Parenting & Child
Custody Lawyers
Gold Coast
We support parents through custody arrangements, parenting plans, and court orders with your child’s best interests at the centre.
Child Custody Lawyers in Gold Coast
We’ll help you put your kids first
A relationship breakdown is already difficult. Not only are you working through the upset of the end of the relationship, but you’re also having to consider new living arrangements and how to divide your assets and property. And on top of this, if you have children, you also need to be thinking about child custody and looking after the best interests of your children. To help you through these difficult times, you need a family lawyer in Gold Coast that is well versed in parenting and children matters. This is especially critical if both parents cannot seem to arrive at a single agreement.
That’s where we come in. We are Family Lawyers specialising in Child Custody with plenty of experience in handling all types of child custody matters. Our Sydney child custody lawyers can help you to understand what is reasonable under the law and what your choices are for you and your children. Through our honest communication, practical support, and expert family law advice we can help you achieve the best outcome for you and your children. Learn More >>
What you can expect from our Gold Coast Child Custody Lawyers
When you engage us as your child custody lawyers, we’ll aim to:
- Understand your circumstances and what matters to you
- Prioritise your children’s needs
- Anticipate any issues or concerns
- Give practical advice and strategies
- Communicate with you regularly and clearly
Our professional duties are crucial to ensuring the best possible outcome for you and your children. We will honour those duties by:
- Respecting your confidentiality
- Acting in your best interests
- Representing you with skill and expertise
- Acting with honesty and integrity
- Giving you written information about our costs
Free first consultation For Your Child Custody Matters
Finding the right family lawyer is a personal choice. Just because your friend recommended a lawyer doesn’t mean they’re a good fit for you. It may not be anything you can pinpoint; perhaps it’s simply a lack of connection.Why?
Because not all personalities are compatible. Not everyone gets along.
Yet, you need to trust your lawyer completely. You need to feel like they’re listening to you and that they’ve understood your circumstances and concerns. You want them to focus on what’s important to you and be honest about what’s achievable. And their advice should be practical and considered.
For these reasons, we offer a no-obligation, free first consultation to all new clients. It’s an opportunity to meet your lawyer and assess whether they’re a good fit for you before making a financial commitment.
Want to know more?
Best Child Custody Lawyers in Gold Coast
With a close-knit team of expert lawyers and outstanding support staff, we deliver leading child custody legal services to our clients in Gold Coast and Queensland. We know that our services are most effective when you feel:
- Supported
- Believed
- Empowered
- Heard
- Valued
- Informed
So, we strive to ensure you experience all these things with every communication. That’s why we’ll always aim to be known as the best child custody lawyers in Sydney and New South Wales. Even better, we have lawyers fluent in Arabic, Mandarin, Lebanese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. This is just one example of our commitment to excellent communication.
Our Child Custody Law Services
Typically, our services include:
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600+
5 Star Reviews and Thousands of Lives Transformed
At Unified Lawyers, results matter because they matter to you. We’ve helped more than 8000+ clients across Australia resolve their family law matters with care and expertise.
Tsharna Kecek
I cannot recommend Unified Lawyers highly enough, especially the exceptional service provided by Shelley Scott. From our very first meeting, Shelley exhibited an impressive level of professionalism and legal knowledge that reassured me that I was in excellent hands. Shelley approached every step of the process with kindness and compassion. She took the time to listen to my concerns and provided thoughtful guidance, ensuring that I felt supported throughout my journey. Her consideration for my situation made a challenging experience much more manageable.
Allysha Webber
Anushka Pokharel (Associate) provided incredible legal guidance throughout my lengthy legal proceeding. Anushka also went above & beyond with communication, never failing to keep me updated on every facet of progress of my case. I highly recommend Anushka & Unified Lawyers to anyone seeking high level, consistent legal guidance.
Paul Glynn
I can’t thank Lauren Spence enough for the outstanding support and expertise during a very difficult period of my life. Going through a child custody battle with my ex-partner was already stressful, and the thought of ending up in court was overwhelming—both emotionally and financially. Lauren guided me through the mediation process with calm professionalism, clear advice, and genuine care. The best part? We completely avoided court, saved a huge amount in legal costs and time, and were able to move forward much sooner than I ever expected. Lauren was always responsive, patient when I needed reassurance, and incredibly effective at keeping things on track.
John Pierre Saliba
I had an excellent experience with Unified Lawyers. Their team provided outstanding service, clear communication, and strong representation throughout my family law matter. They were professional, supportive, and genuinely cared about achieving the best outcome for me. I highly recommend Unified Lawyers to anyone seeking expert and reliable family law advice.
