What is a court-ordered paternity test?

A court-ordered paternity test is a DNA test initiated by the Family Court. They can be initiated due to reasonable doubt about the child’s paternity, or by you applying to the Family Court or Federal Circuit Court.

The purpose is to help settle a child support dispute, determine the paternity of the child in parenting proceedings or any birth certificate dilemmas.

The law on paternity-testing

It may be useful to know that the court can order a paternity test on its own initiative, or upon your request. Section 69W(b) of the Family Law Act 1975 states that a court can make a parentage testing order, on the application of a party.

The Family Law Act 1975 also lays out the presumptions of parentage. Without DNA results, the presumption is that you are a parent of the child if you satisfy the elements list Section 69.

Process of getting a paternity test and the costs involved

The court order will allow you, the other parent and the child to attend a laboratory for DNA testing and collection. The two options available are peace of mind testing or DNA typing. Peace of mind testing involves self-sampling and ranges in price from approximately $150.00 - $200.00. DNA typing is more accredited, however, may cost you from $600.00 - $900.00. It is best to consult our experienced family lawyers who can help you explore your options.

 

If you or someone you know wish to discuss this matter further, then please contact our experienced solicitors at 02 8999 9809 for assistance.

Collating Documents

However daunting and tedious, collating documents is the best place to start to help with the rest of the divorce process. Lawyers will require you to provide your marriage and children’s birth certificates, bank account statements, investment statements, loan and mortgage statements and superannuation statements. Other miscellaneous provisions such as insurance policies, tax records, utility bills, property documents and government benefit documents may need to be collected as well.

Dividing assets and caring for children

It is incredibly important to take time to make important decisions. Making a list of the assets you both own and liabilities can make it easier for you to divide your assets. Similarly, time should be taken on how to care for your children. If you are unable to agree on appropriate parenting arrangements following separation, you should seek a qualified Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) practitioner. You should also contact Services Australia to seek more information about the amount of child support payable in particular circumstances, and the benefits that can be claimed for by separated parents.

Domestic Violence

Some divorces may occur due to violence. To protect yourself and your family, call 000 if you are in danger or to retrieve an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) against your partner.

Work out what happens to your income and expenses after divorce

If you pay a mortgage, make sure to speak to your lender and let them know that you are separated. They may allow you to make an application for financial hardship, which reduces mortgage payments to interest only.

Prepare a budget that does not involve your partner, and work out your income and expenses. You can also contact Services Australia to see if you can apply for government financial assistance. You should speak to a family lawyer regarding spousal maintenance, and their obligation to support you financially following the separation. Consulting a family lawyer at our firm can help you formulate a clear plan and understanding of the procedures, reducing stress and ensuring the best outcome for your family.

If you or someone you know wish to discuss this matter further, then please contact our experienced solicitors at 02 8999 9809 for assistance.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day yesterday has brought attention and awareness to respects for women’s rights and gender equality. Despite this, domestic violence continues to thrive, with Australian men murdering their female partners at the rate of one a week. Awareness towards domestic violence laws and access to the right legal protections can help prevent the rate at which this occurs.

Forms of Recognised Domestic Violence

Domestic and family violence is a crime defined in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007. It involves an abuse of power, and can extend beyond physical violence, often involving the exploitation of power imbalances and subtle patterns of abuse.

It can take the form of physical abuse such as punching, hitting, kicking and pushing. It can also involve stalking, unwanted sexual acts, breaking Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVO) or making threats. Recognising the many forms of domestic abuse is vital to ensuring the necessary help is sought.

Lawful Means of Policing Domestic Violence

Domestic violence related legislation allows courts to include a domestic violence protection order, a condition excluding the person against whom the order is made from a residence shared with the victim. Reporting a domestic abuse situation to the police can help retrieve an ADVO on behalf of victims and children that happen to live or spend time with them.

Police can also investigate breaches of ADVOs, and if an ADVO has been breached, the police have power to arrest and lay criminal charges.

Legislation such as the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and Family Violence Act 2011 deals with issues regarding protection of partners in marriages, de facto relationships, divorce and separation. It also highlights the maintenance and care of children who fall victim to the consequences of domestic violence. Consult a family lawyer for professional legal advice.

If you would like to learn more about this issue, or would like to discuss a legal matter, please do not hesitate to call us on 8917 8700.

 

 

 

What is child abduction?

The law defines child abduction to be the unlawful removal of a child from their legal caretaker, even with the consent of the child. This means that the defence of consent is not valid.

