Topics: Family law

In Thorne v Kennedy [2017] HCA 49, the High Court determined that two financial agreements were voidable due to an inequality of bargaining power and a lack of fair or reasonable alternatives available to one of the parties. If there is a significant power imbalance, parties to a relationship should consider whether it is prudent to have a financial agreement or if there may be preferable alternatives to quarantine their wealth.

It can be a distressing experience for the victims of family violence to cross-examine, or be cross-examined by, their violent former partner in family law proceedings. The Family Law Amendment (Family Violence and Cross-examination of Parties) Bill 2017 purports to address this concern by allowing self-represented litigants to ask and respond to questions from a third party appointed by the court.

In a move to assist family law dispute resolution, Attorney-General George Brandis on behalf of the federal government has announced on Friday a $9.87 million funding package.

We are often contacted by parents and members of the community querying whether they should inform the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services over concerns about a child’s welfare.

Recent cases indicate the courts are moving away from the long-standing principle that certain assets, including money spent, dissipated or wasted after separation but before final property settlement, can be added back to the property pool on a notional basis.

In recent years, there have been a number of high-profile cases in which financial agreements have been set aside for failing to comply with the technical requirements of the Family Law Act.

In family law property settlement proceedings, if a spouse is declared bankrupt, the trustee in bankruptcy may join the proceedings in an effort to recover funds from the property pool to pay the bankrupt’s creditors. While in theory this approach sounds sensible, it may not always be prudent for a trustee in bankruptcy to seek to be joined or consent to being joined.