'I'm a divorce lawyer, and these are the 3 issues I see in family court time and time again.'

A relationship breakup is one of the most stressful and painful life events we can experience. And unfortunately, the practical renegotiation of life is all part of the painful process.

Most couples who have been together for a significant amount of time and either have children together or share significant financial assets require the help of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to finalise their break up.

Watch: The Mamamia team confess when they knew it was time for a divorce. Story continues after video.

Specialised divorce lawyer Cassandra Kalpaxis tells us the three most common issues separating couples bring to the family court when they separate and what you need to know about each issue.

1. Parental Responsibility and Living Arrangements.

Navigating a new family structure is by far the most complex aspect of a separation. People commonly need help from the family court with a wide range of parenting issues, including; who the children will live with, who the children will spend time with and how parental responsibility will be dealt with.

It is critical to recognise that parental responsibility and spending time with your children are two different things, and one does not necessarily equate to the other. Parental responsibility deals with the complex decisions about the children's education, medical treatment, religion and travel. On the other hand, spending time with your children is, well, spending time with your children.

Parenting matters in court may be complex and can require judicial determination due to conflict between parents. Unfortunately, sometimes conflict can be fuelled by the unrealistic advice provided by lawyers, which can drag a matter through the court system, costing a client time, money and the ability to co-parent with their ex in the future.

Most parenting matters require an interim hearing. An interim hearing is a court event that makes orders for the time being until the issue is finalised, either through mediation or a final hearing. If the parties agree on arrangements for their children before a final hearing, these can be turned into consent orders, and the court can make these orders without the matter needing to proceed to the hearing.

The family court system is jam-packed. Therefore, specialised court lists have been created to triage different issues arising in parenting matters, and the length of time a matter can take depends on the issues.

It’s also important to note that a family member, such as a grandparent or sibling of the parent, can make an application for orders relating to the children. In these cases, the orders people make generally relate to spending time with the children unless there is an issue concerning parental incapacity where it would be inappropriate for a child to live with their current carers and a change of residence is required.

2. The Division of Financial Assets.

The separation of the financial matters of the relationship is another popular application to the family court. This is when one or both parties file an application seeking to have a division of the property pool that exists between them. Most applications relate to the sale of a house, business or a range of orders concerning one party seeking to retain the house and pay the other person out some money. These matters often require a valuation of some assets.

Property proceedings often involve the assistance of other experts who can allow the parties to clearly identify any issues in dispute and how those might be triaged by the court.

It’s important to remember that the rules of disclosure apply to property proceedings, and it is critical for everyone to be transparent about their income, expenses and assets the entire way through the proceedings. Failure to do so can have significant consequences, including imprisonment in extreme circumstances.

Listen to The Split where Mandy Nolan guides you through on Mamamia’s divorce and separation podcast. Story continues below.

3. Divorce Orders.

The final issue that the family court sees regularly is applications for divorce. These are filed by parties who have been separated for 12 months and consider their marriage to be over. Divorce orders are a relatively simple process that rarely requires the parties to come to court if they meet the criteria.

Once a divorce order is made, a certificate of divorce is sent to the parties confirming their divorce. This is an important document to be used by various government organisations.

If the parties have separated but have not completed a property settlement, they have 12 months from the date of the divorce order to complete these matters before the court intervenes. If the parties wish the court to make orders for property matters after the 12-month period has passed, they need to seek permission from the court to file proceedings out of time. In this case, there is an additional cost for the parties, and it delays obtaining orders.

The author of this article created Detox Your Divorce, in order to provide an array of supports including, yoga, nutritional support, divorce coaching, grief coaching, financial support services and more. You can find out more here.

Feature Image: Getty.

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