Since the early 1990’s the majority of my workload has been in Family Law. I attained accreditation as a Family Law Specialist in 1997 and head our Family Law Team where it is now 100% Family Law. I have seen a number of changes over the years.

Superannuation has been included as an asset of the matrimonial pool to enable splitting orders to be made to transfer a portion of the fund to the other spouse.

Since 2009 the Family Law Act has included de facto and same sex relationships. Now marriage, de facto, and same sex couple relationships are essentially all dealt with in the same manner.

The introduction of Child Support legislation in 1989 has allowed an easier form of assessment and collection of child support.

There has also been a tendency towards mediation to avoid ongoing litigation and to save costs. Following separation, if parties cannot resolve child issues, it is a requirement that they first attend mediation to consider a parenting plan and cannot, save in certain circumstances, proceed to court without having done so.

Financial Agreements have been introduced to enable parties to avoid litigation and decide how assets may be divided. Agreements may be entered into before, during, or following a divorce or break up of a de facto relationship.

Whilst we always endeavour to negotiate and finalise matters at the earliest opportunity that is not always possible and court proceedings may need to be commenced. Nonetheless all efforts continue towards resolving, and statistically less than 5% of matters filed in court end up proceeding to trial.

We provide commitment to delivering the best possible outcomes in a timely manner.

Richard Callaghan
QLS Accredited Family Law Specialist of Kelly Legal