What Family Lawyers in Melbourne think you should consider before filing for divorce?

Filing for divorce in Melbourne is not that easy as others would say, especially if you have been separated for at least 12 months or more.

For the Federal Circuit Court to hear a divorce application there must be documentation that either party has some connection with Australia. At the time of applying, one party must be either: an Australian citizen; or domiciled in Australia (permanent home is in Australia); or ordinarily resident in Australia (has lived in the country for 12 months prior to the application being made).

There are two ways of filing for divorce in a family law court in Melbourne or in Australia in general.

One way that it could be done is solely, with only one party applying for divorce, though in this circumstance, the other party should be served a notice and an acknowledgement or appropriate validation is made known to confirm that such divorce application was made, and in fact, have been served.

Another option is to jointly file for a divorce application, wherein both parties are amicable to go through the divorce procedure. In this option, since both parties filed and signed the application prior to filing, there will be no need to serve a notice. A fee would then be paid, which is currently pegged at $900 AUD, but this can be lowered for certain cases. One such case is when one party or both owns a concession card that makes them eligible for a reduced application fee. Another case is when one or both applicants file for a financial hardship application. In the cases above, the fee would then be reduced to $300 AUD.

A hearing date would then be scheduled after filling, though an important thing to remember when the divorce application has been made by one party, provided that their children are under 18 years old, is that you or your family law representative will be required to attend the divorce hearing. This to ensure that, at least, one party is available during the hearing to answer all the questions that the Registrar may have with regards to care arrangements for their children, post-separation issues or any other problems that might arise during the process that needs to be addressed and resolved.

Once the divorce process takes place and has become absolute, a 12-month timeline would be given to both parties for the start of the property and other spousal maintenance procedures. This should also be considered by both parties prior to processing their divorce application. There are situations, though, that the family law court may give leeway to those processing out of the said time frame.

My Legal Crunch family law team in Melbourne encourages readers to actively consider each of the factors raised in this article prior to filing an application for divorce. It is practically straightforward, provided that both parties have all the papers and documents required to accompany the divorce application. My Legal Crunch has family law attorneys in Melbourne that would help in assisting or discussing every step of the divorce process.

If you would like to speak with a family lawyer in Melbourne with regards to any divorce, property or parenting matters, or if you need any advice on the best way to work with this matter, please do not hesitate to get in contact with My Legal Crunch.