Family Law

Our experienced team of family lawyers in Sydney can provide you with clear, practical advice and solutions for a range of family law matters. Navigate the complexities of family law with Buckley Lawyers to save valuable time, reduce stress, and avoid inconvenience. Our network of experienced family law Barristers will ensure you are provided with expert legal representation through the whole process.

Buckley Lawyers can assist you with all matters of family law in Sydney, including:

• Property Settlements
• Parenting arrangements and parenting plans
• Child Support
• Divorce and separation advice
• Application for urgent child recovery orders
• Binding financial agreements
• Family law representation
• Family law mediation

Contact our family lawyers in Sydney for advice and representation.

Property Settlements

The financial aspects of separation and divorce have become increasingly complex in recent years. While you need to wait 12 months before you can formally divorce, it is important to begin finalising property settlement matters at separation. Property settlement matters can be finalised via Consent Orders, which are legally binding agreements between you and your ex-partner. Consent Orders can be used to formally divide all sorts of property, including houses, cars, shares, family trusts, business interests, superannuation, jewellery, and cash.

Consent Orders must be approved by the Family Court to be legally binding. When drafting your orders, you will need to consider the contributions each party has made to the relationship (both financial and non-financial), as well as the future needs of both parties and other important factors outlined in the Family Law Act.

By creating a formal Property Settlement Agreement via Consent Orders, you can negotiate and finalise property settlement matters in a legally binding manner without having to attend costly and drawn out court proceedings.

Buckley Lawyers can assist you in drafting and negotiating Consent Orders for the purposes of property settlement. We can also strongly advocate for you in the Family Court if an agreement cannot be reached outside of court. Learn more about property settlement matters here.

Children & Parenting

In circumstances where separation has occurred and there are children involved, you and your ex-partner will need to discuss spend-time arrangements for the children.

Should these arrangements need to be formalised, this can be done without the involvement of the court through either a parenting plan or through consent orders.

As experienced parenting lawyers in Sydney, our team can help you determine if a Parenting Plan or Consent Orders are right for you and assist you in drafting and negotiating these documents.

Generally speaking, both documents may deal with any of the following:

• Who the children will live with;
• How much time the children will spend with each parent and with other people, such as grandparents;
• How the children will communicate with a parent they do not live with;
• Any other aspect of the care, welfare or development of the child.

A parenting plan is an informal document and is not legally binding. However, if an application is made to a court for parenting orders, the court will consider the arrangements previously agreed to in the parenting plan.

Consent orders are legally binding. They outline the parenting arrangements of both parties and are filed with the Family Court of Australia. Should a party breach any of the orders, a court can impose a wide range of penalties.

In the event that both parents are unable to reach an agreement, the parties should attend mediation in order to obtain a mediation (section 60I) certificate. This certificate is required before a party can file proceedings with the Family Court.

If court proceedings are necessary, we can represent you in court and guide you through the process. Our parenting lawyers in Sydney have expertise in a wide range of parenting matters and have appeared for clients in matters such as recovery orders, contravention applications, and child abduction cases. We strive to achieve the best possible outcome for your children in all matters.

Divorce

In order to be eligible for a divorce, both parties must have been separated for a period of at least 12 months before an application can be filed with the Federal Circuit Court. If an affidavit is also filed, parties that have been sharing a matrimonial property but consider themselves ‘separated under the same roof’ are also eligible to apply.

Parties can either be joint applicants or sole applicants, however, if a party is to be a sole applicant, they are required to serve their spouse with the divorce application documents. If the spouse cannot be located, an order for substituted service or dispensed service can be sought with the court. In circumstances where parties are joint applicants, is not necessary to appear at the divorce hearing at court.

Applying for divorce can be a difficult time for families, and that’s without considering the lengthy and sometimes confusing legal processes involved. If you are considering divorce in Sydney, Buckley Lawyers is here to help you.

At Buckley Lawyers, we are divorce lawyers in Sydney who have extensive experience in handling divorce matters. We can guide you through this difficult process and appear on your behalf at your divorce hearing. Contact us for more information.

Child Support

If you are responsible for the care of a child/children from a previous relationship, you may be entitled to receive child-support from your spouse. However, understanding the complex formula used by the Child Support Agency is often a difficult process to navigate. At Buckley Lawyers, we are child support and child custody lawyers in Sydney. Our team can guide you through the child support process and advise you of your entitlements to child-support from your spouse.

In many circumstances, parties will forego applying to the Child Support Agency for an assessment of child support and enter into a Binding Child-Support Agreement (BCSA) instead. A BCSA is a formal agreement between two parties who have gained independent legal advice. A BCSA can include such elements as periodic and non-periodic payments, payment of school fees, and payment of extra-curricular fees, insurances, and health-related costs.

At Buckley Lawyers, we have extensive experience in drafting BCSAs. Contact our child support and child custody lawyers in Sydney for a no-obligation consultation regarding child-support and all other children and parenting matters.

Why Buckley Lawyers for Family Law Matters in Sydney?

Buckley Lawyers has comprehensive knowledge of The Family Law Act 1975 and Australia’s court system. When you choose our family lawyers in Sydney, we can provide advice and services to advocate for your best interests and the interests of your children, all while striving to keep your matter outside court. We ensure that the processes of separation, divorce, property settlement, and all other family law matters are as timely, affordable, and stress-free as possible. If your matter cannot be resolved outside court, Buckley Lawyers will provide strong representation for you to ensure the best possible outcome.

Contact us today to discuss your circumstances.