Family Law | Property Matters | Family Court of Australia vs Federal Circuit Court of Australia
Family Court of Australia vs Federal Circuit Court of Australia
Although this is all about to change after the Commonwealth Government passed “the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019″ to merge the two courts, here is an overview of their current roles in cases where parties are seeking an adjustment of their interests in property.
After separation, it can be difficult to consider the division of the joint assets. Whilst divorce proceedings cannot be initiated until 12 months after the date of separation, you can commence property discussions immediately after separation. If parties are able to come to an agreement with respect to the division of property, this agreement can be translated into Consent Orders which are legally binding Court orders. These Consent Orders effectively tell the Court and the parties what the intentions are regarding the division and how they are going to affect this division.
If the parties are unable to come to an agreement, they may need to file in the Family Court or Federal Circuit Court for a judicial determination of your case.
What is the difference between the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia?
Whilst both these Courts deal with issues of Family Law, the Family Court is the specialised Court where more complex matters or matters with a large property pool are dealt with. Such complex matters may include:
- Matters with numerous parties, or a party that includes a corporation;
- Matters that have complex valuations of trusts or declarations of trusts are made;
- Matters with complex corporate structures;
- Matters of significant wastage or depletion of the property;
- Matters with complex questions of law or jurisdiction; and
- Matters with complex superannuation issues such as issues with self-managed superfunds.
- Issues as to disclosure of documents such as bank statements;
- Issues as to the value of the property or chattels.
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