Feeney Family Law in Milton | Lawyer & law firm

Feeney Family Law

Locality: Milton

Phone: +61 7 3876 5516

Address: Level 3 - 159 Coronation Drive, Milton 4064 Milton, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.feeneyfamilylaw.com.au

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25.01.2022 Congratulations to Dr. Fiona Crawford the winner of the QUT Faculty of Law, Feeney Family Law prize for Dispute Resolution for the 2019 academic year.

25.01.2022 Almost all of my friends have perfectionist tendencies. Perfectionists have a special subset of self-doubt called Imposter Syndrome. Still that voice I say!! You know secretly that while everyone was busy no one noticed how...you are (insert own firm self-criticism). Now of course all your. (insert own list) of deficiencies will be on show.... Now two thoughts about this: you are where you are because you NEVER stop worrying about your performance. You always have some level of performance anxiety when you walk into court, stand up to give a paper or do whatever aspects of your work that trips that switch. The other is to constructively think about what makes you feel bad. There is no sophisticated word that says I feel bad about myself like bad. Do you think you can discipline your thoughts to do so? As an overriding caveat on this self-talk management is for me this statement: I blame the nuns. So, when I hear myself think that maybe some future creeping tendency to self-aggrandisement has caused this, I am able to identify that as...the nuns. Then of course the other nun inspired voice tells me I am not that important. As you know it can be exhausting. I can remember once saying to myself about a parenting matter, I cant do this, it is too hard. I then said, Well there isnt anyone else to do it so there isnt any point in saying that even to yourself. I have been onto my self-talk for a long time. I am very firm with it. I dont want to share my quiet time, my time for me with an unpleasant companion. Do you? Who knows the name of the voice inside you that thrives on self-doubt? Can I ask you to be curious about that voice? It would be terrific to be able to point out to that voice right now - you have really important things to think about and are in no mood to listen! It takes practice but you can do it!

25.01.2022 What I really like is weve stopped pretending there arent background noises. I understand the need for gravitas in legal communication, but it is nice that people dont have to hide the sound of birds in the background or a dog barking. Doesnt prevent the thinking being first class, as always.

25.01.2022 At Feeney Family Law we are genuinely interested in our clients wellbeing. Backed with Kay’s years of experience, she and the team are quick to progress forward to resolution with those clients interests in mind.

25.01.2022 Pizza and cake for Ians last day. We wish him all the best as he explores new areas of law. After 4 years at Feeney Family Law we will miss your smiling face Ian so dont forget to visit us.

23.01.2022 Director of Feeney Family Law and one of Australias leading family lawyers, Kay Feeney, was recently interviewed by the Australian about pre-nups, and why they are important. Kay said, There are still women who think its a complete failure if they have to pay their own bills. The marriage ends, and she wants to keep a certain lifestyle. But most people have the capacity to appreciate that if they are marrying somebody who has put a lifes work into an asset pool, maybe it ...is a fair thing not to expect a disproportionate amount of that. The pre-nup is step toward opting out of the Family Court. But its a serious legal document, so my advice? Its not to be done when you are having your last fitting. View the full article here: https://www.theaustralian.com.au//358d20d11a2769a019471448

21.01.2022 The case of Scarffe & Obannon [2020] FamCA 77

19.01.2022 WE HAVE NEWS We are pleased to announce that Alexander North has received his Practicing Certificate from the Queensland Law Society and is now licensed to practice as a solicitor. Alexander was admitted on 1 June 2020. COVID has put a damper on the usual admission festivities and there was no ceremony. Nonetheless, we are celebrating this career milestone with him. Kay has always celebrated shepherding new practitioners into the profession with the gift of a pen and portfoli...o, Alexander was no exception. It is great to welcome another lawyer to the family! Congrats, Alexander

