ephas
15 October 2020
COVID-19 pandemic has put on hold to every activity in today’s world and Australian family law proceedings are no exceptions. There are various roles and resolutions that a change to COVID-19 pandemic and hence a person has to be adept in with those rules.
While the newly updated rules have various impacts on the family law proceeding cases which needs to be understood by the individuals.
If you are someone whose family law proceedings had been going on and now came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic then there are various questions on your mind. What will happen to the preceding? How will I be present in the preceding? What if I get quarantined? And various other things so here are the answers to your question.
What courts have changed to abide by regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
- The courts are available to proceed on an online basis that is electronic. You can be present in the court through electronic mode.
- There is a list of cases which has been created by the courts according to the priority basis and the urgency basis of the cases. According to this list, your case will be formulated and will be processed electronically.
What will happen with the documents that I needed to be filed with during a case?
As the court has shifted on the electronic basis than the document and paperwork will also be shifted through the electronic mode itself. You need to understand the criteria and how to apply for this documentation through electronic portals.
The court portal is the only place where you can submit your documentation through electronic mode, if you are dealing with any kind of problems then you can reach out to the best family lawyers.
Also if you are hiring a solicitor that is a family lawyer then you must hire them online due to safety reasons.
Every process from conferences, to presentations before registrars to assessments by family consultants, will be done electronically.
What will be a major impact on family law proceedings?
These are the stressful times and you will get various questions. So you need to search for help if the stress goes to its extreme. Also, you can reach out to good family lawyers on the Gold Coast.
Then you can start by learning impacts on family law proceedings:
- Talk to the lawyer on call and start by preparing for documents. These documents have a major problem with signing. While now you can sign electronically. If there is some issue, get advice.
- Various financial statements and affidavits would be needed to be prepared so your lawyer can help to get them prepared. Due to the pandemic, it is not possible to do this alone.
- Get soft copies of the documentation as no hard copies would be required to be submitted on-court portals.
- Also due to pandemic, your income may be affected and hence financial statements need to be changed. You can get good concessions from the court in terms of fees. So do learn from a lawyer.
How to help your case during COVID 19 pandemic?
Stop thinking and start learning
This pandemic time has allowed you to think about your case and learn more legalities about it. You can discuss with your lawyer now what can be done better to strengthen the case.
Spend time with yourself and your home so that you can get various important documents that were not available then. Now you have enough time to get whatever is needed.
Research more and more about the case online or offline. Contact with people who had this situation. You will get ideas to have the solution.
This is the time when you can settle out of court when each party wants the case to be resolved immediately. You will save on court fees but do hire a lawyer to proceed smoothly without breaking any legal rules.
Conclusion
Yes, you are quarantined and isolated but that does not mean to build stress and stop major things in your life. You need to be right on track and understand the situation. It may not be possible to keep calm but you can have help. Reach out to family lawyers and be relaxed with the further process. I wish you all the luck that prevails!
About the Author
Gary Mallett serves as an Associate at OMB Solicitors in Gold Coast. He proudly holds years of experience focusing primarily on cases including parenting disputes, financial agreement preparation and advice, property disputes, divorce, child support issues, and domestic violence cases.
