Oner Family Law

29/09/2026

I have lost track of the number of times we have had clients coming to us complaining their former partner has come back for a "further" property settlement after having previously finalised an informal property settlement which had not been documented/finalised by way of Consent Orders. The most common example is where the parties had previously sold a property and divided between them the net sale proceeds with no Consent Order. This always happens at a time when the parties were amicable and did not think entering into a legally enforceable property settlement agreement was necessary. The party from whom further property settlement funds are being sought then retains us to try and fix what has now become a mess. This usually always happens when the relationship between the parties has since soured for one reason or another. I cannot stress enough the importance of parties entering into Consent Orders documenting their property settlement, no matter how amicable the relationship is with their former partner. Contact us for more information.

24/09/2026

Acting for a family law client suffering from any type of mental health condition takes understanding and patience. I always remember my first "big" matter some 26 years ago now, where my client suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It was heartbreaking to know my client's parenting case was not going to end well for her given the impact of her condition on her two children, but we obtained the best possible set of parenting Orders we could for her in the circumstances. Her condition meant she was always late by some hours for her appointments with me as she could not get out of the house on time, mainly due to washing and rewashing her hair before she would come to see me. I educated myself on her condition by discussing it with her Psychiatrist and was understanding of why she could not respond to instructions when I needed them, and why she was constantly late for appointments, meaning on many occasions I was waiting for her after hours. Knowing despite being the children's primary carer since birth, she was going to lose primary care of the children at the end of her trial, on "judgment day", I arranged for her Psychiatrist to be present in Court knowing my client would likely be suicidal after the decision was handed down, and I sat next to her and held her hand while judgment was being delivered. Even after her matter was finalised I ensured I stayed in contact with her to make sure she was OK, and we are still in contact as recently as this year. It's easy for us as family lawyers with busy practices dealing with more than one sad/difficult case at a time, to forget how truly difficult a family law matter can be on a client suffering from a mental health condition. Family Lawyers need to keep an eye on their client, and where possible, start a dialogue with the client's Psychologist/Psychiatrist to do as much as the lawyer can to assist with what the client is going through.

Send a message to learn more

18/08/2026

I am very proud to announce that after 2 years of employment, and very hard work at Oner Family Law, our Chloe Absalom has been promoted to the position of Associate. Great work Chloe! An invaluable Oner Family Law team member. We couldn't do it without you:)

09/08/2026

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-06/high-court-win-for-domestic-violence-secret-recording/107006118

While most recordings of private conversations are illegal, the High Court found the recording was allowed because it was necessary to protect the victim's "bodily autonomy and integrity".

26/01/2026

Well this sounds like a mess….

Services Australia has known it was not fully complying with new child support laws since 2019, according to a scathing report released by the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

26/11/2025

At Oner Family Law we provide a free initial consultation for all family law matters. We allow a full hour for a consultation (not 15 or 20 minutes) where the client's matter is discussed in detail. How we charge and estimates of fees moving forward is also explained. Contact us for all your family law needs. We are based in Brisbane, Australia.

Send a message to learn more

18/11/2025

I am seeing a trend of Notice of Intention Letters being sent to the opposing party (whether self-represented or otherwise) by family lawyers (some of them collaborative lawyers) as the very first letter/piece of communication in either a property or parenting matter where urgency is not an issue, and the letter being sent in the first instance is not justified. I find this alarming given family lawyers are already working in a highly emotive jurisdiction, and where sending such a letter without first attempting to amicably resolve the matter does nothing other than escalate the matter to a level of unnecessary hostility and confrontation right from the outset, setting the tone for the rest of the matter. This does nothing to benefit a client. All this does is almost guarantee the matter will take longer to resolve, unnecessarily increases both parties' legal costs, and further damages an already damaged relationship between separated parties. At Oner Family Law our only concern is our clients' best interests, and do our best to resolve matters as quickly and amicably as possible. Of course this is not always possible, but we would never send a Notice of Intention Letter as the first piece of correspondence in any matter unless genuine urgency required us to do so. Contact us for all your family law needs.

Send a message to learn more

11/11/2025

A reminder that the deadline for filing an Application with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for Christmas or December/January school holiday time is Friday 14 November 2025.

Send a message to learn more

11/11/2025

While the allegations do come from both parents, I find it is mostly from the mothers as against the fathers, advising post-separation they want the father to have minimal time, or supervised time with their children because the father is either an alcoholic, or a ma*****na user, and was so prior to separation. In my experience, in the majority of these cases, this is in circumstances where prior to separation, the mother was more than happy to leave the children in the father's sole supervision for extended periods of time, on a regular basis. Post-separation, it is important to reality test the accusing parent as to how seriously the Court is likely to take their accusations into account when determining time arrangements for their children. In my experience, the Court does not usually place much weight on such allegations where the children have been left in the sole care of the accused parent on numerous occasions prior to separation. Reality testing a family law client as to all aspects of their case, whether parenting or financial is important. Contact us for all your family law needs.

Send a message to learn more

22/09/2025

Practitioners should be reminded not all communication between a lawyer and their client is privileged. I was involved in a recent parenting matter where I sought disclosure from the solicitor on the other side as to when he and his Counsel became aware of certain actions taken by their client.

The solicitor refused to advise on the incorrect assumption all communication between solicitor/Counsel and client is privileged. The Judge hearing the matter firmly stated what I was asking for was not privileged. At Oner Family Law we provide thoughtfully considered and strategic advice throughout our matters. Contact us for more information.

Send a message to learn more