Blog

A Surrogacy agreement is becoming more common in today’s society where the definition of a family is becoming more diverse than just the “nuclear family”. The law around surrogacy in Australia is complex and different laws apply in different states and territories. In the ACT, commercial surrogacy agreements (where you...

The Family Law Act was changed a few years ago to allow couples who are in a de facto relationship to have the same rights as married couples with respect to financial matters such as property division and maintenance under the Family Law Act. Legally speaking, de facto couples who...

We recently attended a training session entitled ‘Young children have a lot to tell us about themselves.’ This session focused on children and the ways in which they can communicate their views. This is particularly important when it comes to making arrangements for children after a separation. The training session,...

Director Ann Northcote revisits her article ‘Litigating the clever way’. Family law disputes often involve situations where one party needs a resolution more than the other. For example, if the wife has moved out of the former matrimonial home and she is now renting her own place, whereas the husband has...

The ACT Law Society have written to me telling me that this month sees the 40th anniversary of my admission to practice and of my holding a Practicing Certificate continuously for that period. This month also saw the 20th anniversary of the founding of Farrar Gesini Dunn. Apart from making...

This year Farrar Gesini Dunn celebrates 20 years! FGD was founded in 1995 by partners Denis Farrar, Olivia Gesini and Jim Dunn and paralegal Ann Northcote (who is also now a partner). A lot has changed in 20 years, but what hasn’t changed is our commitment to our clients and...

Read a joke this morning. Joke was: Marriage is hard, man. Marriage is so hard that Nelson Mandela got a divorce. Nelson Mandela, dude spent 27 years getting tortured and beaten everyday of his life. 27 straight years. He gets out of jail, spends 6 months with his Wife and...

Recently Farrar Gesini Dunn sponsored a Law week event hosted by the Women’s Legal Centre which focussed on Domestic Violence. The keynote speaker was 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, whose son was tragically killed by his father. I have to admit, in my experience, this is true. If...

The High Court has said “lack of legal knowledge is a misfortune, not a privilege”. The Family Law Courts and the staff of those courts give people who represent themselves the maximum assistance they can, but the courts have an obligation to be impartial. There is only so much that...

Separation is not a topic you want to think about when you’re young and in love and starting your life with your significant other. However, it is a sad reality that sometimes things just don’t work out. Hearing a term such as ‘property settlement’ or ‘parenting order’, you may think...

Farrar Gesini Dunn and Certus Law have together built great new premises which will enable us to enjoy the benefits of being located on the same floor and remaining secure and independent from one another. We changed the way we work. Its called Activity Based Working (ABW) and there’s no...

My colleagues will be surprised I’m writing about Gough Whitlam but as politicians go he’s pretty universally appreciated and one reason for that is the Family Law Act.