Divorce in queensland?
 

Hi everyone, I need some help here from anyone who knows about getting divorced over here.

I found the old thread i posted in where someone said that I would have to live apart from my husband for ages before i could get a divorce. well at the moment I'm still living with him but i'm seriously thinking about leaving him now.
is there some sort of official thing that i can get if i leave him to say that we are officially seperated until we have been apart long enough to get divorced?
Cos having talked to a few people in official places like banks they say that i will have a real problem if i leave him cos the government will still see us as being married. So that means i have to keep putting him on forms as being my husband even if I want nothing to do with him. The pay people at work say that I still have to tell him how much i earn cos we still have to put the figures on each others tax returns - if i leave him i don't want him to be knowing things like that cos its nothing to do with him.
The real estate people say that i might have problems finding somewhere else to rent too, as i will have to say on all the forms that I'm married and so they will then want all his id documents as well as mine, even if he isn't living there. :confused:

And another question, sorry to ask so much, but how do I change my name back to my maiden name? my visa and my passport are in my married name now but i don't want to use it anymore. Do I have to do a deed poll thing like back home?

we don't have any kids and I just want to leave him, is it really as difficult as everyone says?

Sorry its so many questions but its all so different over here and i don't seem to have any friends here who have been in the same position.

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Not sure it's as difficult as you have heard. PM Tiddly Pom. She's in NSW but it must be a federal law rather than state I would have thought. She got divorced last year/early this year. Also Rabsody may be able to help. She's in Brissie.

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Thank you :)
It sounds so silly that everyone says they will still need my husband's signature on everything or will need to know about his income. Surely the point of splitting up is that you dont want him involved in things like that.

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

OK just found this link thathttp://http://www.familylawcourts.go...vorce/Divorce/ was posted on an old thread which is why it's the NSW version but it is a federal law so will be the same. There is a bit about separation under the same roof further down the page. Looks like a helpful site. There is probably one for QLD as well.

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

That looks like a good site, I'll have a good read. Thanks very much :)

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

It's a year you need to be separated before you can apply to divorce in Aus. After that year, you can then apply and divorce can be granted in about 12 weeks depending on how busy the courts are at the time.

You and your husband need to fix the date at which you officially separated. Print two copies out, sign it and date it. Separation has pretty strict rules so check it out.

You can be separated under the same roof. This means that you are living as an independent person in the same house as your hub... or vice versa.

Ignore the people who talk bollocks. Sounds like they have no idea what they're talking about. If you are separated, you can tell the gvt you are separated. It's up to you how you sort out your bank accounts. Being separated means that you do not have joint anything any more... so you'll both have to have new accounts or have the other person's name removed from the account to make it a sole user account.

You may have to put his name on the odd form here and there, esp if you're getting a sole parent payment from Centrelink... but that's ok. You need to declare your income and assets and so does he if you need help from C'link.
You don't have to tell him what you're doing, where you're working but you don't have to tell him what you're earning.

Do you have children together?
If you do, you can have the CSA (Child support agency) collect his support money, which will then be passed onto you. It's them whom you need to tell what you earn. Not him.

Your tax return is your income, not his. You only declare your own income on your tax return. What he does is his business.

The Real estate people are talking bollocks.
You rent the house under your name... You're a separated person, you pay the rent and that's who's on the rental agreement. If you get help from C'link (rental assistance) then you provide that document. No, your husband will not have to sign anything unless he's paying for you and I presume he's not.
I suggest you don't mention your personal circumstances to these people. It's none of their business.

Once you are divorced you change your name back.
You can do it by deed poll here in Aus for a payment if you want to speed that process up.
If you wish to be known by your maiden name then you can use that name as long as you provide proof... so you could ask the bank to use your maiden name as an 'AKA' but you'd have to have the actual account in your married name until you have the legal paperwork to back it up.
Your visa and passport are different so check with them what they need by phoning them.

Ah, you don't have kids. No, it's not as difficult as everyone says.
I have found that some people really are jealous and they want to be in the position to leave their partner but they're just not brave enough to do it.

If you've got no kids, all you need to do is officially separate, then apply for a divorce once your year of separation is up. Before you divorce you need to have a property settlement of the stuff and house that you own... and once you have that agreement, you're ok to divorce.

You might like to know that if you're English and still have ties to the UK, you can divorce within 18 weeks without the year's separation by taking advantage of a UK quickie divorce. It costs a bit though!!!!
Have a look here and send an email if you're curious. They're very nice.

http://www.divorce-solicitors-online...FQkiagodbmWnFQ

The most difficult thing about it is saying 'We're done'. It takes a lot of guts.
Then there's the risk of losing family members from his family who might not contact you ever again, or those friends you'll lose because they side with him, in which case, they are shallow and not your friends in the first place!
Other than that, you need to support yourself so make sure you have a job... and other than that, bingo!

Good luck.

