Family Law
Family law
Family law covers some of the most emotionally significant legal matters a person will ever face separation, divorce, parenting arrangements, and dividing property built up over years or decades. Sedaro Legal supports clients across Bella Vista, Norwest, the Hills District and greater Sydney through every stage of a family law matter, from the first conversation through to a final agreement or court order.
The approach is always the same: understand what matters most to the client often, that's their children and their financial security explain the realistic options in plain English, and pursue the path that resolves the matter with the least conflict and cost. Litigation is available when it's needed, but it's rarely the first recommendation.
Parenting Matters
What it is: Parenting matters cover where children live, how time is shared between parents, and how major decisions schooling, healthcare, religion are made after separation. This can be resolved through agreement, family dispute resolution, Consent Orders, or, if necessary, a parenting order made by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA).
Who it helps: Separating parents, grandparents seeking time with grandchildren, and parents responding to a parenting application filed by the other parent.
Common situations: agreeing a parenting plan after separation; responding to a parenting dispute where communication has broken down; relocation disputes where one parent wants to move with the children; and grandparents seeking orders for time with grandchildren.
Why professional advice matters: the law focuses on the best interests of the child, not what feels fair to either parent, and getting this wrong can affect a child's stability for years. Court timelines can also be lengthy, so understanding alternatives like family dispute resolution early can save significant time and stress.
Sedaro Legal helps clients negotiate practical, workable parenting arrangements, formalise agreements through Consent Orders where appropriate, and represent clients in parenting proceedings when agreement isn't possible.
Divorce
What it is: Divorce is the legal ending of a marriage. Australia has no-fault divorce, meaning the Court doesn't look at why the marriage ended only that it has broken down with no reasonable chance of reconciliation.
Who it helps: Anyone who has been separated from their spouse for at least 12 months and 1 day and wants to formally end the marriage required before either party can remarry.
Common situations: straightforward joint or sole divorce applications; divorce where the other party can't be located or won't sign documents; and divorce involving overseas marriages or marriage certificates in another language.
Why professional advice matters: divorce doesn't resolve property or parenting arrangements those need separate applications, and there are strict time limits for property settlement once a divorce is finalised. Getting the sequencing right protects your rights.
Sedaro Legal prepares and files divorce applications correctly the first time, manages service of documents, and makes sure clients understand what still needs to be sorted out afterwards.
Property Settlement
What it is: Property settlement is the legal process of dividing assets, liabilities and superannuation after a marriage or de facto relationship ends. It's separate from divorce you can settle property without being divorced, and divorce doesn't automatically divide property.
Who it helps: Separating couples, married or de facto, with shared assets property, savings, super, businesses, debts who need a fair and legally binding division.
Common situations: dividing the family home and other property; assessing contributions made during a long relationship; splitting superannuation; and protecting business assets built up during the relationship.
Why professional advice matters: there's no fixed formula outcomes depend on contributions, future needs and the length of the relationship. Strict time limits apply (12 months from divorce for married couples, 2 years from separation for de facto couples), and missing them can mean losing the right to apply altogether.
Sedaro Legal helps clients understand what a fair settlement realistically looks like, negotiate directly or through mediation, and formalise the outcome through Consent Orders or a Binding Financial Agreement.
Consent Orders
What it is: A Consent Order is a written agreement about parenting or property matters that's approved by the FCFCOA, making it legally enforceable in the same way as an order made by a judge without either party needing to go to court in person.
Who it helps: Separated couples who have reached agreement on parenting arrangements, property division, or both, and want that agreement to be legally binding and enforceable.
Common situations: formalising an agreed parenting plan; formalising an agreed property settlement; and protecting both parties if circumstances or intentions change later.
Why professional advice matters: an informal agreement even a detailed one in writing isn't enforceable unless it's approved by the Court as a Consent Order. Poorly drafted orders can also be rejected or cause disputes years later.
Sedaro Legal drafts Consent Orders that clearly reflect what's been agreed, meet the Court's requirements, and hold up if circumstances change down the track.
Binding Financial Agreements
What it is: A Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) sometimes called a ‘prenup’ or ‘postnup’ is a private, legally binding agreement setting out how property and finances will be divided if a relationship ends. It can be made before, during, or after a marriage or de facto relationship.
Who it helps: Couples entering a relationship with significant assets, blended families wanting to protect children's inheritance, or separated couples who prefer a private agreement over a court-approved Consent Order.
Common situations: protecting assets brought into a relationship; blended families wanting clarity for children from previous relationships; and business owners wanting to protect a business from relationship breakdown.
Why professional advice matters: for a BFA to be enforceable, both parties must receive independent legal advice, and the agreement must meet strict legal requirements a defective BFA can be set aside by a court entirely.
Sedaro Legal drafts and reviews Binding Financial Agreements that meet these requirements and genuinely protect a client's interests, not just paperwork that looks right on the surface.
Parenting Matters
Who gets custody of the children after separation?
Australian law no longer uses the term ‘custody’ instead, the Court considers ‘parental responsibility’ and care arrangements, starting from the presumption that both parents should be involved in a child's life unless that would compromise the child's safety. There's no automatic preference for either parent.
Can grandparents get visitation rights?
Grandparents don't have an automatic legal right to time with grandchildren, but they can apply to the Court for a parenting order if they can show it's in the child's best interests this is a recognised and increasingly common type of application.
Do I need a Parenting Order if we already agree on arrangements?
You're not legally required to have one, but an informal agreement isn't enforceable if circumstances change or one parent stops following it. Formalising an agreement through Consent Orders gives both parents legal certainty and something to fall back on.
What is a parenting plan?
A parenting plan is a written agreement between parents about care arrangements for their children. Unlike a Consent Order, it isn't legally enforceable, but it's a useful, low-cost starting point that can later be converted into a Consent Order if both parents want that certainty.
Can one parent move away with the children?
Not without either the other parent's agreement or a court order allowing it, if doing so would significantly affect the other parent's time with the children. Relocation disputes are one of the more complex areas of parenting law and usually require early legal advice.
What does ‘best interests of the child’ actually mean?
It's the legal test courts apply to every parenting decision, weighing factors like the child's safety, their relationship with each parent, and their views depending on age and maturity. It's not about what either parent wants it's about the child's wellbeing specifically.
Do children get to choose which parent they live with?
Not directly, but a court will consider a child's views if they're mature enough to express them, alongside all the other relevant factors. There's no fixed age at which a child's preference automatically decides the outcome.
What happens if the other parent breaches a Parenting Order?
Breaching a Parenting Order can be taken seriously by the Court, and depending on the circumstances, consequences can range from a warning to a variation of the order or, in serious or repeated cases, penalties. It's worth getting advice quickly rather than waiting to see if it happens again.