This is one of the first questions we are often asked by our business owner clients. You spend years building an empire, whether it be large or small, and you are understandably anxious about how separation will impact on what you’ve built and what the future holds.

The first step is to ensure that there can be no immediate impact on the running of your business. Any fallout from the inter-personal relationship with your former partner or spouse must be managed so that it does not impede its operational running or damage its reputation. We assess the risks with you as some urgent matters may need to be attended to, particularly if your ex has access to business accounts, important documents or the premises or staff generally.

In more severe cases where attempts to curtail damaging behaviour have been exhausted, or urgent and swift action is required, there a range of remedies available from the court. This can include restraining a person from taking certain steps which may cause loss to you or the business. In our experience, a firm approach from the start can assist in resolving such issues quickly without litigation. However, where harm to business operations is imminent, an application may need to be filed with the court without delay to protect your business and assets.

Once any urgent issues are identified and dealt with, attention should be focussed on crafting a settlement to finalise the financial aspects of your separation. Settling matters early can save on legal costs and the emotional strain associated with protracted negotiations or litigation.

An initial step towards this finality is making disclosure of your financial circumstances. In our experience, the quickest way to create tension, distrust and a sharp escalation in fees is to be opaque in the way someone discharges their duty to make full and frank disclosure. If an opposing lawyer deems that the other party is refusing to make disclosure or is not being forthcoming with the documents needed to advise their client, chances are they are advising on their end to file proceedings in the court to obtain an order for disclosure. This should be avoided as there are lengthy queues in the court and litigation can be costly. We will guide you on the necessary documents to disclose having regard to the nature of your entities and extent of your assets, liabilities, superannuation and financial resources.

It is often a good idea to involve your trusted accountant at an early stages if they were not already involved from the outset. We have had many initial meetings with clients and their financial advisors to gain clarity at the first meetings about what clients want to achieve and how value can be added to their affairs through restructuring as part of the family law process. It is also important to be across any potential taxation consequences of a proposed settlement, Division 7A issues, the structure itself (including trusts interests of the parties and associated issues), future asset protection and other important matters.

In some cases, the accountant is also trusted by the former spouse or partner and can play a positive role in achieving a settlement sooner, such as facilitating the efficient exchange of disclosure and even in reaching agreement on a valuation for a business to avoid the cost of an independent valuation as part of the family law process.

Coupling anxiety about what the future holds for your business with the emotional stress of a relationship breakdown itself can take a significant toll. We take a no-nonsense and pragmatic approach to advising our clients, guiding them on the path that will best achieve their goals and allow them to get on with the important job of running their business or home or whatever it is that they want to do next. Contact us today for a reduced fixed fee initial consultation with Shannon Daykin, an Accredited Family Law Specialist, to discuss your business, protecting your interests and how we can assist in resolving your property settlement as efficiently as possible.

People can often find themselves in situations that involve risk and urgency, often prior to the clear-cut end of a relationship. During these times, you will not have time to waste on finding the right lawyer who will give you the most effective pathway to resolve the issue.

Daykin Family Law has the resources to assist you with any urgent family law matter and give you efficient, reliable advice on your options and assist you in taking the essential steps you need to take.

These sorts of situations could include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Child abduction: someone taking a child away (or planning to take a child away) from you without your consent, either within Australia or overseas
• Imminent risk & domestic violence: someone is posing a threat, or risk of harm, to you or a child
• Travel: the other parent or person with legal responsibility refusing to allow a child to travel outside of Australia
• Disposal of assets: someone has threatened to, or you suspect that they might, take steps to sell, diminish, or dissipate in any way marital or relationship assets

There are many avenues that Daykin Family Law can advise you on. It may be that urgent proceedings must be initiated without delay in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, or a Protection Order from the Magistrates Court is necessary to protect your family.

Daykin Family Law can assist you with your urgent needs.

For more information or to make an appointment for a consultation with Daykin Family Law by phone or at our Fortitude Valley, Brisbane City or Toowong locations, contact us today by email [email protected]

What is child support?

