Why use a lawyer in family law matters

Family law often involves complex issues of law. There are those matters which can be easily resolved by way of a Consent Order and there are even Do It Yourself Consent Order Kits on the Family Court website. So what is the benefit of using a lawyer rather than saving on costs and doing it yourself?

Here are two examples which particularly relate to property settlement matters.

In the first, a client and his ex-wife had divorced 12 years previously. They did an informal property settlement. Neither of them obtained legal advice when coming to that agreement. Later, the wife applied to the Court because she believed that she did not get what she was entitled to. She got permission from the Court to seek a property division. She ended up receiving a substantial payment from the client’s superannuation fund. In addition to having to pay his ex-wife money from his super fund, he had expended time and money on the Court proceedings which may have been avoided had the parties formalized their agreement at the time of separation.

In the second, a client and her ex-husband agreed to an informal property settlement 18 months ago. After attempting to purchase a property for herself to live in and discovering that no banks would lend her any money, the client decided to obtain some legal advice about the agreement. It was determined that she did not receive what she was entitled to in the informal agreement. Application was made to the Court and permission was granted from the Court to seek property division. Following a mediation between the parties, an agreement was reached which provided for her ex-husband to pay a cash payment to the client of $150,000.00.

So, spending some money to get advice when you separate on your particular circumstances is a worthwhile exercise and could end up actually saving you money in the long term.