Parental child abduction is a criminal offence under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Amendments ensure that offences can also extend to persons acting on behalf of the parent in attempting or succeeding in the abduction of a child.

How do I recover my child if an abduction has occurred?

If a child in your care has been abducted, you can apply to the Court for a recovery order. This empowers Australian Federal Police to investigate the activities and movements of the missing child and abducting parent. In the case of an international abduction and the abducting parent has removed the child from Australia, the AFP will cooperate with international agencies to find and return the child.

Defences to child abduction

Legitimate defences against a charge of child abduction exists. This may include a parent who is trying to escape domestic violence and wishes to protect the mental and physical health of their child. In addition to this, a general claim of self defence may be sufficient.

In instances where child abduction amounts to kidnapping, defences include self defence, necessity, duress, or claim of right.

Children abducted to non-Hague countries

The Hague convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international agreement between certain countries, covering international parental child abduction. A full copy of the convention is available at the following webpage, Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. If your child has been abducted to a non-Hague country, seek legal advice from an Australian family lawyer immediately. Consult a family lawyer in the non-Hague country. The International Academy of Family Lawyers is a starting point to finding a lawyer in most jurisdictions.

If you or someone you know wish to discuss this matter further, then please contact our experienced solicitors at 02 8999 9809 for assistance.

Recently, businessman Geoffrey Edelsten left his only child just over $50,000 out of an estate worth over $1 million. Edelsten wanted to “limit the benefit” to his son as he was provided with substantial financial disclosure, regardless of there being limited contact between the father and son.

Edelsten’s Will also specifies that he left nothing to two of his ex-wives as he provided for them “substantially” and “excessively” during these marriages.

Surprisingly, Edelsten is said to have left a string of debts regardless of making $100 million after selling his chain of GP clinics. He was a man known for flaunting his lavish lifestyle, and regardless of making a series of disastrous financial decisions which left him bankrupt, he continued to take loans to maintain this wealthy lifestyle.

His final Will however has revealed the dire financial circumstances he was in prior to his death, finding that $998,614 of his $1 million estate was a private loan, with only just over $60,000 in his bank accounts. Creditors are now attempting to challenge Edelsten’s will in order to recoup millions of dollars in debt.

Ultimately, Edelsten's case shows how enforceable Wills can be, and how important it is that you have one in order to ensure your estate is distributed as to your wishes. There are two avenues through which property can be distributed after a person's death:

    1. If there is a Will: The estate will be distributed pursuant to the provisions of the Will, if the Will was validly executed; or
    2. If there is no Will: The estate will be distributed pursuant to intestacy laws.  Intestacy applies when a person has died without leaving a Will, or they otherwise fail to dispose of all of their property.  Chapter 4 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) outlines the order of priority with regard to this distribution.

If you or someone you know wish to retain our services in assisting you to make your Wills, then please contact our experienced solicitors at 02 8999 9809 for assistance.

Following Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas' announcement for their surrogate baby, discussion surrounding surrogacy has been sparked.

What is surrogacy?

Surrogacy is the process where a woman agrees to carry a baby for another person who, by legal agreement, will become the baby’s parents after birth. There are two forms of surrogacy arrangements that are relevant to Australian law:

  1. Altruistic surrogacy arrangements are arrangements where the surrogate mother does not receive any financial reward or profit from the. However, the mother will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred due to the surrogacy (for example medical, legal, and general costs).
  2. Commercial surrogacy arrangements are arrangements where the surrogate mother receives financial reward that covers more than the associated expenses and makes a profit from the surrogacy.

Surrogacy in Australia

In Australia, altruistic surrogacy is currently legal across all states and territories. However, commercial surrogacy is banned in NSW, QLD, TAS, and the ACT. There are no uniform laws that cover surrogacy, but instead, each state has its own regulation. Therefore, it is critical to check your state’s surrogacy regulations if you require further information.

Generally, the intended parents of a surrogacy are eligible to enter a surrogacy arrangement if they are unable to conceive or carry a baby themselves. Age and other requirements are specific to each state.

Furthermore, a surrogacy arrangement is not enforceable. This means that if the surrogate refuses to hand over the baby or the intended parents do not accept the baby, neither party can be forced to do so under the agreement.

When the baby is born, the surrogate mother and her partner are recognised as the birth parents of the baby on the Birth Certificate. In order to transfer parentage, the intended parents must apply for a Parentage Order to the Court in the state they live in to confirm they satisfy the relevant requirements. The specifics in the process to transfer parentage from the surrogate to the intended parents differs in each state, and thus, you must check your state’s regulations and requirements for more information.

