If you are on the Gold Coast and looking for experienced Divorce Lawyers, we are to help you.
Whether you are married or in a de-facto relationship, you build a life as a couple. Whether you accumulate property, assets and/or have children together, if the relationship ends you need to somehow divide the life you’ve built together fairly.
At Bruce Legal, our Gold Coast divorce lawyers can’t promise the process of divorce or separation will be easy, but we can help both parties come to a fair resolution, which is important for moving forward.
We give you family law advice in plain English. We don’t complicate our advice with legal jargon, so you know where you stand at all times.
Divorce and separation may become more complicated where there are children involved. Parenting arrangements are not quite as cut and dry as the division of assets. Our lawyers will provide family law advice that is focused on the best interests of the children and will assist the parties to reach an amicable agreement.
Our experienced Gold Coast divorce lawyers can give you a clear understanding of your rights whether you are in a marriage or a de facto relationship. At Bruce Legal we can advise you on the distribution of assets, liabilities and financial resources after a divorce or separation, so that you are clear as to your rights and entitlements.
In order to obtain a divorce, you must be separated for a minimum of 12 months. You can however remain in the same residence providing you can prove that you are no longer living as husband and wife. Our divorce lawyers Gold Coast can advise you on the requirements for a divorce to be granted.
For a divorce to be granted, children of divorce must be adequately cared for.
You do not need to attend court for a divorce unless there are children under the age of 18 involved. When children are involved in a divorce it is important that arrangements are put in place that meet the children’s best interests.The Court must be satisfied that there are adequate arrangements for the children of the relationship prior to granting a divorce.
At Bruce Legal we try and make the process of divorce and separation as painless as possible. We understand that divorce and separation can be stressful and our compassionate approach will assist to ensure parties feel valued and respected at all times during the process.
The current filing fee (as at date of writing) for an application for divorce is $930, (or $310 for those eligible for a reduced fee). There is no GST to be added to this price, as GST does not apply to court fees.
For guidelines about whether or not you qualify for a reduced filing fee in respect of your divorce, you can refer to the “Guidelines for reduced fee - divorce and decree of nullity” on the Federal Court of Australia website.
If you and your former spouse do not agree about applying for divorce, and are therefore not applying jointly, you will need to have the application served upon your ex-spouse by way of engaging process server. The additional cost of this service is approximately $100 including GST.
In instances where the divorce is opposed and you require a family lawyer to appear on your behalf at a defended hearing of the matter, your legal fees will be surplus to the Court filing fee. Similarly, the fees for a lawyer to draft your application or prepare extra evidence on your behalf, such as where the separation is in dispute, are also additional to the Court filing fee.
If you are considering applying for a divorce and would like an estimate of the legal fees, which might be involved, please contact us directly in order that we can assess your matter accordingly.