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Divorce Lawyers in Melbourne
Divorce is the administrative part. It ends the marriage, and it divides nothing. What it does do is start a 12-month deadline to bring your property settlement, and for anyone with a business, a trust or a professional practice in the pool, 12 months is not long. We advise on the sequencing as much as the paperwork.
Two separate matters, and only one of them is a form
Divorce in Australia is federal, no-fault and, on its own, close to procedural. The court does not ask why the marriage ended. It asks whether you have been separated for 12 months, and whether proper arrangements are in place for any children under 18.
Almost everything people actually worry about sits outside that application. The house, the company, the trust, the self-managed fund, superannuation, the practice, who the children live with. None of it is resolved by the divorce order, and none of it happens automatically.
We act for clients whose separation involves real financial complexity, in Melbourne and Dandenong, on the settlement and the sequencing rather than the form alone.
Eligibility, the 12-month rule, children arrangements, and when to file.
Establishing it, and proving it where you separated under one roof.
Identifying the pool, valuing it, and dividing it before the clock runs.
Companies, discretionary trusts, practices and self-managed funds.
Care arrangements, whether by agreement or by court order.
Binding agreements that settle the finances without litigating them.
The divorce order starts a clock most people do not know is running
A divorce order takes effect one month and one day after the court makes it (Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), s 55(1)(a)). From that moment you have 12 months to bring proceedings for a property settlement or spousal maintenance. After that, you need the court's permission or the other party's consent (s 44(3)).
For a straightforward pool of a house and two superannuation accounts, 12 months is generous. For the clients we act for it often is not. A single company valuation can take months. A discretionary trust may need to be unpicked before anyone can say what is even in the pool. Full and frank disclosure across entities takes time, and it takes longer when the other side is slow.
Divorce does not divide anything. It ends the marriage and starts the deadline for dividing everything else.
None of which means delay the divorce. It means decide when to file with the settlement in view, rather than treating the two as unrelated. That decision is worth having before you lodge, not after.
The 12-month deadline
Property and spousal maintenance proceedings must be brought within 12 months of the divorce taking effect. Outside that window you are asking permission rather than exercising a right, and permission is not guaranteed.
What divorce does not do
It does not divide property, transfer the house, split superannuation, deal with the company or settle parenting. It does not even require any of that to be resolved first, beyond arrangements for children under 18.
Sequencing
You do not have to be divorced to settle the property, and you do not have to settle the property to be divorced. Which comes first is a strategic choice, and for complex pools it is usually the more important one.
Settlement first, paperwork second
Fix the separation date
Everything counts from it: eligibility to apply, and often the shape of the pool. It is rarely disputed in a clean separation and frequently disputed where one party stayed in the house, so we establish it and evidence it early rather than assuming it.
Know the pool before the clock starts
Companies, trusts, practices and funds take time to identify and value properly, and the answer changes what a fair settlement looks like. We would rather do that work while there is no deadline than compress it into the 12 months after a divorce order.
Choose the order of events
Sometimes filing for divorce promptly is right. Sometimes settling the finances first, or documenting them in a binding agreement, puts you in a materially better position. That is a decision to make deliberately, with the numbers in front of you.
When separation is also a financial restructure
The divorce is the same for everyone. What differs is what has to be untangled alongside it.
Business owners
A separation that touches a trading business affects staff, co-owners and cash flow, not just the couple. Valuation, control and whether the business survives the settlement are the real questions.
Family law for business ownersTrusts and structures
Discretionary trusts, corporate trustees and self-managed funds sit awkwardly between what someone owns and what they control, and that distinction decides whether an asset is in the pool at all.
Trusts and family lawSubstantial asset pools
Multiple properties, investments, inherited wealth and long marriages where contributions are genuinely hard to separate. Detail and disclosure decide these, not argument.
High net worth settlementsA clear read before you file
Initial consultations are confidential and run by senior practitioners. If you are considering separating, or have separated and not yet applied, the most useful conversation is the one before the application goes in.
Book a consultationSeparated under one roof
You can be separated while still living in the same home. The Act says so expressly: parties may be held to have separated even though they continued to reside in the same residence, or one continued to render some household services to the other (s 49(2)). Staying put for the children, or because neither party can afford to move, does not stop the 12 months running.
It does change what the court needs. Separation under one roof has to be evidenced rather than asserted, which is straightforward if you plan for it and awkward if you do not. See property settlement.
De facto separations
There is no divorce to apply for, and the financial entitlements are broadly the same, but the timing works differently. There is no 12-month separation period to wait out and no divorce order to start the clock, so the deadline for bringing a property application runs from the breakdown of the relationship itself.
That catches people out in the opposite direction: nothing formal marks the start, so the time limit passes quietly. See division of assets and binding financial agreements.
Trusted on the matters that mattered most
Pentana Stanton are definitely the best lawyers to represent you in court. I was often distressed about my matter but they always showed compassion and tried to support me in the best way possible. Penny always fought for me even though my custody dispute was a difficult one.
After speaking to many law firms, I felt that getting legal help was not for me. But my view completely changed after speaking with Special Counsel Peter Wood. He was knowledgeable, generous, kind, and genuinely caring.
Highly professional, compassionate staff with a high level of knowledge and competence. Reliable, reassuring and there when you need them. Highly recommend.
Divorce questions, current to 2026
Last reviewed July 2026. Section references are to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which applies nationally. Divorce and family law matters are dealt with by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Before you file, not after.
Whether you are considering separating or have separated and not yet applied, the most valuable advice comes before the application goes in, while the timing is still yours to choose. Arrange a consultation and we will give you a clear read on the settlement and the sequencing together.
See also: Family Lawyers in Melbourne, Property Settlement, High Net Worth Settlements, Binding Financial Agreements, Parenting & Custody, Family Dispute Resolution.
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