Negotiation and pre-action proceedings
Negotiation and pre-action proceedings
a process which can take place prior to Court, or whilst the Court proceedings are on foot
the parties have a series of meetings and collaborate on issues that are important
Townsville Family Law (TFL) is a division of Mackey Wales Law of Townsville.
TFL is a dynamic and friendly legal practice that is there to assist you in working towards your goals in what can be a difficult and often stressful part of your life.
TFL can work with you in a number of different ways to achieve the desired outcomes.
Book a ConsultationNegotiation and pre-action proceedings
Quite often, much time is spent by both parties in gathering information and documentation for family events that have occurred over a number of years – not an easy task at the best of times. Your lawyer needs this information in order to identify property and gain an understanding of the contributions (financial and non-financial) made by both parties during the course of the relationship.
Once this information has been provided, the next step is to negotiate with your ex spouse (or their lawyer) which is often an expensive, and time consuming process.
If an agreement cannot be reached, parties must engage in certain pre-action procedures before they are permitted to commence proceedings in the Family Court of Australia, or the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. Both Courts have significant caseloads and funding shortfalls and more often than not, parties will have to endure waiting periods of 6 months (or more) for a trial date.
Mediation is a process which can take place prior to Court, or whilst the Court proceedings are on foot.
The parties attend private or Court-mandated mediation with their respective Lawyers and Barristers, which is chaired by an independent mediator. The costs of the mediator are usually paid equally by the parties.
If an agreement is reached at mediation, it is detailed within a signed agreement, which can then be formulated into an application for consent orders and filed in the Court. Unless there are unusual circumstances, an application for consent orders is not normally subjected to a significant waiting period as an agreement has been reached.
If mediation is not successful, the parties can commence litigation, or await their next Court date if proceedings are already on foot.
The practice of Collaborative Law is a relatively new approach for resolving disputes which is being successfully adopted in Australia, after having been practised overseas since 1990. The concept is that the parties and their legal representatives have a series of meetings (together and separately) and collaborate on issues that are important to each other and the family.
Given the nature of family law disputes, the issues are often emotional and the collaborative approach permits the parties to be assisted by other professionals, such as a communication neutral (counsellor/psychologist) and a financial neutral (accountant, financial advisor).The communication neutral assists the parties in improving their ability to communicate with one another during negotiations, and this assists the parties to co-parent and develop a parenting plan/orders for the children. The financial neutral assists the parties in budgeting for two separate households and restructuring their family assets in a tax effective manner.
This unique approach permits families to resolve their differences without having to go to court, and often reduces the time and cost incurred by parties attempting to negotiate by correspondence. An added benefit is that there is full and frank disclosure about financial issues from the very outset.
Number of divorces increased 14% from the prior year and 15% from 2017
The median duration from the time of marriage to divorce was approximately 12 years.
Parties were most likely to divorce in their early to mid forties.
49% of applications are applied for jointly
There were 89,164 marriages registered in 2021, up 13% from the prior year but down 21% from 2017
The majority of marriage ceremonies are conducted by civil celebrants.
The median age to get married in 2021 was 32.1 for men and 30.5 for women
