There are many factors the Court is required to take into account in determining what is in the best interests of your children and there are also many misconceptions about how those factors are worked out and the rules that apply.
One of the most common misconceptions is that shared care, or equal time, is automatically applied to every family. There is a requirement that the Court consider the possibility of shared care in defined circumstances as a first option but in considering that arrangement as a first option the Judge must look at factors such as practicality, the age of the children, the relationship between the children and their parents and the overriding consideration of what is in the child’s best interests.
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Regardless of whether children are born to parents who are or have been married, living in a defacto relationship or have never married nor have never lived in a defacto relationship, it is the principles set out in the Family Law Act that apply to all children and all parents, even to grandparents or other people who might have a legitimate interest in a child. It will be the Family Court or the Federal Magistrates Court that will decide your case in relation to your children, regardless of the status of your relationship as parents.
Grandparents, and sometimes other relatives or people unrelated but who have an interest in the wellbeing of a child also want to ensure they maintain their relationship with a child and we can advise grandparents and others about their rights and responsibilities as well.
In some circumstances relatives, as well as unrelated interested persons can ask the Court to make an order that children live with them, either permanently or on a temporary basis. All the solicitors at Cassandra Pullos Lawyers have the experience necessary to bring these matters before the Court and to advise you about your individual circumstances.
Before going to Court, most parents will be required to undertake Family Dispute Resolution Counseling with a certified Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner. The Federal Government has set up Family Relationship Centers in many areas across the country to provide this service to parents. Private Dispute Resolution Practitioners are also available to be engaged by parents.
There are exceptions to this requirement for Family Dispute Resolution Counseling and we can advise you whether these exceptions might apply to you and what alternatives might be available to try and resolve your dispute if that counseling is not appropriate to your circumstances because, for example, of issues such as the existence of domestic violence.
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If you have an application before the Court in relation to any issue concerning your children or if there are orders in place in relation to any issue in relation to your children then you must obtain the consent of the other parent, in the appropriate form, before taking your child out of Australia, even for a short holiday and even if the other parent has agreed verbally.
Failure to obtain that consent, in the required form, could result in a fine, a jail sentence or result in you being stopped at immigration and the children prevented from leaving the country.
If you would like to know more about the required Consent form or the rules that apply to children and international travel, please click here.
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Australia, along with 80 other Countries worldwide is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Being a signatory to that convention means that countries agree on certain rules and procedures to ensure children are returned to the country of which they have been a “habitual resident” if they are removed from that country in a way that interferes with the “rights of residence” of the parent who remains behind.
Assistance for parents whose children who have been removed from their country of habitual residence can often be assisted by the “Central Authority”, a government body set up by all “signatory countries” to assist in the return of children.
The Federal Attorney General’s Department oversees the implementation of the Hague Convention and works in conjunction with your private lawyer and the Family Court here in Australia and its overseas equivalent to assist in the return of children wrongfully removed from Australia.
Our lawyers at Cassandra Pullos lawyers have been involved in many cases of International Child Abduction and have the expertise necessary to assist you in this area that often requires immediate and expert attention and action.
