The Family Matters Show

Ben and Heather speak to the Practice Specialist (Counselling) at Relationships Australia NSW about how to know if your relationship is salvageable. Sandra is a psychologist with a Masters in Couple and Family Therapy and years of experience in relationship counselling. She helps tease out answers to the following questions.

1. If someone has started thinking about separation but hasn't yet spoken to their partner, what's...

Ben and Heather have their eighth session answering questions from the Coffs Coast community - and there were some good ones this time.  Here are the topics covered:

1. Can I get divorced in Australia if I married in another country?
2. When does a de facto relationship (same-sex or heterosexual) begin from a legal perspective?
3. Does the Family Court ever award costs to one partner if the other is being unreasonable?
4. How will a...

While the overall divorce rate in Australia is declining, there is an upward trend in divorce in couples over 50.  Ben and Heather talk about this phenomenon on this podcast and some of the unique complications that arise when calling quits on a long term relationship.

Topics covered include:

1. Why the divorce rate is rising for older Australians.
2. Dividing assets at the end of a long term relationship, including
3. How the Court...

Ben and Heather welcome special guest forensic psychologist Dr Robert Simon from San Diego California to talk about resist/refuse behaviour in children, including the heated subject of parental alienation.  Dr Simon is a specialist in child custody matters in the United States and is renowned for his expertise in parent/child contact problems.  He provides an excellent overview of the most common reasons for resist/refuse behaviour...

Ben and Heather have put together a "top 10" list of mistakes people make when it comes to child custody disputes.  In this episode they explain why each of these is a mistake and what you could consider doing instead.

1. Bad-mouthing the other parent – especially in front of your child.
2. Trying to make your child feel sorry for you.
3. Refusing to communicate with the other parent.
4. Denying the other parent access to ...

In this episode Ben and Heather are joined by barrister Rhys O'Brien, a specialist in complex family law matters, to talk about how the Court deals with Domestic Violence (Family Violence).  They cover a wide range of topics, including the following:

• The difference between how a Family Law Court and a Criminal Court view domestic violence.
• Apprended Violence Orders (AVOs)
• Does there need to be an AVO in place before th...

This month Ben and Heather addressed a wide array of family law questions from the community, touching on a number of common issues faced by people going through divorce and separation.

The questions included:

1. Medical Court Orders: I have court orders giving me sole parental responsibility for my child's medical matters, but the medical centre is still allowing my ex to make decisions.  What should I do?
2. Passport Applica...

On this episode, Ben and Heather were joined by The Honourable Colin Forrest.  Now retired from the Family Court, Colin now handles mediation and arbitration in family law.  We spoke to him about the delicate subject of managing power imbalances, and potentially domestic violence situations, in mediation and arbitration sessions.  Our discussions covered the following subjects:

1. The difference between mediation and arbitration...

On this episode, Ben and Heather are joined by two special guests to discuss the growth of specialist Indigenous family courts, known as Indigenous List.  Retired Federal Circuit Court Judge Robyn Sexton started the very first Indigenous List in Sydney in 2014.  Rick Welsh is proud Murrawarri man and coordinator of The Shed suicide prevention centre focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  These two worked together...

On this episode, Ben and Heather discuss Wills and estate planning, bringing our attention to the many things that can go wrong if you fail to keep your Will and estate plan up to date with your life circumstances, particularly following a family breakdown. They discuss the following questions and scenarios:

1/ What happens if you die without a Will?

2/ What happens if you have children from your first marriage, remarry and do...

This month, Ben and Heather were joined by experienced  clinical psychologist Warwick McClelland to talk about divorce and separation when children with special needs are involved.  Topics covered include:

• Talking to children with neurodiversity about divorce and separation.
• Types of living arrangements post-divorce that work best for children with special needs.
• How the Family Court decides parenting arrangements for fami...

This month, Ben and Heather delved into the topic of de facto relationships, answering the following questions:

1. What is a de facto relationship?
2. How long do you have to live together to be in a de facto relationship?
3. How does the law decide when the de facto relationship starts and ends?
4. What does the Court consider when deciding if a de facto relationship exists?
5. Is it possible to be in a de facto relationship and not b...

Property settlement is one of the first things that separating couples need to deal with, and often one of the most emotional.  In this episode, Ben and Heather answer the top six most commonly asked questions on property settlement.  Over the years Ben and Heather have dealt with so many questions about property settlement, both in their practice and through the podcast.  They have whittled down those questions to the 6 most frequ...

Ben and Heather discuss same-sex separation together with clinical psychologist Dr. Catherine Boland.  The founder of Relationspace, a team of skilled professionals helping people going through divorce to better manage their circumstances and protect the psychological health of their children, Catherine is ideally placed to provide insights into the social science side of separation.  While Heather answers the more technically lega...

Ben and Heather welcome Dr Atina Manvelian, a psychologist and clinical scientist. As a postdoctoral researcher at Stony Brook University and Stanford University, she studies how our relationships impact our mental health and conducts research on how we can improve the quality of our relationships. Of particular interest for our listeners is Dr Manvelian's specialty in adjustment following a breakup or divorce. So she is the pe...

This month Ben and Heather addressed a wide array of family law questions from the community, touching on a number of common issues faced by people going through divorce and separation.

The questions included:

1. Starting out: I'm thinking about separating but haven't yet spoken to my partner about it. Is there anything you recommend I do before I speak to my partner?
2. Property settlement timing (myth busting): I don't think I c...

Gemma Rope, solicitor with Bryant McKinnon is our guest host for this episode.  She and Heather welcome psychologist and mediator Anthony Smith to talk about how to make mediation work.  With over 25 years and 2000 mediations under his belt, Anthony calls on his experience to provide tips and advice that will help to realise positive outcomes in family law mediation.

Topics and questions covered include:

1. The ways th...

In family law matters the sale of the family home is often the most difficult and emotional part of the separation process.  And everything is just that much harder in the current environment, with rising interest rates and inflation making the entire market uncertain.

For regional families things are even more opaque, because so much of what we see on social media or television relates to big city real estate markets.  S...