Divorce and family law: Do I need a lawyer?

Normally the decision to engage a lawyer to help you with your divorce is a personal decision.

David Love | Divorce and Family Law

The role a divorce lawyer plays

In my experience, people who choose to have a solicitor represent them for their divorce do so for a number of reasons including:

• Having some comfort that they will have someone who will deal with their former spouse directly
• Wanting representation when dealing with a court
• Getting certainty with the technical aspects of making the application and properly serving their former spouse

When I appear in divorce matters, I see a spread of people both appearing for themselves or appearing with a representative. The main areas where things don’t go as planned are around service (giving the documents to the other spouse party):

• Service has not been done at all
• Service has not been done properly
• Service has not been proven

The Court then adjourns the matter again, usually for more than a month (28 days is needed between service and the next Court date). This can be problematic for people wanting to remarry, especially if they have already booked in the Wedding Day!

You do need to be separated for at least a year before you can divorce in nearly all cases.

Property Settlement and Divorce

One important thing to consider is that you do not need to divorce before you divide your property. Also, you do not need to have a property settlement before you can divorce.

You do need to consider an important limitation period. If you need a Court to decide your property division, you have to file your case within 12 months of your Divorce. If that time is approaching, see a lawyer and get some advice. If that time has passed, all may not be lost, sometimes you can obtain the Court’s permission to start your case late. It’s better to file before the time has run out, but if you are late, see a lawyer straight away for some advice about your situation.