FIND A FAMILY LAWYER

At Aussie Divorce, we have a highly skilled group of approachable family lawyers who are highly experienced in relation to property matters, child custody disputes, separation and divorce.

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Our lawyers deal with the process of separation on a daily basis and our divorce lawyers understand that separation can be a traumatic and uncertain time. It is not uncommon for you and your former partner to be at different emotional stages in terms of dealing with the separation. Aussie Divorce lawyers understand the psychology behind a separation and understand the needs of their clients at every step of the way. We have seen first hand the benefits that a client receives when they have been properly informed of likely outcomes throughout their family law matter.

Collaborative Family law is one of our specialties, whereby both partners agree to the divorce application, property settlement and child support, and work together to reach settlements sooner outside of family court.

Some family law cases are more complex, and require the involvement of family court. From child custody hearings to consent orders, domestic violence and spousal maintenance, you can rely on Aussie Divorce to take care of it all.

Our family lawyers handle cases of De Facto relationships, suing for child maintenance, grand parents rights, separation and spousal maintenance.

Ultimately, our goal is to ensure the best family law support for your family. That is why we at Aussie Divorce make it our job to keep you informed with our Divorce FAQ and Youtube videos, as well as a range of other tools and documents.

The site is built on the experience of its founder and a range of other family law experts who have your best interest at heart.

Feel free to browse our site and learn all you need to know to make the divorce process go as smoothly as possible for you.

Questions for the Lawyer

The list of questions below is a good starting point for your initial meeting or consultation.

The purpose of some of the questions will be immediately obvious and you will be able to tell what the right and wrong answers will be. With some of the other questions, there is no right or wrong answer. Nevertheless, such questions may help you get an insight into the lawyer’s thinking, attitude or personality and this should assist you in making the right choice.

Lawyer’s Experience

• How long have you been practicing law?
• How much of your practice is in the field of Family Law?
• Other than Family Law, what kinds of cases do you handle?
• How long have you been doing Family Law work?
• Are you certified as a specialist in Family Law?
• How often are you in court?
• How often are you in court on Family Court matters?
• When was the last family law trial you had?
• How many divorce cases do you have right now?
• How many divorce trials have you had in the past year?
• Do you represent both men and women? Why or why not?
• Do you feel the system works properly to give fair results? If not, what can you do to increase the chances that I will be treated fairly by the system?
• How often do you handle appeals on behalf of your clients?
• How many appeals have you handled in your career?
• How many cases have you had against my spouse’s lawyer, and what are your impressions of that lawyer?

Costs/Fees

• What is your fee structure and how often will I be billed? (Fee arrangements vary depending on the matter or case. Lawyers typically send clients monthly statements, and you will want to receive periodic bills to monitor costs)
• How much do you charge for faxes, photocopying, and telephone calls?
• Are there tasks that I can do myself to cut down on the amount you will charge me?
• Do you require advance payment of fees, and if so, how much?
• May I see a sample bill showing what information will be on my bills and the level of detail?
• How long after I am billed before payment is due?
• Do you take credit cards or offer a payment plan?
• What happens if I cannot pay a bill straight away? Do you immediately terminate my representation?
• Can I have a copy of the fee agreement?
• What is your estimate of how much all this will cost me? (You will probably get a vague or qualified answer in response to a question like this. Still, your lawyer should be able to offer some sort of estimate.)
• What other costs do you expect will be involved (for example, for private investigators, forensic accountants, doctors, valuers) and are those expenses covered by the estimate?

General

• What is a reasonable goal for me to aim for?
• What is the possibility of a successful outcome?
• What are the chances of settling the case before trial? (The stronger your case, the less likely the other side will want to go to trial – provided that they are behaving rationally.)
• Do you feel I have any unrealistic expectations? If so, what are they and why? (You want lawyers to be frank if they believe you have unrealistic expectations or that your case is weak.)
• Do you require anything from me in the way of information or otherwise before you can decide whether you can undertake my representation. If so, what?
• Who else in your firm would work on my case? (Lawyers often assign tasks to more junior lawyers or paralegals. Make sure you are paying less for such persons’ work if that is the case.)
• How will you keep me informed of any developments? (Lawyers are busy, but you want to make sure the lawyer is respectful of your need for information and will be available to answer questions in reasonable time.)
• f you are not available to take my call, do you have someone else who will be able to speak with me? If not, how long will it take you to return my call?
• Would you need the assistance of other lawyers, such as a barrister? If yes, can you provide me with their details, years of experience, when I can see them in action and what they charge?
• What are the different phases of my case? Describe briefly how the process will work.