Family Law Drafting BFAs, Child Support Agreements & Other Applications
At this in-depth drafting skills intensive, be guided through 3 of the most critically important areas of drafting for family lawyers. Our panel of experts, including Services Australia, will provide useful drafting examples & real-world scenarios to master drafting techniques for binding financial agreements & child support agreements, initiating applications and support documentation. Gain a renewed understanding of effective drafting that you can apply immediately in your practice. WEB233N54Z
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units including:
1 unit in Substantive Law
3 units in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Elizabeth Bedford, Partner, Pearson Emerson; Accredited Specialist in Family Law and Collaborative Lawyer
Professional Skills
1.00pm to 2.00pm Drafting Appropriate Initiating Applications and Supporting Documentation
- Tips and traps for drafting parenting and property initiating applications
- When to amend
- Supporting documentation tips and traps including subpoenas, notices to admit and specific questions
Presented by Rachell Davey, Partner, Lander & Rogers; Accredited Specialist in Family Law; Recommended Parenting & Children’s Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2022
Professional Skills
2.00pm to 3.00pm Understanding the Elements of Binding Financial Agreements: Common Drafting Errors to Avoid
- Tips and traps in drafting agreements, such as
- When is it appropriate to specify the act, the agreement relies upon or are they self-executing or do you have to put together another agreement i.e., agreement written when they are a de facto and then get married: do you need to do a new agreement
- What should be in the letter of advice
- How to deal with future acquired property in the agreement?
- When is the Court likely to set aside an agreement?
- Recent case developments and scenarios and how they impact what you should and shouldn’t include in your agreements
- Have the amendments to s90G made any real difference in practice and in interpretation?
- Examples of clauses and precedents
Presented by Paul Fildes, Principal, Taussig Cherrie Fildes Family Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Family Law; Preeminent Family & Divorce Lawyer and Family Lawyer (High-Value & Complex Property Matters), Doyle’s Guide 2022
3.00pm to 3.15pm Break
3.15pm to 4.15pm Child Support Agreements: Regulatory Requirements to Consider
Consider the 2018 amendments to the Child Support (Assessment) Act and their impact on the drafting of binding child support agreements. You’ll gain information to help you prepare agreements that are compliant with the Legislation, able to be accepted by the Child Support Registrar, and drafted to respond to routine changes that happen in the lives of parents and their children, such as care and income.
Presented by Amanda Nates, Policy Officer, Child Support Agency, Services Australia
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Practice Session: Drafting Child Support Agreements with Real Life Scenarios
Now taking what you have learnt in the previous session, you’ll join our expert panel of speakers as they present a practice session, using several real-life scenarios, to illustrate how you balance the regulatory criteria with your clients’ circumstances. You’ll gain a renewed level of confidence to apply to immediately in your practice.
Panellists:
Tim Gough, Partner, Lander & Rogers; Accredited Specialist in Family Law
Peter Szabo, Director, Peter Szabo Family Law; Accredited Specialist in Family Law
Catherine Devine, Barrister, Foley’s List
Presenters
Elizabeth Bedford
Libby is an accredited family law specialist and is collaboratively trained. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Masters of Law, studying in both Sydney and Calgary. She worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Republic of Kiribati as a Child Justice specialist for 2 years. She is on the Independent Children Lawyer’s Panel. Libby is a Partner at Pearson Emerson Family Law.
Paul Fildes
Paul Fildes is an Accredited Family Law Specialist and has been practicing in family law since 1983. He has been ranked as one of only five Preeminent Family Lawyers by Doyle’s Guide for Melbourne 2019. Paul Fildes was previously the head of Middletons’ Family Law Practice Group (now K & L Gates), which he merged with Taussig Cherrie & Associates in 2010, to become Taussig Cherrie Fildes. Paul specialises in large scale family law property litigation, complex Financial Agreements, defacto property cases and restructuring family property in a tax effective manner. He also has a special interest in international relocation cases, and cross-border disputes involving the adjustment and treatment of assets located internationally, including Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Paul is a presenter of Case Watch on the Television Education Network which produces educational presentations and material for lawyers. He has published numerous papers and comments on current family law issues. Paul also regularly presents at seminars on behalf of various professional bodies on a wide variety of family law topics, with an emphasis on complex financial matters. He is a qualified Family Law arbitrator and mediator, and is also a trained collaborative lawyer. Paul is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and was a former Chair and Executive member of the Family Law Section of the Law Institute of Victoria. He was previously the Victorian Solicitor Representative of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, and a former Chair of the FLS National Biennial Family Law Conference and on the Board at Relationships Australia (Vic).
Tim Gough
Tim is an accredited family law specialist and advises clients in complex commercial family law property matters. He specialises in commercially focussed negotiations and strategic litigation to ensure he obtains the best possible outcomes for his clients. When he is not in court, Tim focusses on the estate planning aspects of family law and prepares Pre-Nuptial Financial Agreements for married and de-facto couples.
Peter Szabo
Peter Szabo is an acknowledged leader among Family Lawyers, Innovative and a trail blazer, he was involved in leading cases such as Ascot Investments v Harper (third party rights) and In Re K (appointment of ICL’s in parenting cases). He was instrumental in the establishment of Specialist Accreditation in Family law. He remains involved as the current Chair of CLE for Accredited Specialists. He has been an Instructor in Family Law at the Leo Cussen Institute for over 40 years, He was a presenter at the very first session on BFA’s at Leo Cussen in 2001. His main focus now on the interaction between Family Law, asset protection and succession planning. He is a strong believer in sharing the knowledge. ? He is a trained mediator and a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (by invitation only. He first authored the Family Law Practice Manual in 1985, which is now in its 6th edition.
Catherine Devine
Cath Devine has extensive experience in all areas of Family Law, with a particular interest and expertise in Child Support advice and advocacy. Cath has appeared as junior counsel and on appeal on numerous occasions. Cath has a reputation as a fearless and forceful advocate for her clients, and also on behalf of children when she appears as Counsel for the Independent Children's Lawyer. Cath is a qualified mediator and arbitrator. Cath is also currently an Adjunct Lecturer in the Masters of Laws program at the College of Law.
Rachell Davey
Rachell has practised in family and relationship law since 2000. She has been involved in all aspects of family law with particular expertise in complex property and financial matters. Rachell holds a Master' of International Law (2005) from the University of Melbourne and practises in international family law matters involving expatriate Australians, or for clients across multiple family law jurisdictions. She is highly adept at resolving complex property matters involving corporate entities, businesses, addressing the taxation implications of settlement and third parties. Rachell has extensive experience drafting financial agreements (both pre and post nuptial) and advising clients of the appropriateness of a financial agreement in their circumstances. She also assists clients with complex parenting arrangements involving interstate and overseas relocation. Rachell is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law (2005) and previous member of the Accredited Specialist Committee. She is listed in Doyle's Guide as a Rising Star in Family Law (2016) and a leading practitioner of Parenting and Children's Matters (2018 to 2022). She has been recognised in Best Lawyers (Australia) for her expertise in Family Law. Rachell is also a regular presenter and author covering family law topics.