When you and your spouse split up there are many decisions to be made and one of the most important ones is who gets custody of the children, and what will be the visiting rights of the one who doesn’t. Child maintenance must be worked out, along with the care and welfare of the children both in the present and the future.
It is important to do this in a way that is not stressful to the children. Often, children feel guilty when their parents split up, thinking that something they did or said caused it. They feel torn between the two and are devastated that they have to choose between the two people they love most in the world. That is usually the situation, but in the case of violence things will necessarily be different.
If a child is exposed to – sees – violence in the home it can do them a great deal of psychological harm, so it is important to protect them as much as possible. Of course, if they suffer abuse it is essential to remove them from the abusive parent as quickly as possible. No child should be neglected in this regard. If you don’t leave an abusive relationship for your own sake, do it for your children.
You will then need to fill out the Consent Order Application to do with parenting to ensure your child or children remain in a safe environment.
There are two main Consent Order Applications and they are documents pertaining to the care and parenting of children in the event of a breakdown of the relationship and the division of property or maintenance for a spouse after a divorce. A family lawyer can explain this further, or you can research online to find out more about the process.
Consent Order Applications are forms to fill in – online if wished – by which you can get either of the two above mentioned Consent Orders. If you apply online, the Family Court website is the place from which to do it. You will find a great deal of pertinent information there and will be able to follow instructions.
If you apply for a Parenting Consent Order, at the same time you need to fill out and file an Annexure to Proposed Consent Parenting Order. While this may seem simple, it can be confusing, so if you have trouble with it your family lawyer can do it for you. The Family Court is not the only place you can get consent orders from. There is another online form to fill in at the Commonwealth Courts Portal. If you take this route, then there is no need to also fill in an order application from the Family Court.