The short answer is yes.
You are not legally required to have a lawyer for a Family Law matter, and the Court tries to make it as easy as possible for people to manage their own Family Law matters. However, this does not necessarily mean that going it alone is a good idea.
Family Law is not as black and white as other areas of law so it makes sense to have someone by your side who only does Family Law matters and can provide you with practical advice to assist you to navigate and resolve your issues.
The Family Law Act provides some guidance about how decisions should be made, but it doesn’t provide a cookie cutter outcome for all situations. This means you need someone to listen to your entire situation and context and provide you with specialised advice.
All we do at Delaney Roberts is Family Law. Our team practice with empathy and understanding and have the skills and expertise to assist you achieve the right outcome for your circumstances.
Even if you and your ex-partner have reached an agreement about one of the aspects of your Family Law matter, such as custody of the children, or division of the property, there are documents which will need to be completed. These documents can be complicated and will normally require legal expertise to draft. If you get it wrong it might end up costing more and taking longer than if a lawyer had been engaged to draft the document in the first place.
Not documenting your Family Law Agreement can cause major headaches in the future.
You can sell the house and split the money, and you can agree that the kids have a week about arrangement, but simply agreeing (even in writing) doesn’t make it legally enforceable. The absence of a formal Family Law settlement can also wreak havoc on your Estate Planning and open the door for your ex to make a Family Provision Claim against your estate after you pass away.
The best thing for you, and your family, is to ensure that your Family Law matter is completed legally and with as little stress as possible. The best way to ensure this is to have a specialist Lawyer take care of everything for you, provide you with expert advice and make sure you get what you are entitled to.
