General FAQs
Sometimes in simple matters there is very little need for extensive or ongoing intervention by lawyers. However, regardless of the complexity of your matter, it is important that you obtain advice that is specific to your circumstances to ensure that you informed before you begin or finalise your negotiations with the other party. Family law has a lot of nuances and complexities and the information that can be found online is largely generalised (and, particularly when provided by someone unqualified, often wrong). As such, we suggest that you make an appointment with us to obtain initial advice. From there, we can discuss with you whether or not you need us to remain involved and to what extent.
For complex and/or high conflict matters, having a lawyer involved can be crucial.
If you are unsure of what you are entitled to receive in your property matter or are unable to agree on an appropriate arrangement for your children (or agreed but that arrangement is not working), then it is important that you receive expert advice. If you have been subject to family violence or feel that the dynamic with your former partner makes it difficult for you to advocate for yourself, then it will benefit you to be represented.
There are lots of options for payment of legal fees and this is something that we can discuss with you in your initial appointment. Unfortunately, we hear of many people who don’t consult a lawyer because of the perceived expense only to realise later that the difference in the amount of the settlement they might have gotten had they received advice far exceeds what the cost of the advice would have been.
If necessary, we can assist you to ascertain when and how a lawyer may need to be involved to minimise costs.
Family law, like many other areas of law, is highly specialised. Generalist lawyers do not deal with the volume or the complexity of matters that family lawyers do. A lot of general practitioners therefore will not take on family law matters or are only able to deal with some aspects of your matter.
Usually, no. Even if you plan to negotiate directly with your former partner in a non-lawyer assisted mediation, it is important for you to know where you stand prior. If a party goes into mediation with unrealistic expectations, then it is far less likely a settlement will be reached. An inequitable agreement reached also has a higher likelihood of “falling apart” following mediation, which can lead to more cost and disharmony than in advice had been obtained early on. We want you to have the best chance of settling your matter at mediation and can assist you by ensuring that you are well prepared.
There are many alternatives to court, including the collaborative law process, negotiation between lawyers and mediation. Most family law matters do not end up in litigation and it is our goal to keep as many matters out of court as possible. We will explore the different processes with you at the beginning of your matter to help you decide which process is the most suitable.
For those matters where court is necessary, it is faster and less expensive if that can be identified early on. Whilst court is never our preferred option, if we think that it will be necessary to issue court proceedings, then we will let you know as soon as possible so that you can make informed decisions.
The best way to avoid court proceedings is to see a lawyer as early as possible in your matter.
No. In order to maintain expertise and family law-based practices and resources, we choose to only focus on family law matters. Family law includes a wide variety of areas, as can be seen on our Services page, and is far more complex than many people realise.
Starling Family Law has a network of trusted professionals including lawyers who specialise in other areas of law who we work closely with and can refer you to for adjacent matters.
Unfortunately, no. It would be a conflict of interest for a lawyer to represent both you and your former partner. We are required to act in the best interests of our clients and provide you with independent advice, which we may not be able to do for both parties, even if you are in agreement. Lawyers are therefore not able to represent both parties to a legal matter.
If your ex-partner claims their lawyer is acting for you both, this is incorrect. Whilst their lawyer is able to liaise with you directly, you are self-represented. The lawyer is only able to provide you with general information and is not able to advise you if the agreement is in your best interests.
If you or your ex-partner engages us as your lawyer, we are happy to provide referrals to the other to a reputable law firm who can assist the other party.
Separation FAQs
We recommend that you make an appointment to see us as soon as possible – even before separation if you can. There are lots of things that you can do that will ease the transition and assist to make your family law matter run smoothly. Our advice is tailored for your specific circumstances.
The answer to every legal question is “it depends”. Parenting arrangements and your entitlement to property will vary depending on your specific circumstances.
However, it is a myth that your ex-partner will automatically be entitled to 50% of everything. More often than not, there will be adjustments made for your financial circumstances and the contributions each of you made and for where the children are living. Who the children live and spend time with will depend on their ages, developmental stage, the relationship that they have with each of their parents and any other important people in their lives (such as step-siblings and grandparents) and other factors as well. There is no one size fits all solution.
Seek legal advice as soon as possible. The threat of obtaining residence of the children if often made but is difficult for a person who is not the children’s primary carer to achieve. However, situations can vary dramatically and it is important that you obtain advice about what an appropriate parenting arrangement might be. If another person is making threats or attempting to blackmail you, we can also assist you with strategies to limit that behaviour and if necessary, apply for a family violence order.
