Family Lawyers supporting WA children in need
October 3, 2018
At Paterson & Dowding we are committed to working with those in the community who require a helping hand. During Child Protection Week in September, we invited our staff to donate some items to assist the Parkerville Children and Youth Care put some welcome packs and school packs together for children in WA they work with. Through the generosity of our staff, we were able to provide some donations. We hope this will help provide some assistance to those who need it.
2018/2019 Christmas Holidays Contact Deadlines
September 17, 2018
Christmas is just around the corner with many separated parents feeling concerned that they have not yet reached an agreement regarding when and where the children will spend their time over the Christmas school holiday period. This uncertainty can be difficult both for the parents and the children involved.
The Family Court of WA is already under pressure from the large number of parenting and financial applications being filed on a weekly basis.
In order to give the Court time to deal with the influx of parenting applications before Christmas, Rule 5.01 of the Family Law Rules 2004, provides a cut-off date to file applications dealing in whole or part with the school holiday period beginning in December. The cut-off date is the second Friday of November. In 2018, the cut-off date will be 4.00pm, 10 November 2018.
Clause 34.2 of the Case Management Guidelines of the Family Court of WA reminds parties that they “should be aware that applications filed prior to this date are not necessarily guaranteed to be listed or determined prior to the commencement of the relevant school holiday period. Such applications should be filed as early as practicable to ensure an appropriate listing date.”
Please also remember before you can file a parenting application in the Family Court of WA, you must attend Family Dispute Resolution (“FDR”) unless certain exemptions apply, in an attempt to resolve your dispute “out of court”.
It takes time to organize and attend FDR. We suggest you start the process now, if you want to avoid missing the cut-off date, in the event that you can’t reach a settlement.
Call our friendly team of experienced family lawyers who can advise and assist you.
Contact us today on 08 9226 3300.
Hearing the views of young people who have experienced family separation
September 3, 2018
The Commissioner for Children and Young People has invited young people between the ages of 12 and 18 years whose parents have separated to have their say about the support they got, how they were involved in decisions made about them, any services they went to, and their ideas about what could be done better.
The information received by the Commissioner will be used in preparing a report to the Australian Law Reform Commission and the Family Court of Western Australia to assist them in improving the way children and young people are listened to and how their voices are heard.
Article 12 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child provides that children who are capable of forming their own views have the right to express those views freely in matters affecting them and that those views will be given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.
This is reflected in the Family Law Act 1975 and Family Court Act 1997 (WA) as one of the considerations the Court must have regard to when determining what is in the child’s best interests.
If you or someone you know are aged between 12 and 18 and have experienced family separation, check out the Commissioner for Children and Young People webpage at the above link for more information about making a submission. Your views and ideas, or those of young people in your life, may help shape and improve the manner in which the Family Court considers views of children and young people.
Welcome to Meredith Hunter
August 28, 2018
Paterson & Dowding are delighted to announce the appointment of Meredith Hunter as Principal, commencing 9th October on her return from the National Family Law Conference.
Meredith is a leading Family Law practitioner, having specialised in Mediation, Care and Protection Law and acted as an Independent Children’s Lawyer, in a career spanning 20 years in Perth. As an Accredited Mediator, Arbitrator and Collaborative Lawyer we look forward to Meredith complementing our established practice of leading Family Law Lawyers.
Lucy Thomas – Doyle’s Pre-eminent Parenting, Custody and Children’s Matters Lawyer in WA
We are proud to announce that Lucy Thomas has again been voted one the pre-eminent Parenting, Custody and Children’s Matters Lawyers in WA, by Doyle’s for 2018. This takes passion and commitment and we are so pleased that she has received the recognition she duly deserves.
