Trust Yourself

By Elizabeth Fairon

Do you crave control over your family law circumstances? Do you wish to face the complex world of divorce with assurance, armed with a comprehensive understanding of the law, your personal situation, and the system? Picture yourself shaping the outcome of your legal matters, grounded in reality and with a clear focus on your goals.

 

Forearmed is forewarned

Information is key

Knowledge is powerful

 

The newest edition of Trust Yourself is designed to give you exactly that. It's more than just an informative read; it offers tools for critical decision-making, strategies for resolving your family law matters, and the courage to stride confidently into your future. This book is your guide to finding resolution and regaining control, encouraging you to take back the helm of your life.

 

Trust Yourself delivers processes that empower you with information to best determine your family law outcome and move on with your life as soon as possible.

Trust Yourself is a must read for anyone contemplating or going through separation. Elizabeth provides straight forward and easy to read information about the family law system and how knowledge will help you resolve your matter." — JENNY LETTS, Forensic Accountant

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elizabeth Fairon
• Release date: Aug 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645885200

Elizabeth Fairon

Elizabeth Fairon is the Owner and Principal Lawyer of Life Law Solutions, a law firm focused on assisting clients through their legal matter and providing legal solutions for life. With over 13 years experience working with clients to resolve their family law matters along with Masters qualifications in law, and in particular family law, Elizabeth is well placed to provide guidance about the family law system and it's impact on your separation.

Book preview

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For mum and dad . . .

who instilled in me a love of learning and a deep sense of curiosity.

The material in this book is provided for information purposes only. The reader should consult with his or her personal legal, financial and other advisors before utilising the information contained in this book. The author and the publisher assume no responsibility for any damages or losses incurred during or as a result of following this information.

There are many legal principles included in this book which the author has explained in her own way. If required, specific references can be provided on request.

All names referred to in this book have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.

First published 2018 by Independent Ink

This second edition published 2023

PO Box 1638, Carindale

Queensland 4152 Australia

© Elizabeth Fairon 2018

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author.

Cover design by Jo Hunt and updated by Catucci Design

Back cover photography by Jason Malouin

Illustrations and checklists by Boldly Creative

Typeset in 11/17 pt Bembo by Post Pre-press Group, Brisbane

Cataloguing-in-Publication data is available from the National Library of Australia

ISBN 978-0-6458852-1-7 (pbk)

ISBN 978-0-6458852-0-0 (epub)

Contents

Prologue

Introduction

Chapter 1: Family law and the Family Law Act

A brief history of the development of family law in Australia

What is family law?

Variables in family law matters

Chapter 2: Defining marriages and de facto relationships

What relationships are covered by family law

Chapter 3: Separation

What is separation?

Important timeframes

Property matters

Spouse maintenance

Parenting matters

Child support

Chapter 4: Domestic and family violence

What is domestic violence?

Protection orders

Chapter 5: Divorce and ending your de facto relationship

Divorce (formally ending your marriage)

Ending your de facto relationship

Chapter 6: Going to court

Before you file

TRIAGE AND ASSESSMENT

the new court pathway

Trial

Timeframes

Staying out of court, or getting out quickly

Chapter 7: Alternative ways to resolve your matter

Practical ways to resolve your matter

Documenting your agreement

Chapter 8: Choosing a lawyer and preparing for your first visit

How do you choose the right family lawyer for you?

Preparing for your first visit to your family lawyer

Chapter 9: Family law and empowered decision-making

What does a family lawyer do?

Why do you need a family lawyer?

The best-case and worst-case scenarios for your matter

How to make the most of the family law system

How empowered decision-making will assist you

Chapter 10: Looking after yourself

Ground rules for an amicable family law settlement

Remember that it’s okay to ask for help

Conclusion

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

Resources

Prologue

If you were offered the opportunity to determine your family law outcome by being equipped with a deep understanding of your facts, the law, the system, the reality and your goals, would you take it? A process that empowered you to make key decisions, resolve your family law matter and get on with your life surely is appealing.

I call this empowered decision-making – that is, having knowledge about the law, the system, your matter, the reality and how those variables align with your goals, all of which will give you the power to make decisions that accord with the outcomes you are trying to achieve.

I love being a lawyer. I love assisting people and helping them work towards a solution to whatever their legal problem might be. I love educating my clients about the law, explaining how it applies to them and imparting knowledge so they are better informed about their legal issue (and ideally won’t fall into the same issue again, or be better informed if they do).

I’m not sure where my thirst for knowledge about the law began. In my formal schooling I wasn’t academic, and I did only enough work to get through. It took me several years to work out what career I wanted to have. I muddled my way through parts of an information technology degree, hospitality diplomas and teaching. In 1998 I stumbled into my law degree – not due to any strong sense of justice or to right wrongs, but because a friend was studying law and I thought, That sounds interesting. Right up to the conclusion of my law degree I maintained that I was studying out of interest’s sake only. I chose subjects that were interesting to me. It was only in my last semester of study that I decided to pursue a career in the law – I thought, Well, I’ve done all this study – might as well do something with it!

