News and views

We like to think of it as the “season of goodwill”. For many families, though, the holiday season can be extremely testing and feel anything but merry following a separation.

The Family Court has just appointed our Family Law specialist, and Senior Associate, Gillian Stuart, as a Lawyer for the Child.

Many people say being a parent is the best – but hardest – job in the world. We don't get proper training for it, and there’s no definitive handbook.

As a lawyer, I’m commonly asked what the legal age is for a variety of different activities – so, I thought it would be interesting and helpful to summarise just what’s allowed at various stages of childhood and adolescence.

It’s three years since the much-publicised Family Court reforms were introduced – and the changes are still taking some families by surprise.

If you ask people, as I have, what they understand a family lawyer’s key role to be, chances are the answer will revolve around filing oodles of divorce applications – something I, indeed, do … every now and then.

Whether the loss of a serious relationship comes as a complete shock, or the writing has been incandescently on the wall for some time, there’s no colour-by-numbers approach to dealing with the inevitable subsequent practicalities.