Child support is a payment made by one or both parents to the other to assist in the cost of looking after children until they reach the age of 18 or complete high school.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) utilises a formula to calculate how much child support you should pay or receive.  This is worked out based on:

–        How many children you each have;

–        How old the children are;

–        How much money you need to support yourself;

–        The income of the parents; and

–        The percentage of care each parent has for the children.

The cost of the child is based on the research about how much parents spend to raise a child in Australia.  These figures are updated each year to ensure they stay current. These amounts are also different for different people as the research has established that people that earn different incomes spend different amounts on their children.

This is a complex formula that leads to much confusion.  The DHS has provided a child support estimator online to assist parents with this process.

How is child support paid?

You can choose to manage the payment of child support between yourselves.  This does not involve the DHS at all.  Parents who choose this option decide how much and how often child support is paid.  This can affect your Family Tax Benefit if you receive any.  This can also be risky as the DHS cannot enforce payment of an amount you have agreed to with the other parent.

The next option is private collection. To do this, you can ask the DHS to undertake an assessment for you. This can also be utilised if you have registered a child support agreement with DHS.  This calculates the amount of child support that one parent needs to pay the other.  A private collection arrangement would mean you and the other parent decide when and how this is paid.

The DHS would not become involved in this type of arrangement unless you asked them to be.  If a parent falls behind in their payments, the agency can collect up to three months of arrears or nine months in extreme circumstances.  This system works well for parents who are amicable.

If parents are unable to communicate, if there are issues with reliability in payment or if there are domestic violence issues, you can ask the DHS to collect on your behalf.  This is called Child Support Collect.  DHS can collect if a child support assessment has been made, if they have accepted a child support agreement or if there is a registered court order for child support.

For Child Support Collect, DHS collects the money from the paying parent and pays it to the receiving parent.  The dates of these payments are set by DHS.  If a parent fails to make payments, the DHS can take enforcement action including deducting money from a paying parent’s pay, intercepting tax returns and/or bank account deductions.

It is important that both parents continue to update the DHS regarding their circumstances to ensure that over or under payments are avoided and issues of debt recovery do not occur.

What if I want something specific in place for child support between the other parent and I?

You can enter into a private child support agreement with the other parent and this can be made binding and enforceable.

You may agree to cash payments, non-cash items such as health insurance or school fees, or a combination of these.  These arrangements can be formalised by a Limited Child Support Agreement, which can have a limited life span, or a Binding Child Support Agreement which can remain in place for longer.  Both parties need to have legal advice for a Binding Child Support Agreement.

If you would like to consider one of these options, we can provide you with the necessary advice.  Many people negotiate property settlement, spousal maintenance and/or child support agreements at the same time.

Here are some examples of how a simultaneous settlement could work:

• The child support recipient parent agreeing to take less property from property settlement if all expenses are paid for the children until they turn 18 or finish high school, such as private health fees and associated costs and all health related costs.
• The child support recipient parent agreeing to take more property from property settlement than they might otherwise be entitled to, on the basis that they be paid no or relatively low child support in the future.
• The child support recipient parent agreeing to a settlement where they are paid certain child support (periodic amounts every week plus school fees and health costs paid for by the other parent), certain periodic spousal maintenance payments for a period of time and an agreed percentage of property.

The above arrangements can be negotiated and, once agreement is reached, drafted into binding and enforceable agreements by Daykin Family Law.

What if we do not agree with how much child support is being paid?

Parents often disagree with the estimation for child support.  This can be as a result of not agreeing about the arrangements for time children spend with each parent or disputes about income.  You can apply to DHS to have the assessment changed.  If you still do not agree with the decision, there are other avenues you can take, and we suggest you seek legal advice from us about these issues.

I have a plan for what child support I would like for my children. What’s my first step?

The first step is to make an appointment for an initial consultation with us to discuss your options, your proposals and how your goals can be achieved in the most cost effective and amicable way.   Daykin Family Law are experts in the Brisbane family law field and can assist you to resolve your issues so you can move on with your life sooner. Contact us today to discuss your situation and the options that can be specifically tailored for you.