Divorce

A divorce is the official recognition of the end of a marriage. Divorce is dealt with separately from other family law matters relating to marriage breakdown. The divorce process involves filing a Divorce Application in the Federal Circuit Court. You must wait one year from the date you and your partner separate before filing that application. Either of you can apply for a divorce or you can apply together.

If you have been separated for 12 months and have remained living in the same residence for any period of that time, you can still apply for a divorce. You will need to provide further information to the Court about your separation.

As part of the divorce process you will need to provide information to the Court in the Divorce Application about the current child custody and parenting arrangements if you have children under the age of 18. This information is required as the Court needs to be satisfied that there are appropriate child custody arrangements in place for the care, welfare and development of the children. The divorce process does not involve making any changes to the current child custody arrangements or parenting orders. Those are dealt with by way of a separate application.

You do not need to wait until you are divorced before you can deal with other family law matters, such as finalise your financial and property settlement, or deal with child custody and parenting arrangements. However, there is a 12 month time limit on bringing applications for property and financial settlements and spousal maintenance once a divorce order is made.

Often Divorce Applications are very straightforward but sometimes they are not. Simple or complex, Pearson Emerson can help you with the efficient finalisation of your divorce. Please contact PE Family Law to discuss your matter.