- Knowledgeable – You want to make sure that the family lawyer assisting you not only has varied experience but will also help you understand the legal system and law surrounding your problem.
- Accommodating: Ideally, you should choose a family lawyer that’s able to accommodate your busy schedule. Your family lawyer should be able to meet you in the office, on the phone, or even online.
- Friendly – It’s not easy dealing with relationship breakdowns or domestic and family violence. The family lawyer you choose should be someone you can rely on as a friend or call in a time of need. They should be warm, friendly but still provide you with all of the advice and knowledge that you require.
What makes a good Ipswich family lawyer?
If you’re looking for family lawyers in Springfield, Ipswich, it’s imperative that you find a family lawyer that’s willing to take the time to understand your situation and provide you with the help that you need. While there are many family lawyers in Ipswich, a good family lawyer will help you understand your legal rights and responsibilities and explain how the law applies to your circumstance. VM Family Law are experts in all family law matters, contact us today if you need any legal advice regarding family law matters.
Dealing with separation, domestic abuse, or a broken down relationship can be an extremely stressful situation. In each circumstance, many factors need to be considered, from the future care of children to property, spousal maintenance and more.
What does a family lawyer do?
Before diving into what makes a great family lawyer, it’s important to know what a family lawyer can do for you.
In a nutshell, family lawyers represent individuals in providing advice, assistance and support for a wide range of issues from separation to divorce, child support and more. Some issues that family lawyers can help you with include:
- Domestic violence
In Queensland, domestic violence is recognised as an individual using violent or abusive behaviour to control another person in a relationship. This can include physical violence, sexual abuse, verbal abuse and more.
With domestic violence, you can file an application for a domestic violence protection order. This can not only prevent the person from approaching, contacting or locating you, but the order also stipulates that the person must be well-behaved towards you or your children.
In this situation, some ways that a family lawyer can help include:
– Preparing and filing your application for a protection order
– Representing at court appearances
– Providing a detailed letter of advice
– Representation at a final hearing
- Divorce
If you’re planning on getting a divorce, you would need to fill out a divorce application. You can choose to do this on your own or with your spouse. Divorce lawyers in Ipswich can also help you with an application for a divorce.
It is highly recommended that you seek legal help when getting a divorce, especially if you have children or joint property involved. Some ways that divorce lawyers in Ipswich can help include:
- Providing legal advice before applying for a divorce
- Assisting with the application for a divorce
- Response to a divorce application
- Parenting Arrangements
You should seek the help of a family lawyer no matter which process you choose to use for your parenting arrangement. A family lawyer can help advise the best interests of your children, prepare documents, represent you in court, negotiate and more.
Some parenting arrangement options that your family lawyer can help with include:
- Family dispute resolution
- Family dispute resolution in Ipswich is a type of mediation where a family lawyer can help separating families come to their own agreements.
- Collaboration
- Engage a collaborative divorce lawyer to assist you with this process. With collaboration, all of the parties work together to find a workable solution. You will also have access to a collaborative divorce lawyer in Ipswich and a wide range of experts, depending on the issues you’re dealing with.
Family lawyers can also help file a consent order through the Court after family dispute resolution so your parenting arrangement can become legally binding.
- Property Settlement
As financial agreements and property settlements are binding, it’s essential to seek advice from a family lawyer when going through the process.
A family lawyer can help assist with agreements prior, during and after a marriage or de-facto relationship.
- Spousal Maintenance
Spousal maintenance is the weekly maintenance that’s payable by one spouse to another. It is recognition in a marriage or de facto relationship of the mutual obligations for both parties and is different from child support or child maintenance.
An experienced family lawyer can help you assess the amount of spousal maintenance that’s payable if any.
Do family lawyers go to court?
Family lawyers may not necessarily go to family law court with you unless you have a specific need. Family lawyers can provide you with information and advice on filling out certain court forms and documents. If needed, however, they can appear with you in court for representation on some issues such as:
- Domestic violence
- Divorce
- Property Settlement
- Spousal maintenance
- Child protection
Do I need a family lawyer?
If you’re in a relationship where you’re being subjected to domestic violence or your relationship has broken down, it’s a good idea to seek assistance from a team of family lawyers experienced in this area. Not only can family lawyers provide you with the assistance that you need, but they can also offer a different perspective of legal help.
If you’re looking for a good Ipswich family lawyer, VM Family Law is a specialist family law firm serving Ipswich & Greater Springfield, we have a team of expert lawyers that can help you with any areas pertaining to domestic and family violence or relationship breakdown. All of our family lawyers have a plethora of experience in these areas of law and are one of the first law firms in Queensland to be primarily focused on family law matters. Contact us today to obtain expert family law advice.
