Pre-lawyer Prep – Millyard Family Lawyers

Initial Appointment

Prior to your initial appointment, we request you email our office the following information for our records:

Your/your partner’s full legal name and any other names you/they are known as
Your/your partner’s date of birth
Dates started living together/married/separated
Names and date of births of any children born of the relationship/from prior relationships
Your contact telephone numbers
Your residential address
Postal, email and SMS addresses*
If making an email enquiry, brief details of your legal issue

*Tip: Unfortunately there are parties who engage in unscrupulous and illegal behavior to intercept their partner’s private information. Consider changing your passwords on your email and phone/ipad/ipod accounts so that correspondence and communications from our office will not be intercepted by your partner or an unwanted third party.

Would you please bring the following original documents with you to your initial appointment:

Your driver’s licence
Marriage Certificate (if applicable)
Pension/health care card (if applicable)
Any court orders made in relation to you and your partner/your children
Any letters from your partner’s lawyer to you
Current statements of bank balances, mortgage balances, credit card balances, superannuation balances (if a financial case)

If a financial case, be prepared to answer questions about property owned by both of you at the start of the relationship, money contributions made by each of you/others for your benefit during the relationship and what assets and liabilities are in both parties’ names at the current date.

Disclosure and Evidence

Pursuant to the Family Law Rules, parties to a case have a duty to make timely, full and frank disclosure of all information relevant to the issues in dispute before starting a case in Court and until a case is finalised.*

Read the Family Law Courts Brochures titled:

Your disclosure, disclosure needed from the other party and the documentary evidence needed to prove your case will be discussed with you at your first appointment.

*Tip: Playing games of hide and seek with disclosure or delaying or withholding disclosure increases your legal fees, delays resolution of a case, will leave you without legal representation and may lead to court sanctions. Your game with disclosure should be one of show and tell.

Disclosure and Evidence

Read the Family Law Courts Brochures titled:

Your disclosure, disclosure needed from the other party and the documentary evidence needed to prove your case will be discussed with you at your first appointment.

Estate Planning

Your estate planning should be reviewed on the breakdown of your relationship to ensure that your intended beneficiaries receive your deceased estate and your super death benefits and to ensure that your former partner no longer has power to deal with your personal and financial matters should you become mentally incapacitated during your lifetime. If possible, bring a copy of your current Will and current Enduring Power of Attorney to your initial appointment.