Sunshine Coast family law: Pippa Colman’s seven tips to avoid court

Local legal eagle Pippa Colman has seven tips to try and avoid ending up in court after a divorce. Check out her pointers here:

Most people who consult us have a problem with someone they used to love, but now they hate, and that person usually hates them too.

Their first words may be “my wife is a first-class bitch” or “my husband is a violent bastard”.

We explain we cannot produce body parts or help them get revenge.

But we can help them divide their property and their time with their children.

When we have identified the problem, we can help them with solutions; there is always more than one.

We have seven suggestions on how to try and sort things out themselves:

1. First define the problem and brainstorm a few solutions.

2. Invite their former love to meet. Take a friend to sit nearby and intervene if necessary.

Make the meeting in a public place e.g. in a cafe filled with people. Start with “I want to sort out our dispute about…”.

If it is about kids, have a schedule of two weeks – day by day and hour by hour.

If it is a property settlement, please have a list of assets and liabilities and values. Discuss options.

If you don’t like what the other side, then say “I will think about it”.

If you get an agreement, then make notes and each of you sign the page and then see us to document the agreement.

3. If they can’t or won’t talk to the other person, then they can write, define the problem, set out at least one solution and invite a reply.

Divorce can get ugly for plenty of couples. Picture: Stock image

4. Invite them to mediation. About 80 per cent of matters settle via mediation.

Community mediators have low costs, but it takes a long time for an appointment, in comparison to private mediators who have high costs, but will fit you in quickly.

5. And if all this fails, come back and see us.

We follow the court’s pre-action procedures of writing to define the problem and offer our solutions. Often, we have settlement in a few months.

6. We reckon only about 10 per cent of our clients make an application to the court and of those, about 80 per cent are settled by the first court date.

7. We encourage our clients who are in the court system to continue to negotiate, make offers and believe that they and this person they used to love will work out a solution.

Life goes on. No blood is spilt.

Pippa Colman is the founding director of Pippa Colman & Associates Law Practice.