Hi, I'm Guy Gibbons the CEO of Bennett Carroll Solicitors and I've got with me today
Carmel Torney the head of family law for the firm. Carmel, I just wanted to talk about seeing a
family lawyer for the first time is often something confronting  and people often don't know
quite know what to expect. First thing I think people want to know is why they should go see a family lawyer
do they need one,  can they surf the net and work it out themselves?
Carmel: Okay so you can get a lot of general
information on the internet but the
information needs to be personalized
towards you and your unique situation.
At Bennett Carroll we can provide you with
expert family law advice and if you
need representation we can do that for
you as well.
Guy: Okay so when is the best time in the
process to go and see a family lawyer.
Carmel: Well we recommend
that you see a family lawyer at your earliest
opportunity, now that will depend upon
your circumstances. That may be when a
conflict arises about the
about the arrangements for the children, 
it may be when you are thinking about
separating and you want to get advice
about where you go in the separation
process and if you have separated you
may be at the stage where you want to
proceed and negotiate that settlement with your former partner.
Guy: So that
planning even for separation is
important getting that right
Carmel: It is because it may be if you want to
retain the house it may be important
that you stay in the house, it may be
that you need to work out what funds
you're going to have to move out,  what
arrangements is there going to be for
the children.
Guy: So if I were a first-time
client coming into that first
appointment, what should I expect from a
professional lawfirm?
Carmel: Okay so your first
appointment is a lot of information
gathering for the lawyers so they can
give you the advice that you need so you're going to be asked a number of questions likely
from the lawyer, your details so who you , your former
partners details, ages and names of the
children, relationship dates, what's
happened during the relationship what
assets and liabilities, if you're coming
in relation to property matters. A lot of questions but in response
the lawyer will provide you with advice
that will guide you on your way.
Guy: So the
idea of that first appointment certainly
from our point of view would be to make
sure the client understands what the
terrain is in their immediate future, what
options are available to them,  how that
process works and hopefully enough tools
to make the next few decisions as best
they possibly can. Carmel:Yes
So what should clients bring to that
first appointment.
Carmel: Okay so if you've
received any documentation from the
other party such as a letter, any court
documents, you may want to bring a list
of assets and liabilities that you may have,
some notes about what's happened
particularly as some people
find the process quite stressful and
they might not recall important
information so jotting down some notes. The same with questions that you've got to ask
jot down some questions. Some people find it useful to bring a support
person along although that's not
required and we ask for some I.D so
bring your driver's license along. Guy: Okay that's great, thanks Carmel, that hopefully will give people a bit of an
overview of what's likely to happen when
they do need to get some advice and how that first appointment goes.
If you want any more information on
this topic or anything related to family
law go to the Bennett Carroll Website which is bcglaw.com.au and we've
got heap of information there, all of our r
lawyers and Carmel are happy to help you
with any of those issues, give us a call
or jump on the website.