Jane Sayabath
Alex was an absolute pillar of support throughout. From the very beginning, he had an incredible ability to remove the emotion from the situation and provide calm, clear, and strategic Family Law advice. When everything felt overwhelming, he helped break things down into manageable steps and gave me a practical plan to move forward with confidence. What stood out most was his balanced approach, yet focused and outcome driven. He never dismissed how I was feeling, but he ensured decisions were guided by logic, strategy, and the bigger picture. That clarity made all the difference.
Ben Abbott
Jessica adamovich did an amazing job to get my little boy back to Sydney . Happiness restored ! And was always respectful and mindful around delicate situations and feelings
Tsharna Kecek
I cannot recommend Unified Lawyers highly enough, especially the exceptional service provided by Shelley Scott. From our very first meeting, Shelley exhibited an impressive level of professionalism and legal knowledge that reassured me that I was in excellent hands. Shelley approached every step of the process with kindness and compassion. She took the time to listen to my concerns and provided thoughtful guidance, ensuring that I felt supported throughout my journey. Her consideration for my situation made a challenging experience much more manageable.
Allysha Webber
Anushka Pokharel (Associate) provided incredible legal guidance throughout my lengthy legal proceeding. Anushka also went above & beyond with communication, never failing to keep me updated on every facet of progress of my case. I highly recommend Anushka & Unified Lawyers to anyone seeking high level, consistent legal guidance.
Paul Glynn
I can’t thank Lauren Spence enough for the outstanding support and expertise during a very difficult period of my life. Going through a child custody battle with my ex-partner was already stressful, and the thought of ending up in court was overwhelming—both emotionally and financially. Lauren guided me through the mediation process with calm professionalism, clear advice, and genuine care. The best part? We completely avoided court, saved a huge amount in legal costs and time, and were able to move forward much sooner than I ever expected. Lauren was always responsive, patient when I needed reassurance, and incredibly effective at keeping things on track.
John Pierre Saliba
I had an excellent experience with Unified Lawyers. Their team provided outstanding service, clear communication, and strong representation throughout my family law matter. They were professional, supportive, and genuinely cared about achieving the best outcome for me. I highly recommend Unified Lawyers to anyone seeking expert and reliable family law advice.
Jane Sayabath
Alex was an absolute pillar of support throughout. From the very beginning, he had an incredible ability to remove the emotion from the situation and provide calm, clear, and strategic Family Law advice. When everything felt overwhelming, he helped break things down into manageable steps and gave me a practical plan to move forward with confidence. What stood out most was his balanced approach, yet focused and outcome driven. He never dismissed how I was feeling, but he ensured decisions were guided by logic, strategy, and the bigger picture. That clarity made all the difference.
Ben Abbott
Jessica adamovich did an amazing job to get my little boy back to Sydney . Happiness restored ! And was always respectful and mindful around delicate situations and feelings
Affordable child custody lawyers in Gold Coast
Parenting decisions significantly impact your children, so it’s important to find legal assistance to help make arrangements that can work in your circumstances. When managed with skill, legal assistance can help improve your kids’ wellbeing and make your family’s future feel more certain. Of course, not all lawyers will be the right fit, so you must find a family lawyer with expertise in child custody. However, if money is tight, we understand that instructing a lawyer can be an enormous financial commitment.
There are some key questions to consider when it comes to legal expenses. For example, what exactly will be billed? What is your lawyer’s hourly rate? Can your lawyer estimate their legal fees? To help you feel more confident about engaging our services, we use billing methods different from other law firms. For example, we won’t bill you for:
- Short phone calls
- Faxes
- Printing
- Postage
We’ve created our billing system to fit each matter, and for further flexibility, we’ve designed various billing models:
1
Event billing
We bill you whenever there’s a specific event, which we identify in our costs agreement with you. You’ll have upfront knowledge of our fees and the events or milestones that will prompt us to send you a bill.
2
Time interval billing
We calculate costs on time spent, which is usually an hourly rate. You’ll have advance notice of our hourly rates, and we will give you a cost estimate.
3
Fixed-rate fees
We’ll give you an up-front quote before we start working on a task, and we’ll charge that amount regardless of the amount of time it takes us to complete the work.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Custody Gold Coast
What are the differences between child custody, contact, and parenting arrangements?
