Negotiate With Your Ex-Partner

It may seem obvious but talking with your ex-partner and reaching an agreement between you (without third parties getting involved) is, by far, the best way to go.

Some advantages of this approach include:

you are more likely to maintain an amicable relationship with your ex-partner moving forward, which is of priceless value to your children;

you and your ex-partner both have some level of control over the outcome;

legal and other costs are kept to an absolute minimum;

the outcome is certain & you are both more likely to stick to the agreement;

this option usually takes the least amount of time and doesn't require involvement by third parties (leaving less room for complications & conflict);

for all the above reasons, peace of mind!

If you’ve had good legal advice, you should know where the “goal posts” are. That is, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, what you are and are not willing to compromise. And you should be willing to compromise- the Court rarely makes Orders exactly as sought by one party only. This is one of the reasons why costs are rarely awarded in the Family Court.

Sometimes, during your negotiations with your ex, you may need to go back for further legal advice to discuss any proposals made and / or to formulate a counter-proposal or discuss other options.

This option may not be suitable if:

there is an immediate or unacceptable risk to your child/ren, for example, your ex-partner has abducted the children or is refusing to return them to you;

waiting may disadvantage your case, for example, you have reason to believe that your ex-partner has or will sell off assets;

your ex-partner is violent (physically, verbally or emotionally) or is controlling;

the level of conflict between you and your ex-partner is high;

you're unable to, for whatever reason, meaningfully communicate with your ex-partner or they are simply refusing to talk to you.

If you reach an agreement with your ex-partner, the best and safest option is to “make it legal”. In most cases, this means a Form 11 Application will need to be prepared. With a Form 11 you don’t need to go to or appear in Court, but the Application will need to be lodged with the Family Court. Once the Court approves the Form 11, your agreement will be binding, enforceable and final.

If you’re looking for a lawyer to prepare a Form 11 Application for you, you’re in the right place. You can arrange an initial consult with me and I’ll take it from there. The fees I charge for a Form 11 Application start from $1,500 and I need only 2 hours of your time (including the first consult appointment). My aim is to make this process as simple and pain-free as possible.

If you cannot reach an agreement, or this option is not suitable for you, consider some of the other dispute resolution options listed.