Brisbane Family Lawyers

Answers to your blog questions will be posted in the next day or so.

Lynette — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 05:23:59 +0000

To those people who have asked me questions and don’t see their questions or their answers on the Blog, I apologise. I answer all of these myself, and unfortunately my Mother has recently passed away.

As you can imagine, I have been preoccupied, and not up to responding until now. I have deleted all of the spam, and find that I have got 20 or so genuine questions to answer. I will attend to these this weekend. If your matter is urgent, I hope you have already phoned my law firm to get some free advice if it was urgent. The firm is Journey Family Lawyers, and their number is 07 38325999 in Brisbane, 0754431120 in Maroochydore, 07 32059000 in Strathpine, and 0755031123 for Southport.

Otherwise, check back in a day or so when I should have answered everything. Sorry, guys.

All the best,

Lynette

Communicating with your child’s other parent about schools

Lynette — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:13:40 +0000

This is the time of year that kids are getting ready to go to school again. It is a stressful yet exciting time, but even more stressful and upsetting for those kids whose parents are arguing about what school they should go to.

The key to avoiding disputes is to discuss your expectations with the other parent as soon as possible. In these times of shared parenting, it is inevitable that one parent may have to travel more than another. Choosing a school that is absolutely equal distance between the two homes is impossible usually.

Also there are parents who can’t agree on whether their child should attend a State School or a Private one, or even what religion the school should be. This is not something that can be decided on at the last minute. Kids need plenty of time to prepare themselves mentally for school, and they need to know which school they will be attending. If they hear parents arguing about whether one school is better than another, they may become anxious or even feel that one school may be bad for them. So get it out of the way the year before so you have time to get professional help through joint counselling, mediation or, if absolutely necessary, through the Courts.

I don’t recommend going to Court over something like school choice though, as it is a parenting choice really, and the Court should not be put in a position of choosing your child’s school. Of course the Court will if it has to, in order to give some certainty for the child, but the better option is for the parents to learn how to compromise and negotiate as a useful tool for navigating the other parenting decisions that they will have to make regularly for the child in the future.

Lynette

Journey Maroochydore is Now Open!

Lynette — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:44:58 +0000

Today we celebrate the opening of our Marooochydore office. It is at 15 Ocean Street. You can’t miss the signs! our phone number is 07 5443 1120.

We have Allison Callaghan, a Family Law Solicitor who has lived on the Sunshine Coast for many years available to help you with your separation and divorce advice.

Call her now to speak for 10 minutes for a free and absolutely confidential phone consultation, or call to book in for our incredibly popular 1 hour ” Know where you Stand” consultation where Allison can formulate a case plan for you tailored to your particular situation.

How to behave in Divorce proceedings

Lynette — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:02:01 +0000

How to Behave in Court When Going Through Divorce Proceedings

By Lynette Galvin

It is the day of your Divorce hearing. You rise and dress with extra care. Whether you are going to be represented by a divorce lawyer or not, you are nervous. People attend Court without Lawyers in Divorce proceedings all the time. Here are some ideas to ensure that your divorce is granted and you remain free of embarrassment and stress while you represent yourself in your divorce hearing.

This article is written specifically for Australian Divorces, so I refer to Australian Divorce law. If you are in another Country, then you may find some useful general tips about your behaviour. After all, judges seem to share the same desire for respect and good preparation, whichever country their Courtroom occupies.

If you go to Court with a Lawyer, then some of this information is for you too. Your lawyer will have all of the legal stress, but you need to conduct yourself with dignity even though a divorce was never part of your life plan!

The two things you need to consider when going to Court for your divorce, are firstly, to be prepared, and secondly, to be respectful.

Be Prepared:

Although you may worry about whether or not your documents are correct and whether you have done everything you are supposed to have done in relation to serving them on your spouse, there is more to preparation than simply crossing t’s and dotting i’s. You should have your documents in some sort of folder and I recommend labelling them somehow, so that when you have to refer to one in court, you can locate it quickly and easily. I prefer to use a system of sticky notes on the right hand side of the documents with the name and date of the document on it. Alternatively you could make a front sheet where all of your documents are listed with their dates, and allocated a number. The documents are then placed behind that front index sheet and the sticky notes then have the number of the document on them.

You will need to have a notepad without a cover for writing notes of dates or other things on, and two pens in case one of them lets you down.

Be Respectful:

I think respect is shown in three ways in an Australian Court.

The first is in your dress. Men should wear long pants, button shirt and dark shoes. A coat is nice to have. Jeans are not acceptable in my opinion. Women should not wear sports clothes or cocktail dresses (both of which I have seen in my career) but should wear what would be regarded as good day clothes or a business attire.

The second way respect is shown is in your speech. You should only speak when spoken to by a judge, or when he or she is looking expectantly at you and you realize he is waiting for you to respond or commence. Never interrupt a judge. When you do speak to a judge, (in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia) ) then you must use the title of ” Your Honour” and use it quite often. So you may answer “yes, your Honour” or if speaking not in response to a question, then commence with “Your Honour, I am here to” etc.

The third way to show respect in the Court is in your demeanor. Do not eat or drink anything in Court, except to sip from the water glasses on the bar table if necessary. Don’t chew gum, or eat cough lollies.

Enter and leave the Court quietly, and sit up straight. Listen to what is said, and don’t show emotion. If the divorce is granted, the judge will usually start a little speech with “I find that the Husband and Wife were married at” and so on. If your divorce is granted, or if it is not, say nothing, except “Thank you, Your Honour,” and don’t leave the bar table until someone else comes to take your place for their divorce hearing, or until the judge says “you are excused”.

Leave the Court quietly and quickly and don’t speak until you are outside the court and away from the recording devices.

Talk to a family law lawyer for free

Lynette — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:01:48 +0000

Thanks for all of your questions on the blog. I can see that this service is really needed, and I am happy to help where I can. I am worried that sometimes your questions are urgent and need an answer quicker than I can get to them.

Did you know that you can phone to have a free 10 minute or so chat with one of our lawyers at any time during business hours? Usually we have a solicitor who can take your call right away, or if not, can all you back within the hour. Alternatively, Or you can email us on enquiries@journeyfamilylawyers.com.au for a free email response. This helps many people each week and we are happy to do this and give you the information that gives you some clarity about your legal position. Sometimes this is all people need in the early stages of their separation or divorce journey.

If you are ready for more detail, though, you can also have an hour long, confidential , no obligation consultation on property settlement and divorce, childrens custody issues, or any other Family Law matter with a Journey Family Lawyer for $143.00 GST inclusive? If you cannot get to one of our offices, in Strathpine, Gold coast or Spring Hill Brisbane, or from November, our new Sunshine Coast office, or our Rockhampton visited office, then why not have a phone conference for an hour. We do it a lot, and we even have clients from interstate and overseas that we never see. These days with email it is much easier to have long distance representation. We have helped many people this way.

You will generally leave one of these conferences with a clear idea of where you stand, and also a plan for the future. People often say they wish they had come to us sooner, as these things had been keeping them awake at night. To make an appointment or to phone to talk to a lawyer, call

07 38325999 (Brisbane)

07 32059000 (Strathpine)

07 55031123 (Gold Coast)

07 5443 1120 (Sunshine Coast)

Kind regards,

Lynette