19.01.2022 I am fascinated by self regulation and how to make discipline a thing of joy not scarcity. As a family lawyer I so often watch the slow moving then sped up crash that arises from inability to find joy from your own resources. It is more tangible I think than it is no body elses job to make you happy . It is about noticing! Habits are very necessary to let us maximise output without exhausting ourselves. Creativity and self regulation burn up dopamine in the brain. Habits... do not. Habits are designed to stop us noticing. Gratitude is something we have to hold onto in the habit driven space of relationships. Yes someone puts the bins out every week but please notice. We now talk about triggers. Before you recognise and avoid a trigger you have already done a lot of work. You had to find a situation and not like what you saw, decide to change the situation and find another response. Then you have to decide to apply the change. So much self regulation involved. Incremental changes are heroes too. The noticing the situation might take time. Accepting you dont like what you see might take longer. See what I mean? It is a work in progress. There are many times when we might say to a client pick your battles . Or we encourage them to consider the application of their resources. We are really asking them to notice what has happened and how they want to deal with the situation. That is not disempowering them. It is the opposite. We act on instruction but we have a professional role. It is not counselling to invite them to try on self regulation and see how it feels. Does anyone like acting for a party who has no filter of self regulation? It invites the practitioner to turn off their engagement to self protect. It creates an unsafe work environment for your staff. Of course they do have a filter but they think neither their lawyer nor former partner is worth its application. As I prepare mentally for the new decade of this fabulous job of being a family lawyer I intend to continue my internal and external engagement with self regulation! Kay Feeney

19.01.2022 Case note of Mabb & Mabb and Anor [2020] FamCAFC 18 (31 January 2020): The case of Mabb & Mabb and Anor [2020] is a Full Court decision discussing elements of contribution. This is a case that resulted in property alteration orders including both the husband, the wife and the husbands mother. ...Continue reading

19.01.2022 A clever colleague of mine said he would reread Gone with the Wind this week. I thought of Scarlett OHara saying, After all, tomorrow is another day. There is more to it than that, of course. It is the story of the devastation of a way of life and the qualities that ensured survival. It provides a reflection on the price people will pay to survive.... We have had people fiddle, while Rome burned. Gone with the Wind is full of great quotes for these times. Another is Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them. I am a family lawyer. People are fascinating. This is a fabulous job. When I was a young lawyer doing crime, I heard firm things said like hard facts make bad law, which I understood to mean things go wrong when emotion overrides precedent and law. I am a fan of tuning into your self-talk. The most powerful message you get is the one you give yourself. We are being encouraged to firm up our physical boundaries. Please take a moment to check your emotional ones too.

18.01.2022 In our latest video, Legal Assistant Ian Cheung talks about how our firm continues to facilitate communication with our clients during Covid-19

18.01.2022 The case of Britt & Britt [2019] FamCA 982 (19 December 2019) is a single Family Court Judge Decision of Cleary J.

17.01.2022 I recently submitted my undergraduate honours thesis on the effects of protection orders on judicial decision-making within parenting cases. It has been interesting to compare the difference of the theoretical application of family law through the lens of my thesis and the practical applications while working in the Firm. I am excited to receive feedback on my thesis and how it can be further refined in my future studies. -Lucy

17.01.2022 A brief video of Michael Robson, one of our solicitors, explaining the changes made to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.

17.01.2022 As you begin the working year, a reminder to those in the profession that we have case notes available on our website. Here is one > http://ow.ly/M8ae50CLtji

15.01.2022 The passion for our work shows in the feedback we get from our valued clients. Building relationships and making them feel comfortable allows us to get the best outcomes on their behalf.

15.01.2022 Okay Team Resilience. Next thought. The need to stay match fit is real. We are very used to living under the pump from time pressure. I suspect that pressure might diminish. I am not suggesting there wont be other pressures to replace it, but that one might shift. How to calculate simple or compound interest for maths homework lurks. We may actually develop some day to day expectations that might even have time to become habits.... Return to life say November 2019 style may come as a shock if it returns with a slam. Time pressure may return to replace financial and domestic pressures. What then? What generates the pressure part of time pressure? Your thinking of course. An addiction to the adrenaline surge also plays a part! Many of us gear our time. It is as highly geared the most bullish investor. Every hour is expected to return a maximum. The eventual consequence of that may be burn out or other mental health complexities. Will you want to return to the anxiety churn? How can you start to work on being match fit at a future time? How will you talk to yourself about it? Step one is to please notice the good bits of our new lives in your day. Is there something you would like to retain? If you dont even notice it cant become a goal. So, it is really again the process of listening and noticing, generating a priority and implementing it. this is a clinch for most people.

