Time Limits in Family Law

As might be expected there are no time limits in relation to bringing Parenting Applications to the Family Court or the Federal Circuit Court. The child has to be under the age of 18 when the Order is made. However, once a child reaches its teens, the older the child gets the more a Court is going to be influence of by the child’s wishes.

There is no time limit in relation to bringing an application for divorce. Some couples never divorce. This can cause serious consequences if the parties have not made a will, because on an intestacy, the wife or the husband is the first person entitled to Letters of Administration. The party’s new family might find the deceased estate being administered by someone the deceased had not dealt with for 30 years.

It is not necessary to divorce your spouse before you can bring an application for property settlement. This firm has conducted a property settlement trial for a husband who had been separated for 25 years but had not divorced.

However, divorce does trigger time in relation to bringing a property settlement application. The property settlement application must be commenced within 12 months of divorce, although there is power in the Court to extend that time.

In relation to de facto property settlement, the application must be commenced within two years after the end of the relationship. It is always important to act promptly in de facto property matters because often there will be a live issue as to when the relationship ended thereby causing time to start to run.

Contact Rita Derek of this firm for further advice.

Posted in: Derek Legal Blog at 04 July 18