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Grandparents Rights Under Family Law Act

Do grandparents have special rights under the Family Law Act?  They do have some priority and are specifically mentioned in the Family Law Act. We recently acted for grandparents wanting to spend time with their grandchild but who were having difficulties in doing so because of the conflict caused by the breakdown of the relationship between […]

Mediation – What is It and Why Should I Do It?

Mediation including family dispute resolution provides far superior outcomes than Court proceedings.  Costs, privacy, speedy resolution are only some of the reasons why mediation is the resolution method that works.  Going to Court is costly and without doubt one of the most demoralising and stressful events you will encounter. There is an alternative, in fact […]

Family Courts in Crisis in Queensland

The Family Courts are reported to be at a crisis point in Queensland because of a shortage of Judges. The Family Law Act/Courts recently celebrated 40 years of operation.  At lot has changed in 40 years and whilst there have been significant amendments during those 40 years, there remains much work to be done.  Not […]

Mediation Creates Outcomes that a Court Can’t

Mediation Outcomes – Better than Court Outcomes During the last week I have conducted two mediations that have been quite challenging, particularly for the parties involved.  In both cases the parties were able to resolve very important issues which, unless resolved, would have had a significant impact on the lives of both families. I have […]

Divorce Conflict and Children

I have probably written a number of blogs on why children should be removed from conflict.  I recently read an article on the web page of the American Psychological Association entitled “An overview of the Psychological Literature on the Effects of Divorce on Children”.  Whilst it relates to the effect of divorce on children it […]