Lynch Meyer can assist with preparing and lodging your divorce application, however you may wish to do this yourself by using the self help tools and kits available on the Family Law Courts website or by visiting the Family Law Court registry. In South Australia, the Family Court Registry is located at 3 Angas Street Adelaide SA 5000.
There is a fee set by the Court for lodging an application for divorce. This amount can change from time to time but is available on the Family Law Courts website.
If you are in receipt of an income tested pension, allowance or benefit, or are suffering from financial hardship you may be eligible to obtain an exemption from payment of fees. The relevant Court form is called an “Application for waiver of Court fees on the basis of financial hardship”.
In order to apply for a divorce, you must have been separated for at least 12 months and there must be no reasonable likelihood of the marriage resuming.
It is important to note however that a divorce is only the legal dissolution of the marriage. It does not deal with property settlement, arrangements for the care of the children, or issues in relation to spousal maintenance. All those matters need to be dealt with separately, and we can help you in relation to all of these things.
From the time a divorce is granted, each party usually has only 12 months to initiate Court proceedings in relation to property settlement, spousal maintenance and other financial issues. There may be ‘special circumstances’ however that may persuade the Court to allow Court proceedings to be initiated more than 12 months after the parties divorce.
