Part 6 on…
THE GOLDEN RULES OF LITIGATION
Remember, success in any litigation including your case in the Family Court depends on three things: the facts, the law and the presentation; that is:
- how strong and reliable your evidence is to prove the facts;
- whether the law can be used in your favour;
- how clearly and coherently you present your case.
So with that in mind, here’s number 6…
THE DOs
6. KNOW THE LAW
The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) Part VII — Children must become your bible.
A quick history lesson on the Act:
The law in relation to parental responsibility was changed by the Family Law Reform Act 1995 (Cth) (“FLRA”). This Act replaced part VII of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (“FLA”) and changed the terminology that is to be used when dealing with children’s matters from “guardianship”, “custody” and “access” to “specific issues”, “residence” and “contact”. It also introduced the terms “parenting orders” and “parental responsibility”.
The FLA has most recently been amended by the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (“FLASPRA”), which commenced operation on 1 July 2006. This amending Act changes the terms “residence” and “contact” to become “living with”, “spending time” and “communicating with” and attempts to send out strong messages, particularly in relation to shared parenting after separation, except of course the judges aren’t listening.
So you must know the sections in Part VII — Children:
Section 60CC How a court determines what is in a child’s best interests.
This is the blueprint for your application. It must answer every one of these points, positive for you and failures of your ex.
Section 61B Meaning of parental responsibility.
This DOES NOT mean equal time. It means equal decision making for major long term decisions, like no allowing the drugging of your son because he’s a defective girl in school who won’t sit still, ah, I mean he is mentally ill with ADHD [NOT!]. Or schooling, or religion, or other medical situations like operations and such.
Section 65DAA Court to consider child spending equal time or substantial and significant time with each parent in certain circumstances.
This is the section that deals with time spent with your children. These two sections are the questions that have to be answered in the best interests of your child in your application.
Read through the entire Part VII — Children. You’ll get an understanding of what you have to answer, but I warn you, it’s a horror story.
Also the Family Court site has a lot of this is simpler English. Read these first. Then tackle the Act.
And remember, parenting first, then financial. If you don’t have an agreement over shared parenting, drag your heels over the finances / assets negotiations. (Don’t say no outright. No ultimatums. Just slow things down.) Time is the great leveler in any negotiations.
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