A parenting plan is a written record of an agreement that sets out the care arrangements of the children that is also signed and dated. A parenting plan is not a legally enforceable agreement. It is different from a parenting order, which is made by a court. The plan is worked out and agreed jointly, you and your former partner do not need to go to court. You and your former partner can agree to change a parenting plan by entering into a new parenting plan.

A consent order is a written agreement that is approved by a court. A consent order can cover financial matters such as dividing your property, parenting arrangements for children or both financial and parenting arrangements. Consent orders have the same legal effect as if they had been made by a judicial officer after a court hearing. The Court must be satisfied that the orders you ask for are in the best interest of the child for parenting matters or just and equitable for property matters.

Child support payments cannot be made in Consent Orders about agreements relating to child support. They can be done by way of a binding child support agreement or by dealing directly with the Child Support Agency. Contact us today for further information.

There are a number of advantages by formalising an agreement by way of Consent Orders.

These benefits include:

• Orders are final once they are made. Unless the parties agree, it is extremely hard to vary the orders and would need to be extenuating circumstances.

• Orders are enforceable once they are made and can be enforced by the court.

• In relation to property matters, any transfer of property (including the matrimonial home) is exempt from payment of stamp duty if it is transferred pursuant to Consent Orders.

There is no time limit to file an Application for Consent Orders seeking parenting orders, and this application can be filed at any point after the parties have separated.

If you are seeking property orders, time limits do apply to the filing. If you are married, the time limit is brought about by the granting of your divorce. Once a divorce is granted, you must file an Application for Consent Orders within 12 months.

For de-facto relationships, this time limit brought about by the breakdown of the relationship. Once de-facto relationships come to an end and you separate, you have two years to file an Application for Consent Orders seeking property orders.

If you file outside of these time limits, you will be required to seek the permission of the Court. This is not always granted.

When filing your Application for Consent Orders, there is a filing fee that must be paid. The current fee is $170.00.

Examples of when you may be eligible for exemption include

• You hold a health care card, pensioner concession card, commonwealth seniors’ card or any other card issued by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs that certifies your entitlement to Commonwealth health concessions;

• You have been granted Legal Aid;

• You are the recipient of youth allowance, Austudy or Abstudy payments;

• You are under the age of eighteen;

• Your income, living expenses, liabilities and assets are at such a level that payment of the full fee would cause you financial hardship.

Property includes all assets and debts owned by both parties to the relationship. It does not matter whether it is in both names, or just one person’s name.

Some examples of property may include:

• the family home

• cash

• bank accounts

• investments

• businesses

• insurance policies

• family trusts

• superannuation

• inheritances

• shares

• jewellery

• vehicles

• debts including mortgages, loans, credit cards and personal debts.

There is no time limit to file an Application for Consent Orders seeking parenting orders, and this application can be filed at any point after the parties have separated.

If you are seeking property orders, time limits do apply to the filing. If you are married, the time limit is brought about by the granting of your divorce. Once a divorce is granted, you must file an Application for Consent Orders within 12 months.

For de-facto relationships, this time limit brought about by the breakdown of the relationship. Once de-facto relationships come to an end and you separate, you have two years to file an Application for Consent Orders seeking property orders.

If you file outside of these time limits, you will be required to seek the permission of the Court. This is not always granted.

A consent order is a written agreement that is approved by a court.

A consent order can cover financial matters such as dividing your property, parenting arrangements for children or both financial and parenting arrangements.

Consent orders have the same legal effect as if they had been made by a judicial officer after a court hearing. The Court must be satisfied that the orders you ask for are in the best interest of the child for parenting matters or just and equitable for property matters.

Child support payments cannot be made in Consent Orders about . Agreements relating to child support can be done by way of a binding child support agreement or by dealing directly with the Child Support Agency. Contact us today for further information.

There are a number of advantages by formalising an agreement by way of Consent Orders.

These benefits include:

• Orders are final once they are made. Unless the parties agree, it is extremely hard to vary the orders and would need to be extenuating circumstances..

• Orders are enforceable once they are made and can be enforced by the court.

• In relation to property matters, any transfer of property (including the matrimonial home) is exempt from payment of stamp duty if it is transferred pursuant to Consent Orders.

There is no time limit to file an Application for Consent Orders seeking parenting orders, and this application can be filed at any point after the parties have separated.

If you are seeking property orders, time limits do apply to the filing. If you are married, the time limit is brought about by the granting of your divorce. Once a divorce is granted, you must file an Application for Consent Orders within 12 months.

For de-facto relationships, this time limit brought about by the breakdown of the relationship. Once de-facto relationships come to an end and you separate, you have two years to file an Application for Consent Orders seeking property orders.

If you file outside of these time limits, you will be required to seek the permission of the Court. This is not always granted.

No one can tell you exactly how your property should be divided. It is important that you seek legal advice.

Any property division and agreement must be just and equitable (or fair) in your circumstances.

Some things to look at when determining your agreement are:

• What your assets and your debts, and what they are worth when added together

• The financial contributions by each party to the relationship, such as wage

• The contributions by each party of gifts or inheritances

• The non-financial contributions to the relationship, such as caring for children and homemaker contributions

• The future needs of the parties – such as age, health, financial resources, caring responsibilities and capacity to earn

There is no right or wrong formula to use. The way your assets and debts will be shared between you will depend on the individual circumstances of your family.

It is important to consider it as part of your property settlement even though it may be many years before you are able to access superannuation.

Superannuation splitting laws treat superannuation as a different type of property.

Separating couples are able to value their superannuation and split superannuation payments. Splitting superannuation does not mean that you will be able to access cash after it has been split – it is still subject to superannuation laws and may be accessed upon retirement.

If Superannuation comprises the major asset of your relationship, you can agree to a split of this asset and capture this agreement by way of Consent Orders.