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Family Lawyers in Dandenong
Senior family law advice for separations across Dandenong and south-east Melbourne that involve substantial property, a business or company, a family trust, or a parenting dispute that needs careful handling. Our office is on Robinson Street, the same street as the Dandenong registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court.
- Dandenong office50-54 Robinson Street
- Melbourne office552 Lonsdale Street
- Our practiceCommercial and family law
Family law for separations with more at stake
The Dandenong clients who come to us usually share one thing: something in the separation that a standard approach does not handle well. A property pool built over a long relationship. A company or a family business. Wealth held in a trust. Children, and a disagreement about their future that has become hard to resolve.
We advise business owners, professionals and families across the south-east under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The aim is to understand your position fully, protect what matters most to you, and resolve the matter on terms you can live with: by negotiation where that is possible, and in court where it is not.
Identifying, valuing and dividing the pool under the framework in force since June 2025.
Property settlementAn operating business, shares in a company, or a professional practice in the pool.
Business ownersDiscretionary trusts, inherited wealth, and what counts as property and what does not.
Trusts in family lawLarger and structured pools, significant superannuation, and property held overseas.
High-value settlementsBefore, during or after a relationship, drafted to meet the Act's requirements and hold up.
Financial agreementsRelocation, international and high-conflict matters that turn on expert evidence.
On Robinson Street, a short walk from the court
Our Dandenong office is at 50-54 Robinson Street. The Dandenong registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is at 53-55 Robinson Street, on the same street. For clients in the south-east, that means advice close to home and close to the court, with the depth of a Melbourne CBD firm behind it.
Many family law matters resolve without a final hearing, through negotiation, mediation or consent orders. Where proceedings are needed, the court decides where and how a matter is listed. When yours is listed in Dandenong, we are a short walk away.
We act for clients across south-east Melbourne, including
- Dandenong, Dandenong South and Keysborough
- Springvale, Noble Park and Mulgrave
- Berwick, Narre Warren and Cranbourne
- Pakenham, Officer and Clyde
- Rowville, Glen Waverley and Wheelers Hill
- Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula
Pentana Stanton Lawyers, Dandenong
Suite 9 (Level 1)50-54 Robinson Street
Dandenong VIC 3175
Phone: (03) 900 22 800
Email: reception@pstanton.com.au
Meetings are by appointment, in Dandenong or at our Melbourne office at Levels 3 & 5, 552 Lonsdale Street. Initial consultations are confidential.
When the separation includes a business
The south-east is one of Melbourne's great business districts, from the manufacturers and logistics operators of Dandenong South to the builders, trades and medical and professional practices across Casey and Cardinia. When the owner of one of those businesses separates, the business is often the largest asset in the pool, the least liquid, and the hardest to value.
Valuing the business
A business is property to be identified and valued, whichever party it sits with and however it is held. How goodwill is treated, which valuation method is used, and what a buyer would realistically pay can move the outcome more than anything else in the matter.
Family law for business ownersCompanies and trusts
Where the business or the family's wealth is held through a company or a discretionary trust, whether those assets are treated as property or as a financial resource turns on who controls them and who benefits. It is one of the most technical questions in family law.
Trusts and family lawKeeping it trading
A separation should not stop a business paying its staff, its suppliers or its lender. We structure the settlement so the business can keep operating, whether one party keeps it, it is sold, or it is restructured. Where assets are at risk of being moved, we act quickly on urgent injunctions.
High-value property settlementsProperty settlements changed on 10 June 2025
The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) rewrote how property settlements are decided. The changes apply to married and de facto couples, whether the settlement is decided by a court or negotiated outside it. A lot of what is written online about property settlement still describes the old position.
The framework is now in the Act
The steps a court follows are now written into the Family Law Act: identify all property and liabilities, assess each party's contributions, assess each party's current and future circumstances, and make only orders that are just and equitable.
Disclosure is a statutory duty
The duty of full and frank disclosure has moved from the court rules into the Act (s 71B for married couples, s 90RI for de facto couples). It applies once a party is preparing to start proceedings and continues until the matter ends. For a pool built on companies and trusts, that is a lot of documents, and it starts early.
Liabilities and wastage count
Liabilities, and the effect of any material wastage of assets, are now expressly among the matters the court considers. Debt-funded business assets and money spent after separation are squarely in view.
How property settlement works nowTwo deadlines worth knowing now
Married couples must start property or spousal maintenance proceedings within 12 months of the divorce order taking effect (s 44(3)). After that, the court's leave or the other party's consent is needed. Applying for divorce starts this clock, so when you apply is a strategic decision. Separation and divorce
De facto couples must apply within 2 years of the end of the relationship (s 44(5)). Outside that period you need the consent of both parties or the court's leave, which generally means showing that hardship would result if leave were refused. A business valuation, a trust structure and full disclosure all take time, so for a complex pool this is closer than it looks.
A clear, early read on where you stand
Initial consultations are confidential. We will tell you plainly what the realistic outcomes are, what it will take to reach them, and what to do first.
Considered advice at every stage of the matter
Understand the whole position
We start with the full picture: the asset pool, the structures behind it, the parenting arrangements, and the outcome you are working towards. The strategy depends on getting this right.
Build the strategy
We set out the realistic outcomes, the evidence needed to support them, and the path most likely to get you there at the lowest cost and risk. Where disclosure, valuations or expert evidence are needed, we plan for them early.
Resolve it, or run it
We negotiate firmly, and where a matter cannot resolve we run it. Our advocacy is measured and well prepared, focussed on the result rather than the noise.
Trusted on the matters that mattered most
Separations can be painful, messy, expensive and can drag out but Durra and the team were able to walk me through the process and ensure I made my own informed choices. My matter has now been resolved without delay and I am happy with the outcome.
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.
Questions Dandenong clients ask before they engage
Senior family law advice, on Robinson Street.
If your separation involves substantial property, a business, a trust, or a parenting dispute that needs careful handling, arrange a confidential consultation and we will give you a clear read on where you stand.
Prefer the city? See our Melbourne family lawyers at 552 Lonsdale Street.
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