Do you have children under 16 that don’t live with you anymore due to the break up of your family?  Do you get to see them regularly?  Do you have your Christmas Holidays sorted with your ex partner so that the children will spend quality time with you and your extended family over the holiday season?  Are you able to talk with your ex partner to organise contact time with your children?
If you answered no to all of the above questions, and you miss your children and want to see them for this Christmas, then you need to see your trusted local Family Lawyer and make an application to the Court NOW.

Christmas is a time of wonder and joy and happiness.  It is a time when we turn to the thought of family reunions and quality time with those that we love most.  It is a time of holidays and laughter and sun filled days, a time of religious reflection for some and a refocus of our year in review as we look froward to the coming new year and the promise of brighter and better things.

Christmas, however, has a darker side for many parents that have separated. Some parents can’t let go of their issues with their former spouses and use the children as weapons in a tug of war over their affections and loyalties.  Whether they are silent or not, one thing is certain, they are ALWAYS the victims.  For many women and men, struggling in such situations, Christmas represents bitterness, recrimination, abandonment, grief, and anger.  These feelings can pass on to the children all too readily and those feelings can have serious ramifications for the relationship between the parents and the children in years to come.  

While we understand that the world is not a perfect place and that we can’t all magically fix every broken family, (although we would like to try), we recognise that the courts can play a moderating role in bringing a measure of calm to often very volatile relationships where previously there has been no agreement and much hostility.

The amendments to the Family Law Act uphold the rights of the child to have meaningful relationships with both parents and their extended families.  Christmas is the time of year that these relationships are renewed and strengthened.  It is because we are reminded of them at this time that the Family Court is at it busiest.  The Court is so busy, that every year around mid October, the court enforces a cut off date for filing of children’s matters to be heard prior to Christmas.

If you have children and you want to see them at Christmas.  If you aren’t sure that you will get to see your kids because you can’t get agreement from your ex spouse. If they are not speaking to you or else are being unhelpful or literally blatantly keeping you from having your legally protected right to a meaningful relationship with  your children, then, you need to see your trusted local Family Lawyer NOW.

We can provide you with advice that will allow you time to decide if you need to make and application to the court and to prepare your paperwork in a timely fashion so as to put you best case forward for real and meaningful time with your children, not just for Christmas, but for life.