Please contact us for a booking as we can accommodate urgent appointments. Let us know in your enquiry of the urgency so that we can escalate your matter.
Other family law FAQs
There are provisions in the Family Law Act that make it a criminal offence to publicly communicate details of a family law matter that includes identifying information, with limited exceptions. We suggest that clients refrain from posting about their family law matter or sharing information with others online – or by word of mouth – unnecessarily. If in doubt, leave it out.
Yes, you may have rights as a third party to be involved in the parties’ family law matter but this will vary depending on the circumstances. We offer assistance to third parties’ as well as to parties to a matter.
Please note that we are not able to provide you with legal advice on behalf of one of the parties if you are not directly involved. If your child / parent / sibling has a family law matter for which they require advice, they will need to attend an appointment. You are able to come with them for support if they agree but we cannot give you advice for you to pass on to them.
Yes, our family law system treats same-sex relationships in the same way as heterosexual relationships in Victoria.
We can also assist you in relation to assisted reproduction and parentage laws if required.
There are numerous factors that are used by the court to determine if two people are in a de facto relationship. The amount of time you have lived together is one of those factors but it is not the only determining factor. You may be considered to be de facto even if you’ve only lived together for a short period, for example if you have a child together. If you and your partner have assets or children, it is a good idea to seek legal advice.
No. If you are married, or it is determined that you have been in a de facto relationship pursuant to the Family Law Act, then an asset being in one party’s name is not sufficient to keep it out of the property pool for family law purposes. A claim may be able to be made by you or your former partner against the other person’s assets.
Not necessarily. If you have property held overseas, we will help you determine where the appropriate jurisdiction is to deal with your matter. If the majority of your assets are in Australia then ordinarily your matter will be dealt with in Australia, even if some of your assets are overseas.
In relation to communication, because Starling Family Law is a tech-forward firm, we are able to communicate with parties overseas just as we would do if they were in Australia.
Superannuation is considered to be a financial asset and can be adjusted in a property settlement along with other assets. If you have not yet reached the preservation age required to access your superannuation, it will usually be treated slightly differently to non-superannuation assets on account of it being an asset that you are not able to currently utilise to meet your needs.
Superannuation compounds over time so whilst you might not consider it an important asset currently, it an be significant to your future financial wellbeing.
Using our technology FAQs
Starling Family Law is a completely paperless practice. We use technology such as virtual meetings, online portal access, portable technology and AI to provide you with full service assistance whether we are seeing you in person or online, the office or the courtroom. We strive to use integrated solutions that avoid double handling of information and therefore enable the more efficient provision of legal services which in turn will save on the cost of your legal fees.
By utilising modern technology solutions, we are able to offer assistance to clients in Australian family law matters no matter where they reside in the world.
All you really need is an email address and we will do the rest. If you are reading these FAQs right now and are able to navigate our website then you have sufficient technology skills to utilise the resources that we use. And if you’re not sure about something, you should always feel free to ask us and we can assist you further.
At Starling Family Law, we use AI to support the services that our lawyers offer you, not in place of them. By using AI to assist with administrative tasks, we are able to deliver legal services to you faster and at less cost. There is no impact on the quality of legal services that you receive. In fact, we are able to offer services more effectively and efficiently than lawyers who do not incorporate the use of AI into their practice.
We take cybersecurity and confidentiality very seriously and use security measures to keep your information confidential and secure at all times. Our data management services and AI providers are Australian based and include security measures such as secure servers and end-to-end encryption. None of our AI is trained on your documents, and your information will remain confidential at all times. We also use additional security measures like multifactor authentication to keep your information protected.
Sadly, there are scammers that target law firms and their clients. If you have received an email or text message that claims to have been sent by Starling Family Law and provides a link that you were not expecting, or provides new bank details for the transfer of funds, please contact our office prior to using the link or transferring any funds, to ensure that the email or link is legitimate. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept any loss caused as the result of a scam.
Billing FAQs
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer legal aid services. Please contact the Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) information line or the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) for a referral to a lawyer offering legal aid.
Please note that if you have a property matter, legal aid is only available in limited circumstances.
Ordinarily, invoices are expected to be met “along the way”. An alternative payment arrangement may be offered on a case-by-case basis dependent on your financial resources. Usually, you would still be expected to meet some of the costs of your matter or interest may be charged on deferred payments.
If you have concerns about your ability to pay, please let us know as you may be eligible for a deferred payment arrangement, payment plan or litigation funding.
Please contact us as we will be happy to explain any invoices or items in your bill further. You will not be charged for discussions about fees or invoices.
