Legal – things you should know about when you separate

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW WHEN YOU SEPARATE

For some people, relationship breakdown and separation can be sudden and unexpected. That trauma can trigger a very human ‘fight or flight’ response. In those moments it is normal to feel quite paralysed, unable to decide what to do.What should be done, even when the mind goes blank?

Between BGM Legal Directors, Kate Graham, Orlena Moloney and Dan Bottrell, there is over 50 years’ experience at the coalface of family law. BGM has converted that experience to an e-book, ‘Things You Should Know When You Separate’ for its clients, and the wider community. It sets out 10 things which people can be thinking about to navigate through the immediate post-separation period and beyond. After you have downloaded the e-book, here is an additional list of practical tips which you can get started on immediately, as isolated by BGM’s directors, based on their experience in helping people through separation and divorce:

1. Secure communications.

You will be needing support, both emotional and legal, to help get you through the separation. The communication you have with your friends and confidantes and your family lawyer, need to be private. Change your email passwords, and add 2-factor authenticators to logins. That way the questions you are posing, and the advice and guidance you receive, are for your eyes only.

2. Beware synchronisation.

Modern devices are so clever that they talk to each other. An email you send, or something you save to the cloud on one device, may be available on other devices. Is your partner able to access, in mirror form, everything you are doing on and saving to the device you are holding right now? If so segregate the devices so that they are no longer synchronising with each other. That way you are not ‘watchable’.

3. Get your devices.

These days our entire ‘life’ is on our devices – camera, diary, emails, notes, banking. Our phone, tablets and laptops probably contain everything that is going to be relevant to the resolution of any family law situation. You will be amazed what old photos, receipts and text messages might be relevant to some issue at large in your case and which sit on the iPhone you had four years ago. Think not only about your current devices but also find and safely store that first generation iPad – you might need something on it.

4. Secure valuables.

In this day and age people have wealth in the form of electronic assets – cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens – which can have associated physical wallets, and old fashioned cash, precious metals, jewellery and artwork in physical form. Take possession of these things, and the devices on which they are stored, and put them somewhere safe (e.g. a safety deposit box).

5. Secure electronic records.

Also a sign of the times, paper documents have become a thing of the past. Business and tax records, and financial information, tends to be published and stored in electronic form on physical devices (such as hard drives) or in cloud-based servers. Ensure that you have a copy of all your own data, and any data which might be relevant to your financial situation, stored on your own separate device or in your own separate server.

6. Risk management.

Think about how your finances are arranged. Can your partner log into your internet banking (or that of your business) and effect transactions on your accounts? If so, a password change might be in order just to ensure that the only transactions being undertaken on your accounts are those authorised by you.

The complete FREE E-Book can be downloaded from the BGM Family Law website at https://www.bgm.legal/

Suite 7, 5 Jowett Street, Coomera (07) 5510 4808 info.bgm@bgm.legal

NEED HELP WITH FAMILY LAW? WE KNOW WHAT TO DO

If your family law situation has been on your mind, you will want to know how to solve it. Property settlements, parenting arrangements, financial agreements, child support situations - whatever your case involves, chances are we’ve seen it before. And if it’s complex, we embrace that.

We’ve helped thousands of people through family and relationship breakdown – business owners (large and small), entrepreneurs, mums and dads, professionals, grandparents, and everyone in between.

Our clients come from far and wide, so if you need to meet with, or speak with us, online, or away from our office, we can do whatever is needed. How do we do it? Simple. By appreciating that one size does not fit all. By accepting that your case may need something different from others, including approaches other than litigation. And by arming you with information, giving you all of the options, and letting you decide on your preferred problem-solving pathway. With a team of experienced lawyers on hand, we can provide an adviser who is the perfect fit for your case. We are big enough to be recognised as leaders in our market, and small enough to provide you with personal support when you need it most.

FAMILY LAW IS ALL WE DO, SO LET US HELP YOU TOO!