Family Law Parenting

Your priority is your children and you seek to ensure their best interests are promoted by ensuring appropriate arrangements are made that deal with but are not limited to the following issues:

• Where the children live

• The time they spend with each parent

• Schooling arrangements

• Overseas travel

• Religious upbringing

• Medical issues

• Surnames

• Communication

• Protecting the child from harm

• Extra-curricular and sporting activities.

Read through this page to find out more about what Family Law Planning offers to help you resolve these concerns. If there’s something you want to know more about, contact us directly, either via our Contact page, calling (07) 3015 2070 or by emailing info@flplegal.com.au.

“Every home is a university and the parents are the teachers.” — Mahatma Gandhi

We have over 20 years’ experience in guiding parents to achieve commonsense and child-focused outcomes that minimise the impact of the separation on your children and promote their best interests moving forward.

Parenting agreements

This product is for you if you have reached an agreement with the other parent of your children and you need our assistance documenting and formalising that agreement.

Parenting negotiations

This product is for you if you need our expert assistance negotiating future parenting arrangements with your spouse and/or their legal representatives. You may have:

• Poor communication with the other parent

• Concerns about other parent’s parenting skills

• Concerns the other parent is attempting to alienate the children from you

• A belief that the arrangements the other parent seeks are not in your children’s best interests.

Parenting court disputes 

This product is for you if your child-focused attempts to resolve parenting arrangements are unsuccessful because the other parent has no parental insight and is emotionally abusive to your children. This is often because they:

• Are a narcissist who is very controlling and puts their interests before the children

• Are a hysterical, obsessive parent who believes it is their right to unilaterally make important decisions about the children and shut you out

• Have mental health problems

• Are an alcoholic or have other drug dependencies that put the children at risk

• Believe your children should be directly involved in adult disputes

• Lean on your children to meet their own emotional needs

• Are physically abusive

• Are attempting to alienate the children from you

• Are recalcitrant and difficult.

We have had significant success achieving child-focused arrangements involving narcissistic and unstable parents without court proceedings. However, court proceedings may be necessary to control the other parent to protect the interests of your child.

We use the court to help control your narcissistic or unstable spouse when needed, but our objective is to always resolve parenting arrangements quickly and exit the court system without the need for a final trial.

That said, there are specific parental issues that need a court’s determination. These include, but are not limited to:

• Recovery applications – You need to bring this urgent application if the other parent has disappeared with your children or relocated with them without your consent.

• Relocation – If you or the other parent seek to move from your respective current residence to another state, country or a significant distance which impacts on the other parent’s ability to spend time with your children and you cannot reach an agreement in relation to this issue with the other parent.

• Surname – If you or the other parent seeks to change your child’s surname and you cannot agree.

• Schooling – If you and the other parent cannot agree on where your children should attend school.

• Overseas travel – If you and the other parent cannot agree on overseas travel arrangements.

• Residence/time – If you and your spouse cannot agree on the time the children spend with you.