I completed my practical training and was lucky enough to be placed in a general practice law firm with a focus on family law, which needed new lawyers. I was offered a job on day two. Suddenly there I was – a lawyer in training at age 27. It’s 18 years now since I started that job, in the same law practice I now own. I moved from trainee lawyer to lawyer, to partner, to owner. To have my contribution to the law practice recognised in this way has provided me with a sense of achievement and purpose.

Perhaps there was something greater at work that led me to this path. Perhaps by heading along to a law lecture one day I was subconsciously taking a step to work out what I wanted to do, and got hooked. Whatever the reasoning behind it, I am now hooked, and there is nothing more satisfying than bringing about a positive outcome for a client I believe in, whether it be restoring access to the father falsely accused of abusing his daughter, or providing the mother in a family violence situation with a sense of reassurance and calm.

Since beginning work as a lawyer, I’ve found my thirst for knowledge and learning has sparked like never before. The more I work as a lawyer the more I want to continue to refine my skills every day, learn about different aspects of the law and keep up to date with the latest developments in family law. The spark has seen me through the completion of a Master of Laws, and thereafter a Master of Applied Law (Family Law).

After knowledge, the second most influential component of my everyday life is education. I can often be heard saying to clients, staff, friends and family, Every day is a school day. By this, I mean we all have regular learning experiences. I believe there is great power in learning about things and acquiring knowledge. I’m passionate about imparting knowledge to clients, other lawyers and students. Whether it is providing clients with detailed advice so that they are fully informed in making decisions about their matter, or speaking with students at the local secondary school about topics they are studying or options they might consider for when they graduate, the ability to share my knowledge gives me great joy.

So I wanted to write this book and share the knowledge about family law that I have with you – whether you have a current legal issue, or may not know that you have one, or just need a little information to get started on your legal journey.

This is the second edition of Trust Yourself, originally published in 2018 and revised and updated in 2023 to let you know about significant changes to our Family Court system which came into effect in 2021. I hope you find this information useful.

Elizabeth

Introduction

The law touches every person throughout their days, weeks and lives without many people really being aware or having reason to question it. From the transaction to purchase a new car (signing a contract) to buying a new surfboard (sale of goods), moving into a new property (contract or tenancy agreement) or having a lovely meal out (food and licensing requirements), daily life goes on without much need to think about these legal transactions.

The law is generally only considered when things go wrong, when a dispute occurs or when you start planning your future. By this time you might find it is too late, you are in more trouble than you thought or things are more messy or out of order than they need to be. Generally though, most people get by without having to consider the law or talk to a lawyer.

If you are separating from your spouse, it is more likely that you will need to consider the family law and its impact on your separation, whether this involves your property settlement or the arrangements for your children. There are good reasons, at the very least, to have a preliminary discussion with a family lawyer to make sure you are on track, even if you ultimately work everything out.

To give a sense of the number of families who access the family law system annually, in the 2021–22 year, approximately 109,000 applications were lodged with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and the Family Court of Western Australia (the two courts that deal with family law matters) combined.

Across Australia, just under half of the applications lodged are Divorce Applications (about 52,000). Just under 16,000 are new applications filed seeking parenting orders, property orders or both. About 19,000 applications are for Consent Orders, where an agreement is reached without the need to file a contested application. The balance of applications are those filed within proceedings or other applications.

When considering how long a matter takes to conclude, the average length of time for a matter to move through the court system is increasing. In Western Australia, the timeframe has risen from 91 weeks in 2017 to 140 weeks in 2022. In the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the time has increased from around 16 months in the 2019–20 year to 19 months in the 2021–22 year. Both Courts report the increasing complexity of matters as a primary reason for the increase in time.

In practice we have seen that historically, the average family law matter going to trial will take between 2 and 4 years. Parties can wait 12–18 months for a final hearing from the time the court deems that the matter is ready for a final hearing.

These delays were a significant reason behind the restructure of the Court system and the introduction of the new Case Management Pathway in September 2021. The intention of the new pathway is to see matters through the Court system within 12 months, with specific rules regarding appearances, the number of interim hearings, the need for mediation and an early trial. Anecdotal evidence suggests that matters are moving through quickly. There is a push within the Court system to clear the older pre-merge ‘legacy’ matters to improve the overall functioning of the Court and, importantly, for litigants to move through the system as quickly as possible.

Returning then to the question I posed at the beginning:

If you were offered the opportunity to determine your family law outcome by having a deep understanding of your facts, the law, the system, the reality and your goals, would you take it?

Early in my career, I recognised that there is value in people and their families being armed with information; people so often go through life without protecting themselves, their dignity, their future and their relationships. Time and time again I have experienced clients who have a personal legal issue as being reactive and lacking the knowledge to move forward. They are often looking for a speedy resolution of their matter, at fair cost and as an end to their distress. I have found that through encouraging them to focus on their goals, gain knowledge about their legal matter and implement a well-thought-out strategy, clients can become informed, empowered and focused. They know their