Recent Separation

January 25, 2012

Q.     I have very recently separated from my partner.  We have 2 children together.  Although we have had fights and separated in the past, this time I think it is final.  While I don’t want to stop him seeing the children, I would like to have something consistent in place for the contact arrangements.  Can I do this without going to the Family Court?  That’s the last thing I want at this stage.

A.     Given you have only recently separated, and if there are no other issues involving violence or safety, it might be possible to arrange a parenting agreement between you and your partner without going to court.  We would generally also recommend counseling at this stage, which can be free through the Family Court.  We can even get legal aid for this type of work – under a step called pre-proceedings settlement.  This is where our aim is to negotiate an arrangement without filing proceedings.  If the negotiation fails, we can always look at the next step of filing proceedings

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