Valuable advice with a focus on solution-driven mediation, giving you control of the outcome

Gain control through valuable advice
focusing on solution-driven mediation

Mediation and Dispute Resolution

What is this about?

Vanessa Mathews is a nationally accredited FDR Practitioner and Mediator, and trained Parenting Coordinator. She assists families -at all stages of proceedings – to discuss issues in dispute and consider different options, with a focus on their children’s needs.

Vanessa is authorised to issue certificates pursuant to section 60I of the Family Law Act 1975.

How We Can Help

Mediation and Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) can be conducted either in-person or online to provide a safe and comfortable setting for all parties. Different options are available for the sessions, such as a joint in-person session, or a shuttle mode with parties in separate rooms, or wholly online. Parties may be supported by the attendance of their lawyers at FDR and mediation (or availability by telephone).

Obtaining legal advice prior to mediation and FDR is highly recommended.

By focusing on professional and supportive mediation and FDR, we assist you to self-determine co-parenting and/or financial settlement arrangements.

First Steps

If you are seeking early advice about your options or looking to begin a particular process, book a free initial consultation by calling us or filling in our online form.

We’re happy to arrange whichever time and means (in person, telephone, or online) suits you best for this consultation.

Byron Bay Family Law Services

Financial and Parenting Mediation (FDR)

Family Dispute Resolution

Best interests of the child considerations
Same sex parenting
Parental responsibility
Change of circumstance application
Parenting Plans
Parenting Plans
Co-parenting
Relocation

Living and spending time
arrangements
International parenting issues
Varying parenting court orders
Rights of grandparents and others
Referral to FDR during current
court proceedings

Property and Financial Mediation

Division of assets, liabilities and superannuation
High net income and high asset settlement
Spousal maintenance

Binding Financial Agreements – negotiating, enforcing and challenging agreements
Child support, child maintenance,
and adult child maintenance

What is this about?

If you are seeking early advice about your options or looking to begin a particular process, book a free initial consultation by calling us or filling in ouar online form.

We’re happy to arrange whichever time and means (in person, telephone, or online) suits you best for this consultation.

First Steps

Family Dispute Resolution (FDR)
and Mediation allows parties to self-determine parenting plans, spousal maintenance, child support and financial and property settlements – fairly and with respect for each other.

Vanessa Mathews is a nationally accredited FDR Practitioner and Mediator, and trained Parenting Coordinator. She assists families – at all stages of proceedings – to discuss issues in dispute and consider different options, with a focus on their children’s needs.

Vanessa is authorised to issue certificates pursuant to section 60I of the Family Law Act 1975.

How We Can Help

Vanessa will assist you to resolve parenting and property disputes without resorting to court proceedings. If you are partway through proceedings and wish to attempt an early resolution, or are ordered by the court to attend dispute resolution, Vanessa can also facilitate this.

Mediation and Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) can be conducted either in-person or online to provide a safe and comfortable setting for all parties. Different options
are available for the sessions, such as a joint in-person session, or a shuttle mode with parties in separate rooms, or wholly online. Parties may be supported by the attendance of their lawyers at FDR and mediation (or availability by telephone). Obtaining legal advice prior to mediation and FDR is highly recommended.

By focusing on professional and supportive mediation and FDR, we assist you to self-determine co-parenting and/or financial settlement arrangements.

Mathews
Family Law
Services

Financial and Parenting Mediation (FDR)

Family Dispute Resolution

Division of assets, liabilities and superannuation
High net income and high asset settlement
Spousal maintenance

Living and spending time arrangements
International parenting issues
Varying parenting court orders
Rights of grandparents and others
Referral to FDR during current
court proceedings

Property and Financial Mediation

Binding Financial Agreements – negotiating, enforcing and challenging agreements
Child support, child maintenance, and adult child maintenance

Best interests of the child considerations
Same sex parenting
Parental responsibility Employee
entitlements
Relocation
Parenting Plans
Co-parenting
Change of circumstance
application

What is this about?

If you are seeking early advice about your options or looking to begin a particular process, book a free initial consultation by calling us or filling in our online form.
We’re happy to arrange whichever time and means (in person, telephone, or online) suits you best for this consultation.

First Steps

Parenting law covers a diverse and often sensitive range of topics, including; parental responsibility, child’s best interests, same sex parenting, parenting plans, relocation and international parenting issues.
With over 60 years’ combined experience, we understand the importance of giving you options to achieve your parenting goals in a timely manner, while putting your children's best interests first.

How We Can Help

Whatever your family circumstances, Byron Bay Family Law advise and prepare you in all areas of parent and child-related family law issues. We’ll help you reach agreement about parenting arrangements and formalise these with a parenting plan or consent court orders (a written agreement approved by a court).
Alternatively, we can guide you through Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) to negotiate an agreed outcome, without having to go to court. In the event agreements cannot be reached, our experienced litigators will advocate for you and your children in court. Our Parenting Coordination service provides ongoing support with the implementation of complex court orders.

