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Get expert advice on navigating your divorce with ease and confidence.
Divorce can draw upon your emotions and drain your energy. It can majorly impact your financial, physical, and psychological health, and, in some instances, domestic violence may result. Seeking practical and professional advice can be difficult, especially when you are being given contradictory advice from one family lawyer to the next. Providing reliable information is where our Divorce lawyers can help. As Sunshine Coast specialist divorce lawyers, we believe every person deserves a second chance at a better life.
"Divorce is difficult whether you break up consciously, fight over every detail, or experience domestic violence."
The divorce process can be a trying time. As with all family law matters, a divorce application falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
Before 1 September 2021, family law had two separate courts, the Federal Circuit court and the Family Court of Australia.
Australia operates under a no-fault divorce system, meaning the reason for the divorce is irrelevant. All that matters is that the parties involved are seeking one.
If you have been legally married for less than two years, you must also get a counselling certificate showing you attended counselling.
If you were married overseas and your marriage certificate is in another language, have the certificate translated and attached to an Affidavit of Translation of Marriage Certificate from an accredited translator.
Image: FCFCOA
You may apply for a joint application divorce or as a sole applicant.
The simplest method is to apply online through the Commonwealth Court Portal. Once registered, you can begin an ‘application for divorce’.
Print the application once you have completed all the questions. Both parties must review the document and sign the Affidavit for eFiling Application (Divorce) as joint applicants. A lawyer or Justice of the Peace must witness both signatures.
Submit the document after uploading the Affidavit to the Commonwealth Court Portal. The filing fee is $990. If you can prove financial hardship or possess a relevant concession card, you may be eligible for a reduced fee of $330.
After submission, the court will review your application and set a date for a divorce hearing. On this date, the court will:
Grant the divorce order;
Contact you requesting you provide additional information;
Contact you about correcting any filing mistakes.
For more information on how to file for divorce online, you can refer to our guide here.
You are not required to attend a divorce hearing unless you have indicated your intention to appear on your application.
Once the court has granted the divorce, it will take effect one month and one day after the hearing date. You can download the divorce order from the Commonwealth Court Portal. The order is digitally signed and sealed and is the only official record the court issues certifying your divorce.
As with anything related to family law, there are nuances; and everyone’s circumstances are different. You can submit joint applications without expert legal advice or hire a team like Shanahan Family Law, who will focus on getting your life back on track. To keep your legal fees and expenses to a minimum, we try to keep you out of court and make our time with you as productive as possible.
As a sole applicant, you do not need a signature from the other party, but you must serve them with the divorce papers.
On the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, you aren’t required to attend a divorce hearing unless you have children under 18 years of age.
If you and your spouse have dependent children living together on the Sunshine Coast, you will have to settle various issues as a result of child custody. The family courts consider a child’s best interests to be of the utmost importance, and so do our Sunshine Coast divorce lawyers at Shanahan Family Law. Children must be protected under family law during the divorce process to ensure they have a secure environment after the relationship ends. It’s critical, then, to get appropriate parenting agreements in place.
As divorce lawyers, child welfare issues are our highest priority when serving as your family solicitor. You and your spouse will be responsible for various parenting matters regarding the maintenance of dependent children.
Child support is a monetary payment made by one or both parents to the other to offer financial support for the upbringing of a child’s health and wellbeing.
Some parents, forgetting that child support payments exist to help their children’s health and wellbeing, spend the money on themselves instead.
Child support can vary greatly. Services Australia has 5 levels of care:
You may agree with the other person or people caring for the child about what percentage each of you provides. If not, Services Australia will make that determination for you.
You can collect child support payments in one of two ways:
Private Collect
Child Support Collect
Private Collect allows parents to make support payments directly to each other. This method only works for parties that don’t need much help agreeing to a plan.
In Child Support Collect, Services Australia will collect payments on your behalf. This option is better if it’s difficult for you to communicate with your former spouse about child support or you’re concerned payments won’t be on time or paid in full.
To form a limited agreement, you must:
To make a binding agreement:
Parenting agreements set out how children will be cared for after a divorce. While there are no fixed rules dictating how to organise parenting arrangements, it’s best if parents can find an agreement. It is often helpful to write down the terms in a parenting plan.
You can set up a parenting plan however you feel is best. Once completed, both parents should sign and date the contract. In some cases, it might be advisable to have the signatures witnessed by a third party.
