Advice about the Law - Other Practice Areas

The Law is ever changing, complicated and confusing! Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers can give you accurate and easy to understand advice on the following important areas:

Family Law

The breakdown of a marriage or de facto relationship can be traumatic. At the very least, it is certainly an emotionally draining experience. What complicates matters is that this is also the very time when decisions have to be made and agreement reached, which will have important, long term effects or consequences for you, your partners and /or your children.

With emotions running high and uncertainty about your rights and obligations, you really do need help to reach the best outcome in the least traumatic way.

We Are Here To Help

Baldwin Cartwright Family Law Department is headed by Selena Cartwright and she is supported by a team of professionals and support staff.

The team at Baldwin Cartwright takes time to listen. To understand. Most importantly, you can be confident that they are there to help you. The team is professionally trained and will give you advice that is accurate and reliable. On top of that, you will benefit from someone who is not only informed but who can be objective and help keep emotions from blocking a path to a fair and practical outcome – the best outcome for you.

The Help We Provide

Right from the start we will advise you as to:

• Exactly what is involved
• How long it will take
• What the costs will be
• Giving you a clear understanding of your rights and obligations
• Suggesting ways to avoid or at least minimise disputes
• Assisting in making a cohabitation or separation agreement
• Ensuring that suggested agreements are workable
• Gathering evidence for residency disputes
• Preparing to go to Court
• Presenting your case to the best advantage in the instance of a dispute
• Representing you in the Family Court
• Settling property matters

The Facts You Need To Know

Before you decide to get divorced, it is important to consider whether counselling could help you to resolve your differences. Indeed, if you have been married for less than two years, you must undertake counselling before a court will hear an application to dissolve your marriage.

One-Year Separation

Before applying to the Family Court, you and your spouse must have lived apart for a minimum of one year, even though, under some circumstances, it is possible to have a separation under the same roof. This period may be broken by a trial reconciliation, providing that it has not lasted longer than three months.

Starting Divorce Proceedings

To secure a divorce, you must be able to show that your marriage has broken down irretrievably and that there is no prospect of you and your spouse being reconciled. You should note that the court is not concerned with who is at fault or whether one spouse does not wish to be divorced.

Either you or your spouse may initiate proceedings. The partner who does will be liable for the following outlays:

• A filing fee to the Family Court
• Process Servers fee
• Professional fees

The new shared parental responsibility regime for Children

On 1st July, 2006 the Government introduced some of the biggest reforms to our family law parenting system. The reforms abolish the terms “residence” and “contact” and are now replaced with notions of who the children will live with and who they will spend time and communicate with.

Who children will live with

Legal advice is essential if there is any dispute about which parent the children will live with. In such an instance, the Family Court will place most emphasis on what offers the best outcome for the children.

This will resolve around the children’s relationship with each parent and how they would be affected by a separation from either parent.

Also, each spouse would be looked at with regard to his or her attitude to parenting, past performance as a parent and capacity for meeting the child’s physical, intellectual and emotional needs.

The time children are to spend and communicate with the other parent

The Law encourages separating couples to reach their own agreement on how much time children are to spend and communicate with the parent with whom they don’t live with. In fact from 1 July, 2007 before either parent can institute court proceedings they must have undertaken some form of dispute resolution with a registered Family dispute resolution provider and must file a certificate with the Court before the court will hear and determine children matters. There are some exceptions to this notion and it is essential you obtain some preliminary advice to know if this is applicable to you or not.

Where parties are unable to come to some consensual agreement they are able to apply to the Court where the Court will impose a decision.

The child or children have a right to know and be loved by both parents and thus the court encourages children to spend time and communicate with the parent with whom they don’t live. In certain cases the Court is now under an obligation to consider the notion of shared care and if this is not applicable then the court must consider the child spending substantial and significant time with the parent with whom they don’t live.

Paying Spousal Maintenance

The Law requires that you are liable to maintain your spouse where:

a) Your spouse is not capable of being self-supporting,

and

b) You are reasonably able to support your spouse.

If you are considering making an application for spousal maintenance you only have 12 months from the date of your divorce to make an application for spousal maintenance. In some limited circumstances you can make an application outside of such time but you will need to seek advice from your lawyer as to whether these provisions are available to you.

