Separation is a common occurrence in Australia. Navigating the process, your rights, your spouses rights, and the rights of any kids involved can be complicated and confusing. Vincent Tan, is a Family Lawyer for Clairs Keeley Lawyers. He joined Doug to talk about understanding separation in WA.
Clients as Teammates
“The first thing about being a good family lawyer is to see your client as a teammate. Then work through what their values are. I sit down with them and say, well, look, what’s the best version of yourself in five years’ time?”
He outlined that this enables him to come alongside them to set them up for future success.
“There is wisdom in being able to sit in that space of figuring out how to navigate the journey. The client feels like they have some agency work through what they want.”
You Are Not Alone
Vincent wanted to encourage those in this process of separation that they are not alone. “It’s okay to grieve the loss for a season. You are braver, smarter and more capable than you may think. When you have the right resources and help, you can go a lot further.
He said that having a rough five-year plan can be a helpful first step for people.
“It dictates the rest of how the process works,” said Vincent.
Financial Support
“When it comes to post-separation, there are different avenues of financial support,” said Vincent, “You have to be cognizant of whether you’ve been divorced or whether you’re in a de facto relationship.”
He explained that there are time limits involved.
“For example, if a long period of time passes and you were in a de facto relationship, you were divorced, then sometimes the court is unable to deal with the claim unless there’s significant injustice there.”
He also said child support is a government-based formula. “There are really good resources online where you can figure that out what the taxable incomes are and the nights of care that each parent has.”
Written Agreements
People start with the best intentions and verbal agreements can work. Vincent argued that ‘an agreement is an agreement… until it’s not’, which is why written agreements benefit both parties in legal matters.
“In those particular circumstances, when it comes to the discrete issue of child support, being able to get an assessment through the Services Australia is a sensible way to measure the circumstance.”
He continued, “The shortest pen is longer than the longest memory… so try to do as much as you can, not just to get things in writing, but in an enforceable way.”
The Language of Lawyer
The language of lawyer can be very different to the language of human at times. Vincent said that part of his role involves being an interpreter to bridge the language gap.
“Really that process is talking about how you share what is most precious, including your children and your finances.”
He said that in some cases, if the parties live separately for a year then the divorce application can actually happen.
“One of the misconceptions is that if you’ve been divorced, you’ve also separated your finances and your parenting. That’s not correct.”
He said that under the eyes of the law, married couples and de facto relationships are handled differently, although there can be some overlap.
He concluded by encouraging those going through a separation to reach out and to understand there are a myriad of different lawyers who can deal with unique cases, so it helps to do the research before contacting a lawyer.
Check out the full chat with Vincent Tan below.