How to handle their education;
The above list is far from exhaustive, and no detail is too small if you consider it appropriate. It’s also important to keep in mind what your child wants. While parenting plans are helpful, they are not legally binding.
If you want to make a parenting agreement legally enforceable through family law, seek a consent order. Consent orders are legally recognised, and breaking them is an offence that will result in legal consequences. If you intend to make an application for a consent order, it is best to find expert legal advice.
If you and your ex-spouse cannot agree, you can request parenting orders as a last resort. The Family Law Act 1975 contains guidelines governing what the court considers when creating a parenting order.
You must file a consent order with the courts through either:
A Sunshine Coast family law specialist; or
Via the courts portal at https://comcourts.gov.au.
Maintaining a meaningful relationship between the child and both parents;
If you search ‘Divorce lawyers near me’ on Google, then Shanahan Family law might be able to help. Book a Parenting Orders consultation and get your family law matter back on track.
Relationship assets can include:
All assets, whether the parties own them jointly or individually, are considered part of the relationship’s asset pool. Assets the parties brought into the relationship are pooled as well. It’s even the case that assets obtained after separation count at the court’s discretion.
With the rising cost of living and surging Sunshine Coast home prices, it’s more vital than ever to ensure you get your full entitlement.
Sunshine Coast Principal Luke Shanahan works to bring justice to all parties involved.
Consent orders turn property settlements into legally binding contracts under family law. They can cover all aspects of a financial order, such as the division of property and superannuation splitting.
You can seek family law consent orders jointly through a family lawyer without needing either party to attend court.
Before the court accepts your consent order, it must be sure that it is fair and just. Otherwise, it might not grant it.
You must apply for a consent order within a year of a divorce or two years from the breakdown of a de facto relationship.
Both parties agree to a property settlement when entering into a financial agreement. There is no requirement for a financial agreement to be fair, and neither spouse needs to attend family law court. However, you must meet two more criteria before it is considered binding:
Both parties must get a certificate showing they have received legal counsel.
Note: Formalising your agreement typically exempts you from any transfer/stamp duty that would otherwise be payable when transferring ownership of specific assets.
Relationship assets can include:
All assets, whether the parties own them jointly or individually, are considered part of the relationship’s asset pool. Assets the parties brought into the relationship are pooled as well. It’s even the case that assets obtained after separation count at the court’s discretion.
With the rising cost of living and surging Sunshine Coast home prices, it’s more vital than ever to ensure you get your full entitlement.
Sunshine Coast Principal Luke Shanahan works to bring justice to all parties involved.
Consent orders turn property settlements into legally binding contracts under family law. They can cover all aspects of a financial order, such as the division of property and superannuation splitting.
You can seek family law consent orders jointly through a family lawyer without needing either party to attend court.
Before the court accepts your consent order, it must be sure that it is fair and just. Otherwise, it might not grant it.
You must apply for a consent order within a year of a divorce or two years from the breakdown of a de facto relationship.
Both parties agree to a property settlement when entering into a financial agreement. There is no requirement for a financial agreement to be fair, and neither spouse needs to attend family law court. However, you must meet two more criteria before it is considered binding:
Both parties must get a certificate showing they have received legal counsel.
Note: Formalising your agreement typically exempts you from any transfer/stamp duty that would otherwise be payable when transferring ownership of specific assets.
Identify and value all property and assets of the relationship, deducting any debts to find the net value of the asset pool.
Assess the future needs of both spouses. This step may consider:
Even a joint divorce application can be daunting, let alone when you’re considering filing for a divorce online. Perhaps you have questions about submitting your application to the courts, or you aren’t sure where to start. We’re here to help guide you through the process.
As principal solicitor of Shanahan Family Law in Maroochydore, Luke Shanahan is a reliable and experienced Sunshine Coast family law expert, offering compassionate support to people and families experiencing the most difficult circumstances through a divorce or separation. Whether you’re seeking help with child support, parenting matters, divorce, property consent orders, financial agreements, domestic violence, joint applications for divorce, or the preparation of DIY affidavits and consent orders, Luke can help.
As sad as it is to see couples and families split, he feels privileged to be able to help his clients find a better life through their family law services. “I believe we all deserve a second chance at finding a better life, and if this is through a divorce, then we will do everything we can to ensure our client’s success through whatever means.”
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Through their family law Sunshine Coast services, Shanahan Family Law believes in giving everyone a head start. The passionate staff at Shanahan Family Law Maroochydore is committed to bringing you a better life with their extensive experience in law. Contact our Maroochydore office for a discovery call.