14.01.2022 Collins v State of Queensland [2020] QSC 154 (5 June 2020)

14.01.2022 Litigation is a word that many have heard but may not fully understand until they are involved with a legal issue of their own. It describes the process of bringing a problem to the court and asking a judge to decide the outcome. It is neither good or bad and it is a tool that helps guarantee a finish line. We have outlined some of the more common types of appearances in this video.

13.01.2022 I have now had two matters where the following occurred: Parties on one occasion consented to an order and on another occasion provided an authority. The outcome was that a Family Report writer spoke to a childs counsellor. The opinion of the counsellor was then recorded in the Family Report and was apparently significant to the outcome and recommendations of the report writer.... That left one party with an expert opinion being expressed but without any rigour in the process by which it was expressed and without a report upon which the expert could be cross-examined. This is not appropriate. A party has a right cross-examine an expert. The counsellor in this case may additionally consider they were not correctly quoted. This practice, while designed to save parties costs, does not in my view produce a workable outcome.

12.01.2022 Feeney Family law is well placed to continue to provide advice and representation during the current uncertainty that confront our community with COVID-19. We can communicate with you by Zoom, Skype, email and telephone as usual.

12.01.2022 We have been fortunate to have Innes with us for a little over two years and he has become an integral part of our team here at Feeney Family Law where he works as a Paralegal. Innes is a current student at Griffith University studying a dual bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Law. He believes in striving to contribute to the best outcomes for clients through engaged and meticulous work.

12.01.2022 Witnessing documents with client safety in mind

11.01.2022 I am interested in how we can drive the direction of a Matter.

11.01.2022 Today we have our Senior Associate Charles Letts talking about working from home as we adapt to working amid Covid-19.

10.01.2022 Is this the time to give up your day job? Is there something that beckons you and it has never been the time to do it? I am very fortunate to have a job that engages me. I have observed that people can be driven by counterintuitive thoughts. We day dream about lying around reading until we are told we cant leave home. One well used phrase is the grass is always greener.... When I was in my twenties, I had a great deal of lower back problems. One very clever orthopaedic surgeon said to me, You didnt want to be a Can Can dancer, you wanted to be a lawyer.. (He did recommend I marry a physiotherapist though. I didnt take that advice.) What a sensible thing to say I thought. He was recognising that people grieve for what has been taken from them even if they didnt want it when they had it. So is this the moment to day dream? Why not? The privacy of the immune compromised has been impacted on. The oversight of vulnerable children by teachers has been lost. In the desire to avoid contamination people are not attending to ordinary health needs. Sounds like daydream time to me. I tend to agree that this need not be the time for self -improvement, unless you need to direct aspirational tendencies somewhere. Cleaning is good but a bit repetitive! So please let today be daydream day. Maybe you did want to be a Can Can dancer. See more

10.01.2022 Happy Birthday Michael

10.01.2022 https://theconversation.com/co-parenting-in-the-time-of-cor This is an excellent article by Donna Cooper. Many parents struggle to co-parent in the best of times. The temptation to be positional in current circumstances seems to overwhelm the good sense of many. The input from the Chief justice is helpful. The police are noting an increase in their engagement in such disputes currently also.

09.01.2022 This latest article discusses the complexity of managing stakeholders while empowering family law clients to adopt a sense of agency.

08.01.2022 We would like to digitally welcome David Marcolin to the Feeney Family Law team as a Solicitor. David has spent several years as an associate to a Judge in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and is well versed in the variety of issues that arise in family law proceedings. David is equipped with an arsenal of distinct appreciation and understanding of the technical rules that apply to family law litigation and has a unique insight of the courts perspective and approach to identifying and resolving issues. His poised eye to navigating the court processes places him in a strategic position to pursue and achieve his clients desired outcomes. Welcome David. It is a pleasure to have you on our team

08.01.2022 I have had the pleasure of working at Feeney Family Law since 2013 in a variety of roles ranging from Administrative Assistant to Office Manager to Solicitor and now, Associate. With a finance and legal background I have found that it has assisted me greatly in advising and guiding clients through the complex process of family law. I have also had the distinct pleasure of donating my time to work as Treasurer of Veterans Care Association, an organisation dedicated to the holistic care of veterans. VCA has a particular focus on the mental health of Veterans and the acute impact of moral injury on Veterans. Michael

