Divorce, Parenting and Property – Legal Insights from Village Family Lawyers

About Divorce, Parenting and Property – Legal Insights from Village Family Lawyers

Divorce, Parenting & Property – Legal Insights from Village Family Lawyers is your go-to source for calm, clear guidance on separation, parenting arrangements, financial settlements, mediation, and more. Hosted by Lauren Wilson, Founder and Director of Village Family Lawyers, each episode unpacks real questions faced by families during major life transitions — with compassion, legal expertise, and a focus on child and family wellbeing. Whether you’re exploring mediation, preparing for court, or trying to understand your rights, this podcast offers practical insights to help you move forward

Publisher

VillageFamilyLawyers

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Jan 2025

Latest episode

24 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

60 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Child Custody in Australia: What Actually Gets Decided

   Who gets the children when parents separate in Australia? There is no rule that children go to one parent, and no preference based on whether you are their mother or their father. Village Family Lawyers explains what is actually decided, and why custody is not the term Australian family law uses for parenting arrangements. This episode covers the two separate questions that replaced it, where a child lives and who makes the significant long-term decisions, and what each of sole custody, joint custodyand full custody usually means when someone says it. It also addresses the belief that keeps people living in a difficult house for months. Moving out does not, by itself, decide where your children live. Calm, plain English, and specific to Australian family law. Key takeaways Custody is not the term Australian family law uses for parenting arrangements. Two separate questionsreplaced it: where a child lives and spends time, and parental responsibility, meaning who makes the significant long-term decisions. Those two do not have to sit with the same parent. A child can live mainly with one parent while both continue making the big decisions together. There is no rule that children go to their mother, and no rule that young children go to one parent. What shapes an arrangement is practical rather than gendered. Since May 2024 there is no presumption of equal shared parental responsibility. There has never been apresumption of equal time in Australia. What changed is that courts are no longer required to consider equal time as a step in the process. Moving out of the family home does not, by itself, decide where children live. A long-running informalarrangement can carry some weight later. Book a free 15-minute DiscoveryOnline Booking : https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/booking-request/ (https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/booking-request/) Call: 1300 413 997 (tel:1300413997) Parenting Arrangements:https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/service/parenting-arrangements/ (https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/service/parenting-arrangements/) Search terms child custody Australia, who gets the children after separation, parenting arrangements Victoria, parentalresponsibility Australia, sole custody Australia, joint custody meaning, does the mother always get the children, custody vs parenting arrangements, family lawyer Mornington Peninsula, village family lawyers

2. 

   24 Sept 2026

   How to Choose a Family Lawyer: Three Things You Can Check

   How do you choose a family lawyer when every practice describes itself in the same language? Village Family Lawyers sets out three things that can actually be verified, and onequestion worth asking that rarely appears on any website. This episode explains what the Law Institute of Victoria's specialist accreditation involves and how it is assessed, why a practice's approach to resolution matters more than its claimto avoid court, and why matching the individual lawyer to the shape of your matter changes the experience of it. It closes on timing, including the points where a conversation tends to be most useful, and what to listen for on a first call. Key takeaways The Law Institute of Victoria runs a specialist accreditation scheme in family law, assessed in three parts: a take-home assignment including a letter of advice and court documents, awritten exam of about three and a half hours, and a simulated client interview. It is assessed by the Law Institute rather than by the practice itself. A lawyer without accreditation is not the wrong choice. The right person for a matter may be whoever's particular experience fits it most closely. Almost every family law website says it tries to keep clients out of court, so the claim itself is not useful. What is underneath it is. A more revealing question is what a practice does when the other side stops engaging, because that is the situation behind a great deal of the delay and cost in family law. Family law is one field but not one job. A parenting matter between two anxious parents has little in common with working out what a discretionary trust means for a property pool. Book a free 15-minute DiscoveryOnline: https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/booking-request/ (https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/booking-request/) Call: 1300 413 997 (tel:1300413997) Meet the team:https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/our-team/ (https://villagefamilylawyers.com.au/our-team/) Search: how to choose a family lawyer, best family lawyer Mornington Peninsula, LIV accredited family law specialist, accredited specialist family law Victoria, questions to ask a family lawyer,family lawyer first consultation, choosing a divorce lawyer Australia, family lawyer Mount Eliza, family lawyer Malvern, village family lawyers

3. 

   21 Aug 2026

   Are Family Trust Assets Included in a Property Settlement?

   Are family trust assets included in a property settlement in Australia? They can be, and the answer has far less to do with ownership than most people expect. Village Family Lawyers explains the two questions family law actually asks: who controls the trust and who benefits from it, and why the distribution history often carries more weight than the trust deed. This episode covers how trusts established before a relationship are treated, what changes when other family members are genuinely involved, what disclosure requires, and why moving assets in anticipation of a settlement tends to cost more than it saves. Key takeaways Family trust assets can form part of a property settlement in Australia. Legal ownership by the trust does not remove them from consideration. The two questions are control and benefit. Control means the practical kind, including who holds the appointor role. Where control and real benefit sit with one party, trust assets may be treated as property available for division. Where control genuinely sits elsewhere, the trust is more likely to be a financial resource, which still affects the outcome. Trusts established before the relationship are not automatically protected. How the trust was used during the relationship carries significant weight. Disclosure extends to trust deeds, financial statements, distribution records and loan accounts. Book a confidential consultation: www.villagefamilylawyers.com.au/booking-request (www.villagefamilylawyers.com.au/booking-request) Call: 1300 413 997 Property Settlement: www.villagefamilylawyers.com.au/service/property-settlement/ (www.villagefamilylawyers.com.au/service/property-settlement/)

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Guest appearances

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