Divorce – Separation- Divorce Lawyers – Family Law Firm Sydney

Ian came in to see us shortly after his wife Joanne had left the marriage after developing a new career and commencing a relationship with a new younger partner. The youngest child of the marriage was a few months from reaching the age of 18 years, and Joanne had left the two children of the marriage in the care of Ian. Ian was still dealing with the loss of his relationship and the emotional stress caused by these course of events. After speaking to him briefly it appeared clear that Joanne had planned the end of the marriage for quite some time, particularly given that she had removed significant items from the former matrimonial home including the certificates of marriage and birth certificates along with all relevant financial information including Ian’s taxation returns. This is a common occurrence at the end of relationship, where one party, will decide to end the relationship and put this plan into place well before they express this intention to the other party. Ian was unprepared and had no inkling of Joanne’s intention.

We advised Ian that as a first step he could apply for child support for the youngest son who was not quite 18 years old. This was something that Ian had not even considered. Joanne promptly lodged an objection to the payment of child support which was ultimately refused and she commenced payments to the husband who had primary care.

Ian wished to retain the former matrimonial home for himself and the children. Ian worked and Joanne stayed at home to care for the children. Ian had received a significant inheritance a few years prior, and those funds had been used to discharge the mortgage on the former matrimonial home. These and other factors resulted in the parties being able to reach an agreement after some negotiations, whereby Ian received 75% of the total property pool. This was comprised of 70% for contributions and a 5% adjustment for factors under section 75(2) of the Family Law Act 1975. This percentage enabled Ian to borrow money, secured by mortgage against the home, to ‘payout’ Joanne.

For further advice contact our Divorce & Separation Lawyers Sydney today.

For further information or assistance please contact Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers.

All names and identifying features have been changed for privacy reasons in our case studies. These case studies only have basic detail in them, and you should always bear in mind that every case is unique. These case studies are examples only, and cannot be applied to your circumstances without consideration of all relevant facts.