In a very recent case called Kristoff & Emerson a judge of the Federal Court decided whether or not two people had lived in a de facto relationship.

A dilemma that often arises in family law is whether money paid by a parent to a child (to help with paying the deposit on a home for instance) will be considered a gift or a loan when the child's relationship breaks down and there is a financial dispute.

On 1 March 2009 couples previously without rights under the Family Law Act were finally afforded rights under the Act in line with those rights afforded to married couples. The de facto couple is defined in S4AA of the Act.

Under the Australian child support legislation, parents can reach agreement about the amount of child support to be paid, by entering into a child support agreement.

Marriage is defined in the Marriage Act, for Australian Commonwealth Law, to mean the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others voluntarily entered into for life.

The general principle from the case of Bonnici & Bonnici is that an inheritance received late in a marriage can be excluded from the asset pool if there are other assets which will allow for a fair result.

Having children means, as any parent knows, some surrender of personal freedom by the parents. Parents negotiate their relationships as adults, and as parents, and make compromises.

Welcome to the strange world of commercial surrogacy.

In late November some statistics about marriage and divorce came out and they are quite interesting.

(Judge) "Did you assault your wife all throughout the 35 year relationship?"

"Not really"

In Australia, divorce and its consequences such as property settlement are a matter of Federal law, uniform throughout Australia. In the USA, they vary state by state.

Two items of interest, each with a South African connection. One may be a real trap for travellers.

The Full Court of the Family Court has recently rejected a request by great grandparents that the children's proceedings with respect to their great grandchildren be rushed through the Court, notwithstanding their ages of 94 and 91 years.

Even though the chances of a lottery win are about one in 45 million, ownership of lottery wins is still and issue lawyers and some separating couples need to deal with.

Sometimes judges reach the right conclusions for the wrong reasons, and sometimes they reach the wrong conclusion for the wrong reasons. It seems rarer that judges reach the right decisions from wrong reasons.

Since the introduction of the no-fault principle to divorces in Australia, some people have been left feeling that there should be ramifications for the misbehaviour of spouses during the course of their marriage, if not in grounds for divorce then in other ways.

When is it necessary for parents to obtain a Court Order for medical treatment for their child?

A recent article has pointed to some very unusual consequences of the introduction in the UK of same sex marriage. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into force on 13 March 2014.