Child custody and contact are terms that were used in the past. They described how children would divide their time between their parents who had separated or divorced, usually referring to living and visiting arrangements. Now, the term parenting arrangements is used. It describes children’s living and visiting arrangements and agreements.
However, on this page, we continue to use the term child custody because we have found that most people generally understand it.
To learn more, see our information about access to children and parenting arrangements.
What is the meaning of "the best interests of the child?"
In any family law matters concerning children, the most crucial consideration is that all decisions are made in their best interests. It means that parents are expected to focus on their children’s wellbeing rather than on the issues that have led to the breakdown of their relationship.
The concept of children’s best interests is based on the need to protect their rights and promote their welfare, allowing them to reach their full potential. In family law, these two key considerations are often expressed as:
1.The children’s right to have meaningful relationships with both parents
2.The children’s right to be protected from harm, including abuse, neglect, or violence
When working out children’s best interests, Australian family laws require that a court must consider a range of factors, including:
· The children’s wishes
· The nature of their relationship with both parents and other significant people
· How a change of circumstances will impact the children
· Each parent’s ability to meet the children’s needs
· The age, lifestyle, culture, and traditions of the children
· The risk of harm to the children
What are the other basic principles behind child custody (parenting) arrangements?
As a starting point, Australian family law says that there are three basic principles when making parenting arrangements:
1.The parents should share the parenting responsibilities equally
2.The parents should try and make parenting arrangements without going to court
3.The parents are both responsible for the child until the child is 18 years old
However, many factors may influence whether these principles can be applied in particular circumstances, for example, the child’s safety, whether there’s family violence and what’s in the child’s best interests.
What is a parenting plan?
A parenting plan is a written agreement you make with your former partner about parenting arrangements for your children. It’s up to you and your former partner to decide what should be included, for example:
· Where the children will live
· How the children will divide their time
· Where they will go to school
· Who will pay for what
· Arrangements for occasions such as birthdays
· Medical care
The parenting plan isn’t legally enforceable unless you ask a court to make orders based on the plan (consent orders). However, it’s a valuable record of your agreement with the other parent.
For more information about parenting plans, see our article on Access to Children and Parenting Agreements.
What is considered when making child custody (parenting) arrangements?
When making parenting arrangements, what is taken into account will depend on your circumstances, for example:
· Location of your children’s school
· Your children’s activities, including out-of-school activities
· Care requirements
· Medical treatment requirements
· How you share the financial responsibility with the other parent
· How you communicate with the other parent
· The children’s wishes (if they are older)
Get in touch to learn more about parenting arrangements.
How will a child custody dispute affect me?
If you and your former partner can’t agree on parenting arrangements, you may need to apply to a court to make parenting orders. If there’s a dispute about what orders the court should make, there will be a hearing (known as a trial) at which both parties can provide evidence. Evidence can include testimony from witnesses and various documents (including expert reports, emails, photographs, text messages and social media activity).
If you’re thinking about taking legal action, we recommend that you consider the following:
- It takes a long time for a custody issue to get to trial. In some cases, it can take years. While waiting for your trial date, the court may hold several minor hearings to check progress. If you have lawyers, they usually attend these hearings on your behalf. Your lawyers will also put much time and effort into preparing for the trial. It means that custody cases can be expensive – often costing each party tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees – so you need to consider the time and financial cost of going to trial
- When you start a child custody legal action, you may have to produce all documents or other evidence relevant to your case. Also, you may be required to answer questions or give reasons for your decisions, even if they don’t help your case
- Court cases are often stressful, which can impact you and your children
- Taking legal action means the court is asked to decide what happens to your children. You won’t have control over the decision, and in most cases, you will have to accept the outcome
- Depending on the ages of your children, you may have to deal with the other parent for many more years. Maintaining a good long-term relationship is often easier if you can reach an agreement without going to court
For more information, see our Australian Parenting Orders Guide.
Our Gold Coast Office
Our family lawyers in the Gold Coast are available to meet at our conveniently located Surfers Paradise office, situated at Level 13, 50 Cavill Avenue. The office is only a short drive from the Southport Magistrates Court and the Southport Courthouse, making it an ideal location for clients attending court hearings or legal appointments.
The office is easily accessible by public transport, with the Cavill Avenue Light Rail Station just moments away and regular Translink bus services operating throughout Surfers Paradise.
If you’re driving, there are multiple parking options available nearby, including Bruce Bishop Car Park and Secure Parking at Hilton Surfers Paradise, both within walking distance of our building.
In addition to our Surfers Paradise office, our family lawyers also meet with clients in Brisbane.