Complex Property & Financial Challenges in Family Law – a series of 5 on demand video webinars

Identifying Complex Assets in Property Settlements

As the High Court made clear in Stamford, an essential part of any family property matter is to identify the legal and equitable interests of the parties in any property. However, determining the size of the asset pool can be difficult, particularly where parties have interests in complex company and trust arrangements. This session covers:

• Court consideration of equitable interests in property

• Alter egos and other controlling interests in trusts and companies: Sham trusts

• Identifying business interests – either owned personally, or through any form of corporate entity, trust or partnership structure

• Digital assets

Making Dollars and Sense out of Spousal Maintenance

The recent case of Blevins has struck fear in the hearts of many clients, and highlights a party’s ability to bring a further application for spousal maintenance some 20 years after separation. This session examines in the ins and outs of spousal maintenance, lessons from recent cases, and what practitioners should be doing now to help provide certainty to clients. It covers:

• Types of spousal maintenance agreements – interim, urgent or part of the settlement

• When is a party entitled to spousal maintenance?

• Adjusting for disparities between income or earning capacities of the parties

• Final spousal maintenance orders – are they ever truly final?

• Is it possible to have a third bite of the cherry on spousal maintenance matters?

• Out of time applications for spousal maintenance

• Case update, including Blevins v Blevins [2019] FCCA 1923

Binding Financial Agreements: Drafting with the End in Mind

The reality is that, for some clients, happily ever after will involve the parties going their separate ways. When relationship breakdown occurs, how watertight will your financial agreement be? This session takes a practical look at some of the risky clauses in a binding financial agreement that may render them non-binding and lessons from recent cases. It includes:

• When are BFAs appropriate? When should they be avoided?

• Key drafting tips and traps

• Can you quarantine assets?

• Risk factors in BFAs

• Mistakes – when is court rectification possible?

• Section 90G, evidentiary value of the Statement of Advice and the shifting onus

• Negligence claims and accrued jurisdiction

• How to protect oneself as a practitioner if there is scant disclosure and the client insists on doing the deal anyway

• Lessons from recent cases

Enforcing Court Property Orders

When a party breaches a property order, whether on an interim or final basis, the other party has a range of options available. Which route a party should take depends on the circumstances and the nature of the breach. This session examines the multitude of strategic and procedural requirements involved in enforcing family court orders, including:

• Filing an Application in a Case to vary the order

• Filing a Contravention Application

• Initiating mediation to reach agreement

• What does the Court consider to be a “reasonable excuse”?

• Cost orders and penalties

• Case study: Failure to sell property by a party subject to a property order

Gaining Ground with Summary Dismissal

With court delays worsening by the day, dealing quickly to avoid vexatious, frivolous or ill-conceived actions should be the goal of every family law practitioner. This session looks at how to effectively use summary dismissal applications, including:

• Identifying frivolous or vexatious proceedings – s102Q – 102QG 118 FLA

• Summary dismissal when case is ‘not reasonably arguable’

• Making the application – key factors to consider

• Key inclusions in affidavit in support of application

• Summary dismissal versus bifurcation

• Costs orders in summary dismissal applications

• Lessons from recent cases