Court Representation
At Parry Coates Family Law, we are dedicated to assisting you reach an agreement, where possible, without the need for Court intervention.
Our family lawyers are experienced in appearing in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. This provides you the benefit of your family lawyer preparing your case and presenting it to the Court. There are some circumstances where our family lawyers may recommend that a barrister is engaged for certain Court events. In those circumstances, your family lawyer will appear alongside that barrister at the Court event.
Before you can file an application with the Court in relation to a financial or parenting matter, there are several pre-action procedures and steps that you must take. For example, mediation or dispute resolution or financial disclosure. Our family lawyers can assist you with that process and navigating the Court system.
What does the Court process involve?
If the pre-action procedures have been taken or your matter involves issues that exempt you from undertaking the pre-action procedure steps, an Initiating Application and supporting documents are prepared and filed.
After proceedings are commenced, there are several court events, such as:
First Court event – mention or directions hearing
Second Court event – interim hearing
Third Court event – further mention or directions hearing
First Court event – compliance and readiness hearing (or Court ordered mediation)
Fifth Court event – possibly a Case Management Hearing
Sixth Court event – trial or final hearing
Final Court event – delivery of judgment
Litigation is emotionally and financially expensive and lengthy. It can take anywhere from 12 months to 3 years from the time the court proceedings are commenced until the end of the matter when the Judge determined your matter.