If you or someone you know wish to discuss this matter further, then please contact our experienced solicitors at 02 8999 9809 for assistance.

 

Shocking revelations surrounding the tragic death of nine-year-old Charlise Mutten have arised in the media over the past week.

Charlise was reported missing on Friday 14 January 2022, while spending her holidays at a Blue Mountains property owned by her mother’s fiancé, Justin Stein. A full-scale search involving the homicide squad, specialist and local police, and other volunteering services commenced immediately. On Tuesday 18 January 2022, police searched a site near the Colo River, and found Charlise’s body inside a barrel. Court documents allege that Charlise was killed between 7PM on Tuesday 11 January and 10AM on Wednesday 12 January. Mr Stein has since been arrested and charged with the murder of Charlise Mutten.

Both Charlise’s mother Kallista Mutten and Mr Stein have complex histories. Her mother was convicted and spent approximately two years in prison after being found guilty of dangerous driving causing death and driving with an illicit drug in her system in 2016. Mr Stein has been under long-term care for serious mental health problems and has been prescribed high doses of antipsychotic drugs for many years.

Child abuse is any form of ill treatment by someone in a position of responsibility, trust or power, that harms a child’s health, survival, development or dignity. It is a conversation that makes many people uncomfortable, but it is a conversation that must be taught in schools and spoken about in public discourse.

There are many platforms available to victims to be able to reach out:

If you or anyone you know might be experiencing family violence, please do not hesitate to reach out and call us on 02 8999 9809.

 

Novak Djokovic was recently deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open due to the cancelling of his Visa on account of failing to prove why he was medically exempt from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. This recent controversy raises the question of what requirements are necessary to enter Australia.

Fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible Visa holders can now travel to and from Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption. To be able to meet the proof of vaccination requirements, an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate must be obtained from the country in which the vaccine was received.

If you are unable to receive the vaccine for medical reasons and have a medical contraindication recorded in the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR), you can show airline staff your Australian COVID-19 digital certificate, immunisation history, or a medical certificate that verifies that you are unable to be vaccinated due to a medical condition.

In addition to proof of vaccination, travellers will need to show evidence of a COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result taken within 3 days before their flight’s scheduled departure to Australia.

Travellers must also complete an Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) at least 72 hours before they depart. This document requires:

Travellers must be prepared to provide any of the details mentioned above to airlines.

If you or someone you know wish to discuss this matter further, then please contact our experienced solicitors at 02 8999 9809 for assistance.

 

In an online survey of 15,000 Australian women conducted in May 2020, 4.6% reported physical or sexual violence from a current/former partner in the three months prior to the survey. In the same time period, 5.8% were subject to coercive control from their partners. Yet what stood out from the study was that over two thirds of the women who experienced physical/sexual violence said that the violence had either started or escalated at the same time as the onset of the COVID 19 Pandemic and the subsequent lockdown regulations.

Let’s explore this trend further.

Upon taking a deeper look at this, this correlation is not solely confined to Australia. An article from The Guardian reports a worldwide spike in domestic violence rates, with Brazil seeing a rise of 40-50% in domestic violence incidents upon the outbreak of the Pandemic. In Spain, a spike in calls to helplines by 20–30% was reported within the first few days of an introduced confinement period.

This leads us to pose the question of whether there is a correlation between the pandemic and the increased rates of domestic violence. From the evidence, it is almost undeniable that it is the case.

Firstly, the onset of the Pandemic inevitably led to home lockdowns where families were legally required to remain inside the home mostly.  Due to physical restrictions, governments are forced to lock down the economy, creating a work-at-home population. When we consider the idea that “when families spend more time together, violence may occur … a dynamic that can be attributed to human psychology”  (Booth 2017; Nofziger and Kurtz 2005), this seems to provide an explanation for the spike in rates.

Further, the Pandemic has undeniably caused economic distress, with events such as layoffs jeopardising the financial situations of many households. Following this, it would be logical to assume that the Pandemic raised stress levels among many couples. When we consider that couples with high stress levels are estimated to be 3.5 times more likely to experience domestic violence than low stress couples, we see a clear reason for the jump in domestic violence rates.

There appears to be a direct correlation between the COVID-19 Pandemic and rates of domestic violence across the world, and if you or a loved one are victims of domestic violence, it is important that you obtain both medical and legal advice. Call us on (02) 8999 9809 to find out more.

 

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