08.01.2022 It seems COVID-19 has an enormous impact on the earning capacity of the part-time female worker. This person is the same person with a spousal maintenance claim in many cases. The fact of COVID-19 will produce the incapacity for self-support. It may also reduce the capacity to pay but there are many cases where a spousal maintenance liability will surface where but for COVID-19, it may not have. So far, the issue may well be suppressed by Job Keeper entitlements but once such support tapers off the exposure to a claim will become more apparent for the party in employment and more available to the party without. While the economic impact of COVID-19 may be gendered, the spousal maintenance sections, section 72 for married parties and section 90SF for de facto parties, are not.

07.01.2022 I have been thinking about the cycle of grief. As family lawyers we are used to talking to clients about the idea that maybe their spouse is at a different place in the separation experience and we recognise that people bounce around between stages of grief in short time periods until after either a period of time or assistance at processing or for some other reason they progress through the cycle of grief. Most of us have seen people we think have got stuck somewhere.... Right now, our community is grieving. Some will process that more coherently than others. When we see an image such as people at the beach or the markets and think, "What were they thinking?", maybe we have to recognise there is a stage called denial. Maybe there is some fabulous thinking going on that beaches and markets are healthy. I appreciate that we have all had to be managed to get us to comply. Compliance is made easier if you feel agency in the decisions. That you approve of them. Compliance can be inspired by cognitive process or emotional inclination. If neither have resonated, then we have external authority of course. In amongst the unexpected challenges maybe it just helps to remember that grief is incredibly complex and has its own discrete set of triggers. Keep an eye out for your own!

07.01.2022 An interesting case with significant complexity.

07.01.2022 2020 proved to be challenging for most, however as we move into 2021 our team at Feeney Family Law resolves to make this one more positive and prosperous. Welcome to 2021.

07.01.2022 Today is R U OK Day. That is Australias national day of action to remind one another that every day is the day to ask, Are you OK? Going through the separation is difficult. It is especially important to look after your physical and mental health during this time. ... The following is a list of simple things you can do to ensure you move forward with your life in a productive way: Have a support system of friends and family; Seek professional support when need from a medical practitioner; Enjoy time with your children; Staying healthy with a good diet, exercise and limiting alcohol consumption; Seek social engagements to occupy your downtime; Get outside in nature; and Read positive literature and inspiring films.

06.01.2022 In a recent interview with The Australian, leading Brisbane family lawyer, Kay Feeney cited the importance of being wiser when it comes to marrying a second time. People think, these agreements are about money. But its often about much more than that. It may be the only way a wealthy man will be able to ensure the acceptance by his children of a new partner. Because if a widower is remarrying, the children can be very circumspect. So that is a very good use of an agreeme...nt. Also, most people will not treat their second marriage the same again as they treated their first marriage. The court experience itself is too unpleasant. View the full article here: https://www.theaustralian.com.au//358d20d11a2769a019471448

04.01.2022 Please note our Christmas Hours below.

03.01.2022 Our office car as a metaphor of change. It drove to the bank for trust transfers until we went online. It took us and our clients to court until we stopped going to court. It took us to mediation until we stopped going to them. It took us to conferences with counsel until we invited them to come to us as we had more space than a barristers room.... Just a small metaphor of change. Kay Feeney | Director. Family Law Accredited Specialist

02.01.2022 I had an interesting reminder recently to think about the client’s interests if you don’t seem to be selling your advice. Our client didn’t want some debt included in the pool. Initially that seemed to be a difficult legal position to support.... Then she explained why she thought it should be excluded. She had provided additional unpaid services to the business which in her mind meant the debt should have been able to be paid. It wasn’t about debt. It was about acknowledgement and recognition. We recast the offer to talk about her contributions and it settled by return. Great reminder.

02.01.2022 With tourism ground to a halt, industry experts say Cairns will be one of the regions hardest hit by coronavirus, estimating it is on track to lose $500 million in visitor spending by April.