“Your children’s wellbeing and happiness is your utmost priority. Our aim is to help you reach an agreement about parenting matters as swiftly as possible to reduce disruption and ease transition.”
– Nicole Le Pou, Family Lawyer.
Separation and divorce is never easy for children. But there are several ways to reduce the stress and emotional cost of the transition. Often a child will live mainly with one parent and may spend specified time with the other parent, or sometimes an “equal time” agreement can be reached. Whatever the arrangement, it’s imperative to reach an agreement swiftly and with as little stress as possible to reduce family disruption.
The Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) requires a person to make an attempt to resolve disputes about parenting matters using family dispute resolution before applying to a court for a parenting order.
Family dispute resolution is a practical way for separating families to try and reach agreement about future parenting arrangements. FDR is essentially mediation and is conducted by a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner.
The Family Law Act 1975 requires a party to obtain a certificate from a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner before they file an application in court for parenting orders, this certificate is usually referred to as a section 60I certificate. There are some exemptions from obtaining a s60I certifcate, if an exemption applies to your circumstances you can issue court proceedings seeking parenting orders without first obtaining a s60I certificate.
Under section 60I(9) of the Act, you can seek an exemption from providing a certificate in the following circumstances:
Read more about Family Dispute Resolution on the Family Law Courts website.
In some cases a mediated agreement through Family Dispute Resolution may not be possible and it becomes necessary to go to Court. If that's the case in your matter we’ll guide you through the complexities of going to court and ensure your case is presented in the best possible way to achieve your desired outcome for your children’s wellbeing.
Call us today on (03) 7002 6222 or send us an email enquiry.
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Accessible Family Law acknowledges the First Nations People paying respect to Elders past, present and future as the traditional custodians of this land. We live, learn and work on the lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation.