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Care and living arrangements for children
When parties separate it is necessary for workable arrangements to be made for the care of their children. In particular, arrangements need to be in place about when and for what periods of time each child spends with each parent.
If the parties have come to an agreement about the care arrangements for their children, and want to ensure the certainty of those arrangements, then the parties can ask the Family Court or the Federal Magistrates Court to make an Order committing the parties to that arrangement.
If you cannot come to an agreement about care arrangements for your children, we can take over negotiations for you and/or commence Court proceedings on your behalf asking the Court to decide the care arrangements for the children.
Each party will have opportunities to inform the Court about the care arrangements they each want, why they want those arrangements, and why the Court should make those care arrangements.
We will assist you in all aspects of preparing and putting your ‘case’ forward to the Court.
It can be a long process however, and there are usually a number of Court Ordered steps to be taken before the Court will be ready to make a final decision about care arrangements. This process can take many months or longer.
The Court is concerned to ensure that both parties have ample opportunities to try and resolve the matter, even after Court proceedings have been started, and also to ensure that the issues in dispute are narrowed down as far as possible.
Children cannot be parties to Court proceedings. However it is not uncommon for the Court to appoint an Independent Children’s Lawyer to represent the children and/or for an independent psychologist to meet with the children and the parties. They then report their recommendations to the Court on what they believe the Orders should be.
For more information, contact our family law team.
> Back to top Child Support Agreements and Child Maintenance
Both parties have a legal obligation to provide for their children, to the extent of their financial means, until a child is 18 years of age. This obligation may extend beyond a child’s 18th birthday if the child is studying full time and is financially dependant on one or both parents.
Usually, Child Support claims are assessed by the Child Support Agency, however in certain circumstances parties can apply to the Family Law Courts for Child Maintenance Orders.
A party may be working, but still be entitled to child support or Child Maintenance depending on the means of the other party, and the time that the child spends with each parent.
For more information about obligations and rights in relation to Child Support contact the Child Support Agency or use our link to their website. You will find many useful child support calculators and information sheets on the Child Support Agency website.
Parties can also make arrangements about the amount of Child Support that will be paid, and/or the additional expenses of a child that will be covered by a parent. The parties can then lodge these agreements with the Child Support Agency to bind the parties to that agreement.
For more information about Child Support, Child Support Agreements and Child Maintenance, please contact our Family Law team.
