• signed the agreement, and
• received independent legal and financial advice before signing.

Our expert family lawyers can provide expert independent legal advice and help you write and execute your Binding Financial Agreement.

Contact us today to request an appointment.

For more information on binding financial agreements, visit the Family Court website.

Even though you are separating, both parents are the most important people in your child/ren's lives. The best arrangements for the future are those where:

• the children continue to have a loving and meaningful relationship with both their parents and other family members
• both parents continue to share responsibility for their child/ren
• the children live in a safe environment, with no violence or abuse.

The paramount consideration when determining children’s arrangements is the best interest of the child/ren.

When making arrangements for your child/ren, you will also need to consider:

• the age of the child/ren which is very important in deciding what arrangements will work.
• establishing a regular routine so the child/ren know the routine and what to expect when, but also be flexible when required.
• giving plenty of notice if you wish to change the routine, for example, for special family occasions.
• whether it is reasonably practical for the child/ren to spend equal time or substantial and significant time with each parent (substantial and significant time includes weekends, school holidays and days other than those)
• how their time will be spent with other significant persons in their lives, such as grandparents and other relatives
• who will look after them after school and where will they spend holidays
• any other things such as choice of school, health care, sport, or religious matters, and
• how to ensure that the child/ren continue to enjoy their culture.

For more information on how to speak to your children about your separation, visit the Family Relationships Victoria website.

At Robert Halliday & Associates we are experts at determining and negotiating on parenting arrangements that promote the best interest of your children. Contact us to request an appointment to discuss your family’s unique circumstances today.

Child support is the financial support paid by one parent to the other, to help with the costs of a child aged under 18. Both parents have a duty to support their children financially, whether they are biological or adoptive parents, same-sex or otherwise.

Most children in Australia are covered by the Child Support Scheme, managed by the Department of Human Services (Child Support). However, parents can come to their own agreement about how much child support should be paid. This is called a Child Support Agreement.

You should obtain legal advice before signing a limited or binding Child Support Agreement.

Our Accredited Specialist Family Lawyers can provide independent expert legal advice and assist you to negotiate your Child Support Agreement on your behalf. Contact us to request an appointment to discuss your Child Support Agreement today.

Intervention Orders are Court orders designed to protect people and property from another person. They are dealt with in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.

A Family Violence Intervention Order is a Court order to protect a person, their children and their property from a family member, partner or ex-partner. You may also know it as a domestic violence order, intervention order, protection order, family violence order or a violence restraining order.

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A Family Violence Intervention Order is a legally enforceable document that has conditions to stop the respondent from using family violence against the protected person (and any affected family members).

View our family violence resources to learn more about family violence.

A Personal Safety Intervention Order is a Court order to protect a person, their children and their property from another person’s behaviour (who is not a family member, partner or ex-partner). Personal Safety Intervention Orders are also known as restraining or apprehended violence orders.

If you have been assaulted, harassed, threatened, stalked or had your property damaged, you can make an application for a Personal Safety Intervention Order.

Speak to our resident Family Violence expert to voice your concerns, arrange a safety plan for you and your loved ones, and make an Application for an Intervention Order today.

At Robert Halliday & Associates we understand that going to Court can often be a long, stressful and expensive process. That’s why we offer alternative dispute resolution services for all of our clients. Our Accredited Specialist Family Lawyers work collaboratively with you to settle your matter before proceeding to the expense of going to Court. Continue reading to learn more about the alternative dispute resolution services we offer to all of our clients (subject to eligibility).

• Family Dispute Resolution is a process that helps couples affected by separation to resolve their dispute outside of Court. Family Dispute Resolution can deal with a range of issues relating to property, money, and children. This process has the advantages of being private and confidential and less stressful than going to Court.
• Mediation is a process in which an independent and impartial person is appointed to help you and your ex-partner communicate about your issues and needs in a legal setting. The mediator has no power to make a decision or give legal advice, but may suggest options to help you reach an acceptable resolution of the dispute. Mediation is relatively low cost and fast. You may go to mediation more than once during your matter.
• Conciliation is similar to mediation, but allows the mediator to offer an opinion on the relative strengths of the matters in dispute. If the parties agree in advance, a conciliator may also issue a binding opinion on the matters in dispute.
• Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution process where the parties agree to an imposed settlement by an independent expert (the arbitrator). The agreement is entered into by the parties by way of contract. The arbitrator will consider the evidence of each party and making a decision in favour of one of the parties.

Our Accredited Specialist Family Lawyers can help you prepare for all types of alternative dispute resolution in order to achieve the most satisfactory outcome for you and your family.

Our Accredited Specialist Family Lawyers have over 45 years’ combined experience practicing in all areas of family law. Contact us today to discuss your unique family law situation with a Family Law Expert.