Registrations are now open for the 3rd annual Reflections in Law Conference to be held 7-9 March 2024 at the Crowne Plaza hotel in the beautiful beachside location of Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast. Reflections in Law has become recognised as one of the leading family law conferences with a focus on bringing together some of the luminaries in family law to share their knowledge and experience on a wide variety of topics.  Delegates will also enjoy the opportunity to socialise with their peers in a relaxed environment over the course of the two days and earn 10 CPD points (including man ..read more

Our family law team were recently successful in a Judgement by one of the Federal Circuit Court Judges to enable our client to move interstate with the children.  In this matter we represented a mother who was seeking to move from the Sydney area to rural Victoria with the two children.  The father, who was legally represented, opposed the application for our client to move away and unfortunately the matter required a hearing before the Judge to determine if our client would be granted permission to move or if she would be required to maintain the children’s residence in the Sydney a ..read more

Rafton Family Lawyers successful in arguing for release of the deceased body from the coroner. Kyle McCabe, our senior solicitor and head of our Wills and Estates Team, has recently been successful in an application to the Supreme Court.  In this particular case, our client had consulted us after a dispute arose as to who would be appointed next of kin for the purpose of liaising and making arrangements for release of a body from the coroner after the death of a parent.  Unfortunately, when Police attended after being notified they incorrectly listed an ex defacto partner as the next ..read more

When a loved one passes away, one of the unpleasant but necessary tasks that falls to the bereaved is to carry out their wishes as laid out in their will. Typically, a person’s will would name a trusted person to be the executor thereof, tasking them with ensuring that the will is carried out to the letter. While executing a will can be a big job, one can be thankful that there is a valid will in place at all, as the alternative would involve trying to administer an intestate death, which is significantly more complex and difficult. Your Rights And Responsibilities If you have been appointed e ..read more

Rafton Family Lawyers are able to assist with the purchase of new homes and are very pleased to update in relation to the New South Wales Governments Shared Equity Buyer Scheme. The Buyer Scheme has been set up by the Government to assist certain class of persons to enable them to purchase a home.  There are eligibility guidelines in place in relation to the scheme and it is important to obtain advice before proceeding to make an offer for purchase. We also recommend that you speak to a Solicitor from our conveyancing department before proceeding with any contract for sale so we can discu ..read more

When a person passes away, you might reasonably expect their estate to be divided up a certain way, only to find out to your surprise and dismay that their will goes against what you believe to be fair or just. Such an occurrence is more common than you might think. Wills and estates law in New South Wales makes certain allowances for the bereaved to challenge a will in court, although the conditions for such a challenge to be successful are limited and fairly specific.  In general, one’s will cannot be altered after one has died. However, given the right set of circumstances and the will ..read more

What happens is we have a family business, and we are divorcing?   Asset separation and property settlement are an important part of any separation for married or defacto couples. In many cases, couples may be involved in a family business both a small to medium or a larger enterprise.  The family business can be held either in the name of one or other of the parties or in some situations in a partnership arrangement with both parties or in a company arrangement with one or more parties as directors. If one of the parties to a marriage or defacto relationship is not noted on the busi ..read more

As family law practitioners, one of the things that we see all too often is people passing away without drawing up proper wills. Without a will, it can be difficult to determine how your assets should be divided up among your heirs.  It means that your assets will be divided according to what the law says even if that isn’t what you actually wanted. This can cause a lot of pain and heartache among the bereaved and can be the cause of much conflict among those left behind. It could result in a litany of unpleasantness and legal battles, leaving your family to contest the way the estate was ..read more

We are excited to announce the Manager of our RAMP (Rafton Arbitration And Mediation Practice) Maurice Edwards, has been named in Doyles Guide for 2023. Doyle’s Guide is a prestigious peer nominated process where experts and colleagues in the legal arena vote for the outstanding talent each year in specific categories. Maurice has again been named as a leader in the area of Mediations, having also been nominated in this category in 2021. Our entire team congratulates Maurice on this outstanding achievement ..read more

When children grow up in an environment where one parent uses power and control over the other, they can often experience a series of poor outcomes. At times the children may take out their frustration on the victim parent rather than on the perpetrator. How is this explained? Abuse of power and control occurs when the perpetrator makes the victim feel guilty about the children, threatens and abuses the victim in front of their children, threatens to take the children away or uses visits to abuse the other parent or ex-partner. Or, for example, threatens to expose the victims’ sexual preferenc ..read more