Child Custody &
Child Litigation Lawyers Perth

"Parental Responsibility": refers to decision-making about major long-term issues affecting a child, such as where a child goes to school, their health issues, their name, and their religious and cultural upbringing.

In most cases, the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility applies. This means that unless the court has a significant reasons against this (such as the presence of family violence or child abuse), both parents should freely participate in decision-making about these major long-term factors.

"Live with": this is the term for who the child will live with the majority of the time, unless you and your former partner are going to have equal time with the children (i.e one week each). The finer details of this can be hashed out later.

"Spend time with": if the child will predominantly live with one parent, ‘spend time with’ is the term used to describe how the other parent will interact with and engage with the child.

"Best interest": this is the paramount consideration when the court determines what orders to make in respect of the child in child litigation.

"Family violence": means violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person's family or causes the family member to be fearful. Examples include assault, sexual assault, stalking and derogatory taunts.

"Family Dispute Resolution": mandatory counselling where you and your former partner attend some form of dispute resolution prior to court proceedings being commenced. Exemptions do apply.

"Child Support": a payment from one parent to the other parent for the support of the child financially.

When you and your former partner separate, if you are not going to be subject to any family violence or abuse, it is important to try and discuss issues such as who the child will live with, how they will spend time with the other parent, who makes the decisions for the child and how the child communicates with each parent.

This discussion can take place in numerous forms, for example going for a coffee with your former partner, using a third party such as a family member or friend to assist, via phone conversation, email, or through a counselling service.

If you can reach an agreement with your former partner, you can formalise the agreement through either a Parenting Plan or Consent Orders consent orders (more on these below). Our team can assist with drafting these documents.

If you have tried to negotiate and discuss the issues mentioned above with your former partner, with no agreement being reached, going to court may be the final option you have.

If you think you need to go to court, then the Family Court mandates that you have to go through some pre-action procedures.

The first is that you attend mandatory family dispute resolution (FDR). This means you and your former partner have to attend counselling (or similar). You can attend this mandatory FDR at either a government funded service such as Relationships Australia or through a private mediator. You will get a certificate to verify that FDR was, at the minimum, attempted before proceedings start. However, there are possible exemptions to FDR, for example if there is child abuse, family violence, or other risks to your children.

We can assess whether you can apply for an exemption from FDR, or further advise you on how the FDR process works.

After you either obtain your Certificate or an exemption applies, we need to outline what the issues or disputes are from your perspective, and what you may be seeking in the orders. We will put your proposal to your former partner as a final proposal and effort to avoid commencing proceedings. Even though it is a mandated step, putting your proposal to your former partner from a lawyer carries more weight and credibility to your position. Depending on whether we receive a response, we can take further steps to try to resolve and negotiate matters further.

If this all sounds stressful, don’t worry. We will guide you step by step and narrow the scope of the journey towards your desired outcome. We take a very hands-on approach with these types of cases.

Once your court documents are lodged, we take our most hands-on approach. We will work with you to best reach your objectives in a professional and outcome-focussed direction, with guidance and representation at every stage of the journey (based on what the court will consider). We will ensure that your orders are as child-focussed, and in the best interest of the children involved, taking into account your aims as much as possible.

Throughout the process, it is possible for you and your former partner to reach an agreement in between court events or at court events. The court may arrange for different types of hearings during this time period, for example case assessments, direction hearings, interim hearings and so on.

The court will require you to attend a court mediation, where many cases are settled early on in the process.

The aim is to help you reach an agreement before a final decision is made at trial, where the court will make orders that are in the best interests of your children, regardless of what you and your partner may believe to be right for your children. We will assist you with this and are able to finalise any agreements reached into Consent Orders.

We also take charge of corresponding with your former partner and their legal representatives, including any witnesses or family court professionals along the way.

Once a fixed fee package is agreed, we will only charge you in accordance with our agreement. Therefore, it gives you peace of mind that you will know what you are up for, upfront.