Separated but living under one roof
When a couple separates, they may continue to live in the same home together but no longer as a couple. Many couples tend to live separately during their separation period, however, for some couples, this may not be financially possibly or may make it difficult to fulfill parental duties and other responsibilities.
If a separated couple continues to live in the same home, they may be required to provide additional information to the court as part of their divorce process.
Single Expert Witness
A type of expert witness who can help to resolve an issue or multiple issues in a family law matter. A single expert witness is appointed and instructed by both parties to the matter. The single expert witness provides independent evidence and information to the court. The parties to the matter agree on the issues that the single expert witness is to give an opinion on.
Single expert witnesses can assess and provide opinions on a wide range of family law matters, such as the maturity of children, the relationship of the child involved with each parent, and the capacity of each party to the matter to be able to provide for all of the needs of a child.
Spousal Maintenance
An agreement between former partners where one party to the relationship will provide financial support to the other party after the breakdown of the relationship, usually because they are unable to adequately support themselves. This may occur after the breakdown of a marriage or de facto relationship. Spousal maintenance is not an automatic entitlement.
Spousal maintenance is different to child support and is sometimes referred to as alimony, which is the legal terminology used in the United States of America.
Spouse
The term used to describe a significant other. This is usually used in the context of marriage, however, in de facto relationships, the partners may also be labelled as “spouse”.
Superannuation Splitting Orders
An order made by the Family Court for the superannuation entitlement of one person to be split, with a portion deposited to another person’s superannuation fund. This can happen when a married or de facto couple separates. Superannuation is considered a property of the asset pool in Australia.