International Disputes

We live in an ever shrinking world, which makes Family Law disputes with an international flavour increasingly common.

The most common dispute is when a couple separate and one wishes to take the children back home which may be another country where the whole family comes from or it may be only the home country of the person who wants to move.

A related dispute is where one party takes the children out of Australia or brings them to Australia from another country without the consent of the other party and there is a dispute under the Hague convention (a United Nations convention) about returning the children to their habitual place of residence.

As people may own assets in different countries, questions may arise as to whether an order of the Family Court of Australia can be enforced in another country. Other scenarios may see the Australian resident gaining Australian based assets only; however complications occur when these Australian assets may not constitute a fair proportion of the overall assets located outside Australia.

A question that often arises in these situations is: in which country should property proceedings be taken? It may be fatal to property proceedings in another country if you take divorce proceedings in Australia, which is why it is vital to get legal advice first.

Many countries have reciprocal arrangements so that if a maintenance order or assessment is obtained in one country it can be enforced in another country. Our Family Law team can help you simplify these complex issues and implement the best strategy for you.