Division of assets, liabilities
and superannuation
High net income and high
asset settlement
Spousal maintenance

Mathews
Family Law
Services

Vanessa is authorised to issue
certificates pursuant to section 60I
of the Family Law Act 1975.

If you are seeking early advice about your options or looking to begin a particular process, book a free initial consultation by calling us or filling in our online form.

Family Dispute Resolution

We’re happy to arrange whichever time and means (in person,
telephone, or online) suits you best for this consultation.

Getting realistic, quality advice early
and knowing where you stand can
minimise stress as well as costs.

Financial and Parenting Mediation (FDR)

Living and spending time
arrangements
International parenting issues
Varying parenting court orders
Rights of grandparents and others
Referral to FDR during current
court proceedings

Best interests of the child
considerations
Same sex parenting
Parental responsibility
Relocation
Parenting Plans
Co-parenting
Change of circumstance
application

Binding Financial Agreements
– negotiating, enforcing and
challenging agreements
Child support, child maintenance,
and adult child maintenance

Property and Financial Mediation

By focusing on professional and supportive mediation and FDR, we assist you to
self-determine co-parenting and/or financial settlement arrangements.

Is Mediation Appropriate For Me?

Who Can Go To Family
Dispute Resolution

I Have Questions ,
I am Not Ready To See A Lawyer

Avoiding Unsuccessful
Mediation

What is Family Dispute Resolutuion?

Many couples facing the end of their marriage feel confused about how to resolve the many issues that come up. Well-meaning friends and relatives might recommend running to an aggressive lawyer who can help you battle it out in court, but I want to use this video to tell you about different ways of solving your problems that can help everyone to feel that they were treated fairly and with respect.

You and your former partner have the ability to choose how you will go about reaching an agreement. Despite what you may have heard from sensational articles in the media or even through friends, most family disagreements in Australia end with a settlement. This means that most people do not go to court to work out child custody issues, property division, or maintenance. They sit down together, sometimes with the help of professionals, and work through the problem.

Mediation is an alternative approach to resolving disagreements. In Australia, it’s frequently used for figuring out property and financial issues, and it’s also used for parenting disputes. Rather than going to court and have a judge determine how best to solve your problems, mediation allows you to control the process and the outcome.

So how does mediation work? A third party neutral and objective person serves as a mediator whose role is to facilitate communication between you and your former partner to help you reach an agreement that you’re both comfortable with. The mediator helps you figure out what your interests are, what your actual needs are, and what is fair to everyone.

Mediation and FDR can occur prior to commencing court proceedings and during court proceedings.

This is a schedule for the children for school vacations, national and religious holidays and day-to-day living. In the ideal, it looks towards the future, so schedules can be created on a yearly basis, with holidays and visitation days switching each year (ie Mom has the children for Christmas in odd years and Dad has them for summer holidays in even years).

Continue Reading | Watch Video

Is Mediation Appropriate For Me?

Who Can Go To Family
Dispute Resolution

I Have Questions ,
I am Not Ready To See A Lawyer

Avoiding Unsuccessful
Mediation

Intervention Orders

www.interventionordersmelbourne.com.au

A Family Violence Intervention Order grants the affected family member experiencing family violence immediate short-term and long-term protection.

We explain what this means and what your options and rights.

Online Divorce Application

www.divorce-online.com.au

For a simple fast and cost effective divorce with minimal fuss we offer a fixed fee standard online divorce application. The fee includes an application for divorce, court filing fees and disbursements.

Unbundled Legal & Mediation

Unbundling breaks up the family lawyer’s role into a number of agreed limited legal services. This empowers the client to select only those legal services that they require and can limit the lawyer’s involvement to a single issue, court or mediation process including:

Advice only
Research only
Drafting letters or court documents
Reviewing client prepared letters and court documents
Negotiation coaching in preparation for mediation or settlement meeting
Negotiating on behalf of the client
Attendance at mediation or court appearance on behalf of the client
Drafting settlement agreements
Providing independent legal advice for financial agreements
This is supported by a written ‘unbundled limited scope engagement /
agreement’ (costs agreement) and fixed fees by agreement.

Transparent Fee Structure

Family law advice is expensive. To assist you, Byron Bay Family Law offers a free initial telephone consultation:

Fixed Fee Services

Intervention Order	1,950 + GST
Online Application for Divorce	895 + GST (+disbursements)
Family Dispute Resolution and Property Mediation
Intake Meeting (per hour)	385 + GST
Joint Session (up to 3 hours)	1,650 + GST
Unbundled Legal and Mediation Service (per hour)	385 + GST

Your initial conference with us is important. It warrants the attention of an accredited family law specialist who will apply their knowledge of the law to the special circumstances of your matter. For this reason we do not offer a ‘free half hour’ service.