Child Support

As parents, both you and your partner share the responsibility of maintaining your offspring until the age of 18 years.

In July, 2008 the Child Support Agency introduced a new formulae for calculating and determining the amount of child support payable. If you require more information you can contact either your Lawyer or the child support agency or visit their website which provides comprehensive details about the new formulae and also provides calculators.

In most cases the Child Support agency will calculate the amount of maintenance to be paid for the children. However, it is still possible for the parties to enter into their own arrangements in some circumstances.

Property Settlement

You must apply for a property settlement within one year of your divorce becoming final. Your lawyer’s help is needed if there is any dispute over property in a divorce.

The court considers several factors when dividing property in a divorce. These include the contribution each spouse has made to the marriage and in the accumulation of assets as well as the present and future needs of each spouse.

De Facto Relationships

Both partners in a de facto relationship may have rights and obligations in relation to custody, property settlement, social security payments, maintenance, etc. In fact significant reforms were introduced in March, 2008 which now provide de facto couples with the same rights as married couples and also extends to same sex relationships. The reforms are significant and now provide even greater rights to de facto couples.

Again it is important to note that de facto couples must apply for a property settlement within two years of the date of your separation. Your lawyer’s help is needed if there is any dispute over property in a separation.

We will advise you about the various conditions that apply to claims for property settlement and spousal maintenance.

Protection (Restraining) Orders

If there have been occasions of violence and/or abuse to either you and/or your children, then you need assistance.

We are able to help you so remember,

When Your Future Is at Stake…

No one will fight harder for your rights than the team at Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers.

Commercial Law

Our commercial group gives prompt, efficient and commercially effective advice and solutions. Solutions that meet and exceed the business and strategic requirements of our clients.

These services include:

• drafting, interpretation and defence of commercial contracts
  
  
• provision of pragmatic and innovative solutions to novel or complicated commercial issues
  
  
• advice on a range of regulatory laws and processes

Leasing

We act for owners and tenants, ranging from lease preparation for owners of CBD offices and regional shopping centres to negotiating leases on behalf of institutional and retail tenants.

Our corporate clients are from a range of industry including retail, property developers, mining, refining Industries, banking and manufacturing which attests to the high level of experience and expertise offered at Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers.

We are able to help you so remember,

When Your Future Is at Stake…

No one will fight harder for your rights than the team at Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers.

Conveyancing/Property

Property transactions still figure prominently in the lives of organizations and individuals. Land transactions can be complex and laden with risks for both the experienced and uninitiated. At Baldwin Cartwright, we offer the level of competence that only experience can provide.

Property is not restricted to land. Transactions involving other forms of property, including intellectual property and electronic property, all demand expert advice and control. We advise individuals and organizations involved in transacting all forms of property to ensure their agreements and adopted procedures are scrutinized to give adequate levels of protection and security.

Baldwin Cartwright offers expertise in all aspects of property law - developments, leasing, subdivisions, planning, acquisition and disposal of properties. Our team acts on behalf of institutions, developers, retailers and councils with a level of expertise unsurpassed in the region.

To ensure your property is in safe hands or to assist you in your next move contact our team.

We are able to help you so remember,

When Your Future Is at Stake…

No one will fight harder for your rights than the team at Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers.

Government Acquisitions

We have acted for parties in a wide range of claims arising from the proposed Traveston Dam and Main Road acquisitions for the highway by-pass and railway link and have negotiated significant compensation amounts, some have been multi million dollar deals.

We are able to help you so remember,

When Your Future Is at Stake…

No one will fight harder for your rights than the team at Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers.

Estate Administration and Planning

Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers offers expert advice and solutions for all wills and estate matters allowing you the knowledge that the future of your assets is secure. Our team will give you peace of mind that such matters are in the hands of the experts who will act on your instructions and with your interests as the core focus of their work. Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers experienced practitioners can advise you now about:

• your Will
• your partners Will
• preparation and review
• complimentary documents as required
• estate and business succession planning
• deceased estate and trust administration
• estate dispute resolution and litigation

Criminal Law

Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers offers expert advice and solutions for all criminal, traffic and all indictable matters.

So remember…

When Your Future is at Stake…

No one will fight harder for your rights than the team at Baldwin Cartwright Lawyers.