Let me know if you need any help. :)

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Hi Scrundlebunny

Tiddly Pom has done a fantastic job there outlining the ins and outs of Aussie divorce! :)

In my case we simply both went to our own separate solicitors once, got a pretty good idea of entitlement % split of assets. We then went to a solicitor jointly and got it drawn up. Very simple for us but I realise that's not the case for many. We were both very mindful not to let the lawyers eat away at our assets.

Anyhoo, we didn't divorce for about four years after we separated as there was no rush really and it's cheaper if you do it after a few years. In fact, I still have his surname (long story) :eek:

It's far more complicated with children (but that's a whole other story that doesn't apply here) but it sounds like your case should be pretty cut and dried.

Good luck with it all :)

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Wow, thanks so much, thats great.
No. we don't have any kids so that would make everything easier I think. I'll check out the rules on the actual separating thing, and yes I am English, though he is Australian, so I might have a look at that quickie thing too. I kind of feel that once I make the final decision I want to get on with it not live in limbo.

He's never been good with banks so i still have my own bank account, there is a joint one but i never pay into it. My account is in my maiden name, i never got round to changing that, its only the passport and visa that i did.
I guess that if people like the real estate don't have to know then i can just rent somewhere in my name. We only rent now, so nothing to sell, and I earn enough to live on, certainly more than would let me claim from Centrelink, so it sounds like it shouldn't be that difficult to sort things out.

Actually having read what you've been going through with Centrelink payments and stuff since your split it makes mine like really straightforward. It must be so much harder with kids. I think what scares me is the fact that I would be on my own here and when i've lived alone before it has always been in the uk. I might keep some contact with part of his family, i guess, and most of our friends are really mine,he doesn't tend to have many, so i would have some support there.

Thanks again, thats all really helpful, along with the posts i've been reading on here today.

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Thanks rabsody, sounds like yours was very amicable, which is good if there are kids, isn't it.
Cheaper after a few years? Think i'll have to look at the pros and cons of the money versus putting it all behind me!

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Doesn't take very long and you can have it all done online and through email. They send you the final documents to sign. All done and dusted.

Beautiful. Under the rules of divorce here in Aus, you are entitled up to 65% of the value of everything if your potential earnings are estimated to be considerably less than his over time, but by the sound of it, you should walk away with a 50/50 split. This would have to be agreed together. A property settlement takes more time to sort legally and you don't have a house, so this makes things very easy.

What you bought into the marriage (things you owned before you met) are yours. The same for him. Then joint things are valued and split.

He takes half of your Super and you take half of his.

If you've paid for more things in the marriage, and you want a higher share, it's good to see a solicitor, but if you're happy to walk away with 50/50, and you want it over and done with, don't get involved with solicitors and do it yourself.

Yours is straight forward and that's a very good thing. I wouldn't recommend living together under the same roof if you are separated. The less secure the man is, the angrier he'll get with you and with himself. This is why I found my own rental and moved out.

Yes, well the alone thing bothered me too for a while but I've always been ok and this has proved to be true. 9 months down the track, I've got someone who thinks the sun shines out of my arse and vice versa. Sometimes you just have to move on and be ready to go it alone. Once your there, you have the power to choose your own direction.

My ex husband's parents haven't contacted me. I've contacted my MIL. My Brother's in law haven't been in contact since Christmas last year. I think it's probably a little short sighted... I have three children so there's going to be 18ths, 21sts, marriage, possible other events... we'll all have to meet up at. It pays to be a reasonable human being but they'll work that out. I've sent emails and there's a distinct lack of 'ballage' in the reply area.

My ex has started being nice to me the past few weeks after nearly 9 months of not being so. I don't know why but I welcome a return to any form of reason.:rofl:
I'm applying for my divorce in January of next year.

Expect people to act in a way you hadn't thought they would and you'll be ok. People are such a surprise in this situation.

Anything you need, or you just want to chat, contact me by PM.:thumbup:

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Why does he have to get half my superannuation? That sounds very unfair, as I've earned more than him most of my life and at least three quarters of it came with me from England:curse: Probably means i'll be keeping him in his retirement while i still have to work!
I certainly couldnt stay here in this rental if we split up, i'd have to have somewhere to go to straight away. not that he gets violent with me but he does have a bad temper and it just wouldnt be nice to stay here.

I'm really glad you're found someone else, thats great! Do the kids like him?:thumbup:

The being alone bit would be weird just cos its a foreign country i suppose, and cos i don't have much of a life here cos he doesn't like going places much, but i guess it doesn't take much to build a new life if you are determined enough, and i do have mates at work that would stick by me.

Thanks for all your help, and i will pm you if i need any more.

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Male who comes in peace,can the mods PLEASE delete this post incase my missus finds it:lol:

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

:rofl::rofl:

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

:rofl:

No :p

Re: Divorce in queensland?
 

Yes please!

Sorry, couldn't resist.