An application for Probate or an application for Letters of Administration are both applications where a person asks the Supreme Court for the authority to deal with a deceased estate. Where there is a Will and the person named as executor is applying for authority, an application for Probate is appropriate. Where there [...]

In most Western Australian Courts, a legal costs order will be made in favour of the “winner”. Where a costs order is made, there is a distinction between the costs the “winning” party has spent on their lawyer and the “party-party” costs, usually a lesser amount determined by a costs scale. That scale [...]

As of 1 October 2023, property matters where the value of the assets, or the expected value of the assets, excluding superannuation, are under $500,000.00, will be handled differently. The aim of this is to reduce costs to litigants and reduce the length of time that these matters remain in the Court System. The matters [...]

Under the Inheritance (Family and Dependants Provision) Act 1972, the Court may make provision for certain people from a deceased’s estate in certain circumstances. The Court has this power whether the deceased had a Will and whether the deceased expressly excluded that person from their Will. Where the deceased has a Will, this [...]

The Family Court of WA is a place of last resort. Where parties cannot agree on how to divide their property, one party can apply to the Court for a decision about that division. And while some other processes are available, in high-conflict matters, the Family Court is often the [...]

In Australia, an application to the Court for a divorce is separate from any application about property or children. The Court does not take evidence of fault or blame into account in a divorce application and will grant a divorce provided that the application is served on the other party, [...]

In 2006, changes to the Family Law Act introduced a “presumption of equal parental responsibility.” Parental responsibility refers to the decisions for children relating to their care, welfare, and development. The presumption that this decision-making would be equal meant that there was an expectation that both parents would be participating in those decisions when separated, [...]