Separation Form

We are happy to help you secure the relevant orders. Remember that if you are in danger, do not hesitate to call the police on '000'

Your Safety
Your safety is of the highest importance.
Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky can discuss your concerns and your needs, and provide you with advice and strategies to keep you safe.
A Family Violence Intervention Order could help to protect you, by placing conditions on what your partner is and is not allowed to do, including coming within a certain distance of you or communicating with you.
Your lawyer can provide advice on the suitability of such an order in your case, and how it would fit in and affect the rest of your family law matters.

Who stays in the home
Who stays in the home (and who leaves to live elsewhere) depends on a number of factors that we can discuss when we meet. It is not necessarily the case that the person who stays will ultimately keep the home.
Usually, there are a number of pros and cons to staying or leaving the home which should be considered before you make a decision one way or another. We can provide you with advice on your legal options and other practical options and strategies that can often assist.

In some instances, it is ideal for children to remain in the same home with the person who has historically taken primary responsibility for their care. In the next questionnaire, we will go through the arrangements you have had to date, and help you determine where you stand on this.

Practical considerations such as meeting the financial outgoings associated with the home, the practicalities of living together in the meantime, and any violence or incidents that have occurred in the past, are all considered.

Help with communication
If you would like some help on how you should raise these issues with your partner, [or how the two of you should talk to your children,] Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky can provide guidance based on extensive experience.

Emotional help
Understandably, you are having a hard time emotionally. We work with excellent counsellors who can be of great help. In the meantime, continue with the next questionnaire so that you can get peace of mind about the more legal side of your situation.

Financial Support
Under the Family Law Act, a person has a responsibility to financially assist their former partner, if their former partner cannot meet their own reasonable expenses from their personal income or assets. That obligation commences at the time of separation, and can include an obligation to assist with the day to day costs of living. In the next questionnaire, we will analyse your situation so that Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky can advise on your options with regard to Spousal Maintenance.

You and your partner are married. You will need to apply to the Court to get a divorce.
From a legal perspective, a 'divorce' is actually separate from property or parenting matters, which we'll get to in a moment. A 'divorce' is a straightforward administrative change to your legal status: you go from being married, to being not married.
You can apply for a divorce 12 months after the date you and your partner finally separated.

You and your partner may be in a de facto relationship. In Australia, de facto relationships are treated almost the same as married relationships. There are a few things we'll work through soon to help your lawyer assess whether you and Partner Name meet the definition of 'de facto'. To legally end a de facto relationship, all you need to do is communicate your intention to end the relationship. You don't need to get a divorce or formal separation.

You and your partner have already divorced, which gets that out of the way. We can guide you towards a property division that is fair in your circumstances.

There is a bit of uncertainty around whether you are married. Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky can review this with you at your first meeting. In the meantime, continue with this questionnaire so that your lawyer can provide you with accurate advice.

Reaching resolution
You and your partner do not need to go to Court. You can always resolve all of the legal aspects of your separation by agreement.
Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky likes to assist clients to resolve all of their legal matters amicably and by agreement, where possible.

Even though things may be pretty difficult between you and your partner at the moment, you should still be able to ultimately reach agreement without the need for long and costly litigation. Of all the people in Australia who separate, it's only a tiny minority that need a judge to make a final decision for them. Most people are able to resolve things without going to a final hearing.

You and your partner are getting along at least reasonably well at the moment, and that's a really great thing. In all likelihood, Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky will be able to assist you to come to a sensible resolution of your matter.

Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky will help you deal with your partner in the most suitable way possible, so that you can reach an appropriate outcome.
Once an agreement is reached, it can be formalised through binding Court orders or a formal legal agreement.

Your children
Arrangements will have to be put in place which meet the best interests of your children. That will include things like how major decisions will be made for them, and the time your children will spend with each of you and your partner.

You do not need to formalise parenting arrangements in Court Orders.
If you and your partner can continue to get on fairly well, and you are able to agree on the arrangements you have for the children from time to time, it can sometimes be best not to formalise arrangements, and maintain a flexible co-parenting relationship.
If your communication or co-operation breaks down, this can leave you without anything to rely on, which is why some people still seek to formalise arrangements using consent orders.
Alternatively, you could make a 'Parenting Plan', which is not legally binding, but can help to clarify things. Your lawyer will discuss all of this with you, so that you can make a decision about the best option for you.
There is a presumption that both parents will continue to have parental responsibility for the children, which means that both parents have responsibility to make long term decisions about things like health, education and religion.
If you do want to clarify parenting arrangements in writing, your agreement would typically deal with matters like your children's fortnightly routine, how holidays will be shared between parents, phone, Skype and Facetime communication, travel, emergency medical treatment and the like.

Parenting arrangements can be negotiated, and made into formal Court Orders, which are legally binding.
There is also the option to set out arrangements in a 'Parenting Plan,' but that may not provide the certainty you need. Your lawyer will help you work out what the best option is.
In most cases, both parents will continue to have parental responsibility for the children, which means that both parents have responsibility to make long term decisions about things like health, education and religion. That is not always the case though, and Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky will look at whether that is appropriate in your case.
The consent orders or parenting agreement will typically deal with things like your children's fortnightly routine, how holidays will be shared between parents, phone, Skype and Facetime communication, travel, emergency medical treatment and the like.
Both parents have an obligation to financially support the children. The Government has created a formula to determine what Child Support payments will need to be made. Your lawyer will take you through that and explain it in more detail once you've completed the next questionnaire.

At this stage, you only want help with parenting. There may be financial considerations that you're unaware of, but they can be addressed when you meet with your lawyer.

You have said that you essentially have no assets to divide with your partner. We will investigate this a bit further with you, as there may still need to be some kind of division. At the very least, it is always prudent to tie off your financial separation, so that your partner cannot come back in the future, seeking any property you acquire from here on in.
Really, our focus will be to bring closure to the legal issues, so that you can move on with your life.
In the next questionnaire, we will go through your financial position with you, so that your lawyer can give you legal advice on the most likely outcome in your case.

Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky will help you reach a full and final division of property with your partner. In the next questionnaire, we will go into a bit more detail about your financial situation and the history of your relationship so that your lawyer can provide you with legal advice about the range of most likely outcomes.
Once you know where you stand, Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky will help you to put together all of the documents you will need, and engage with your partner so that you can negotiate and agree on your property settlement.
People usually negotiate a settlement based on what a Court might order in their situation, if they were to go to Court. Put very simply, that involves going through a 'four step process':

1. First, identify all of the assets and liabilities owned by each party, and those owned together or with others. That includes any real estate, investments, bank accounts, cars, and liabilities like the mortgage and credit cards. Your superannuation is also relevant.
2. Second, the Court looks at the contributions each party has made to the relationship, being what each person had at the start of the relationship, and any external contributions like inheritances or gifts from family. The Court looks at contributions that are financial, like earning an income, and non-financial, like raising children, doing housework or maintaining the house.
3. The third step is best thought of as a consideration of future needs. That's about your abilities to earn income, [the need to care for children,] your ages and your health.
4. The fourth step, as it's sometimes referred to, is a consideration of what is just and equitable in all the circumstances.

Where to from here
The next questionnaire will take you about 30 minutes to complete. After the questionnaire, we will be able to provide you with advice about the likely outcome of your case and help you understand your next steps.