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Representing yourself in the Family Court

6/4/2016

 
More and more people are finding themselves having to consider acting for themselves in the Family Court. This could be because a "simple" application under the Care of Children Act must be filed by the litigant themselves, and not a lawyer. Or it could be because while a litigant is ineligible for legal aid, they cannot pay thousands of dollars for a lawyer.

Acting for yourself is always risky. Quite apart from the difficulties in understanding the law and Court process, you are unlikely to challenge your own position or "think outside the box" about other possible solutions.

A big part of a good lawyer's job is reality checking their clients' positions, to ensure that what they are asking for has at least a chance of being awarded by the Court. If you are acting for yourself with no advice, you will miss this vital step.

One option if you can't afford to engage a lawyer for the entire proceedings, is to seek advice at various steps and for specific jobs only. For example, you could meet with an expert family lawyer before filing an application, to get some advice about what to include (and what not to include). Then you might use the lawyer again only when the settlement conference occurs.

While traditionally lawyers work under a "full service retainer", carrying out every aspect relating to the proceedings, some are happy to work on a limited retainer, as described above. This is also known as "unbundled assistance" and more progressive lawyers are moving towards offering that service.

If you feel that you want to represent yourself, but you are wise enough to know that you don't know everything, I suggest finding a lawyer who can offer an unbundled service that fits your needs specifically.

​Why might I need a Family Lawyer?

18/2/2016

 
We are all a member of a family. A specialist Family Lawyer can assist you with the many legal issues that might arise out of your family relationships.
 
Family Law isn’t limited to issues that arise when people separate. You may need a Family Lawyer for these matters concerning children:
 
• Proceedings involving grandparents and other family/whanau members
• Acting for parents when Child, Youth and Family (CYF) are involved
• Obtaining parenting orders for CYF caregivers ("Home For Life")
• Paternity applications
• Applications by fathers or grandparents for guardianship of a child
• Adoption applications
 
A significant proportion of a specialist Family Lawyer’s work is to do with property, such as:
• “Pre-nuptial” property sharing agreements
• Overturning unfair relationship property settlement agreements. 
• Challenging wills of deceased relatives
• Protection of Personal and Property Rights proceedings and Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Applications to review decisions by the Commissioner for Inland Revenue concerning child support
 
In the above situations, you will almost certainly benefit from a specialist family lawyer’s advice.

The BEST Lawyer in Dunedin

29/9/2015

 
When you're dealing with stressful issues concerning your family and property, of course you want to hire the BEST lawyer in town to represent your interests and fight for your corner. And so you should! But many clients are surprised when to learn that this doesn't mean they should hope their ex has the worst lawyer. Not at all. If your ex has a "bad" lawyer, such as one who doesn't know the law, who pursues un-winnable arguments, is unnecessarily aggressive or adversarial or even one who just never gets back to your ex, it will end up costing you - in frustration, time and money. 

So, not only do you want to have an specialist family lawyer yourself, in most cases you'll find that your lawyer can achieve a more favourable outcome if your ex also has an experienced family lawyer acting for them. Unfortunately though, you will rarely be able to have a say about who your ex's lawyer is.

The upshot? By all means hire the best specialist family lawyer in town, but don't be too worried if your ex hires the second-best!

I've just separated - what do I need to do?

23/9/2015

 
Many clients will first instruct a Family Lawyer when they separate, or, even better, when they are contemplating separation. A specialist Family Lawyer can help with issues such as:

• Where will your children live after you separate? How can you set things up so that both parents continue to be involved?
• Guardianship disputes: both parents need to be involved in decisions about name changes, medical issues, schooling or moving out of town or overseas. If you can’t get your ex-partner to listen to your views, a lawyer may be able to!
• Relationship property will need to be identified, valued and divided. In most cases, the sooner this is done, the better.
• Often one party is in a much better financial position than the other. There may be child support or maintenance that should be being paid.
• If there has been domestic violence, you may need urgent assistance to obtain a protection orders to ensure your safety and that of your children.  

A good Family Lawyer won’t rush you off to Court unless that is what is absolutely necessary, so be sure to engage a specialist Family Lawyer who knows the least divisive, least expensive and most effective solutions to the issues you are facing.



Why would you need a specialist Family Lawyer?

17/9/2015

 
If you've just separated, you will be feeling anxious and worried about the care arrangements for your children. You may be concerned about the financial and property implications arising from your separation. You may have been separated for quite some time, but care arrangements are no longer working as well as they were. 

Grandparents, caregivers and adoptive parents have other issues they want to resolve as quickly and efficiently as possible. Perhaps you have been stuck in an abusive relationship that you can't see the way out of, or CYF have been knocking at your door.


If your problem involves any aspect of Family Law, you need an experienced, specialist Family Lawyer. Don't be tempted to hire the lawyer who did your conveyancing or set up your business; they will be specialised in those areas and are unlikely to have the expertise that you will need to guide you, successfully, through the Family Law minefield.

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