Category: <span>News</span>

The High Court of Australia recently delivered its landmark decision in Thorne and Kennedy [2017] HCA 49 on 8 November 2017 whereby a 36-year old European woman (“the Wife”) successfully fought to overturn a pre-nuptial agreement which she signed on the eve of her marriage to a millionaire 67-year old property developer (“the Husband”). Brief...

What is a Divorce? A Divorce is the legal recognition at the end of your marriage. You can obtain a Divorce if your marriage has irretrievably broken down and you have been separated for no less than 12 months. Despite popular belief, you do not have to prove who was “at fault” and you do...

Child support stems from the fundamental principle that “each parent of a child has a duty to maintain their child.” Child Support Agreements After separation, parents, whether married or de facto, can reach an agreement regarding the type and level of child support that is paid from one parent (“the payer”) to the other (“the...

Abuse – in relation to a child, means (for the purposes of the Family Law Act 1975): An assault, including a sexual assault, of the child; or A person (the first person) involving the child in a sexual activity with the first person or another person in which the child is used, directly or indirectly, as a sexual object by the...

  Myth 1: “The Mother always gets the kids. In Australia, a parent does not have legal “custody” (or any legal rights) over their child. There is no legal presumption that a child must (or should) live with the Mother and spend every second weekend and half of the school holidays with the Father. Rather,...

By Gavin Lai – Senior Associate at Emerson Family Law The Attorney-General Senator George Brandis has introduced the Family Law Amendment (Financial Agreements and Other Measures) Bill 2015 (“the Bill”). The Bill, if and when passed, will be another significant development in Australian Family Law with proposed changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (“the...

Our New Satellite Office Address 175A Swann Road, Taringa QLD 4068.

We are pleased to announce that we are now able to offer services in Will preparation and amendment as part of our ongoing commitment to clients. The updating of a Will is a process that goes hand-in-hand with the other family law services that we have been providing to separating parties for many years. If...

Emerson Family Law is proud to welcome Accredited Family Law Specialist, Penelope Stevens, to our team. Penelope brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience and we are delighted to have her on board!

Recent Changes to Domestic and Family Violence Law in Qld   The Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia has indicated that as of April 2015, the Child Dispute Services section in the Brisbane and Melbourne Registries of the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court of Australia will be trialing a new approach...