Spousal maintenance (alimony in other countries) is payable by one party in a marriage or de facto relationship to the other, usually only after separation, if the first party cannot support themselves adequately and the other party has the means to provide that support (Family Law Act Section 72 Family Court Act Section 205ZC). This financial support was more common when many women were usually at home caring for children full time and had not been in the workforce because they were full-time homemakers when separation occurred.
Fixed Fee Pricing
Our clients benefit from greater certainty and peace of mind with Fixed Fee Pricing
We do not bill by the hour
Experience tells us that clients dislike the hourly rates regime which most lawyers still use, and prefer the certainty of fixed fees.
Click Here Spousal maintenance can be sought by any party who was dependent on the other party. Spousal maintenance can and should (if the person is eligible) be obtained before the 12 months separation has occurred.
The legal costs of seeking spousal maintenance on its own (that is, without a financial settlement) will be high so it is usually best for spousal maintenance to be asked for with an application for settlement, e.g., for the house to be transferred or a property or business to be sold and for the weekly payment of spousal maintenance to be made. The financial settlement details may not be worked out for some time, and possibly until trial, but the spousal maintenance can be decided by the court on an interim basis.
While in the past spousal maintenance was often paid for the rest of a person’s life, it is most usual now for spousal maintenance to be payable for a fixed period. In that time, it is intended that the person getting the spousal maintenance can retrain or otherwise become able to support themselves.
At Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky we will assess the value of spousal maintenance carefully for our client, if they are the party who likely qualifies for it, and if our client is being asked to pay spousal maintenance, to find the means to make this obligation one that will be short-term.
Daniel Loreck
HEAD OF FAMILY LAW PRACTICE
David is also highly approachable which is important when dealing with lawyers. There are some lawyers who are so far up themselves that you hesitate to call them, but even though David is a brilliant lawyer, he is also very down to earth.
Les is a wonderful lawyer. He has an amazing grasp of the English language and is always polite and grounding to speak to. With Les there are never problems to which there aren't solutions. And he's always up for the challenge. More than this, and it may seem weird to say this, whenever I meet Les he makes me want to be a good man. He's a real humanitarian and inspires the best in me. For that reason I always look forward to seeing him again.
Les was very professional and always kept my interest at the forefront of his mind. He is thorough and clear in his communications. He is also very supportive and I like how he runs meetings, providing all the options and helping sort out which ones are for me.
I can honestly say that in complex commercial litigation matters, David demonstrates an uncanny ability to think clearly, out of the box, and he adopts a pragmatic and very cost-effective approach. This is especially the case in relation to fixed fee pricing.
