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About Us

"Steer yourself in whatever direction
you choose"

Knowing which way to go means you end up in the right place.
Our straightforward 5-stage resolution pathway makes your family law
matter easier to navigate and keep on track.
Your resolution pathway
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Diagnose

This is where we hear your story. You don’t need to bring anything but it’s time to tell us what’s keeping you awake at night – what you’re worried about, what you need and what you think is working OK.
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Gather

Time to start gathering all the info. You can do this yourself or we can do it for you – we can tell you what is legally required and you can tell us what is important and personal to you.
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Advise

Based on the facts and figures we will advise on how different options would be considered at family law and whether any collaborative professionals can help.
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Resolve

Here is where we start working on your settlement strategy – drafting your agreement, arranging mediation or collaborative meetings, or opening negotiations.
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Document

Once you and your ex have reached agreement it is formalised into appropriate legal documents.

To book a free no obligation 15 minute Whats Next chat click this link

Bright Side

Resolution packages

We don't want your legal fees to be the reason you are awake at night.
Bright Side doesn't charge like traditional law firms, all our work is done
on an up-front agreed, fixed-fee basis. But don't worry, we get that family law matters
are all different and often require creative problem solving so if we don't have a
package to suit you, we will tailor one to cover exactly what you need.

Once you have decided on your settlement strategy we will quote you a
price alongside a detailed Scope of Work outlining everything to be done in
your matter, with a rough timeline and payments broken down into stages.

Meet us                                                                                                    

This is an initial consult for either you, or you and your ex together, where you get to tell us your story. You won’t need to bring anything but it is time to tell us what’s keeping you awake at night, what you’re worried about, what you think is going OK and what you think you will need in the future. We can talk about your aims, your individual circumstances and what options you have to resolve your relationship breakdown.

After we have this chat you will have a clear idea of what options you have, where you go from here and how we will work with you to achieve that vision.

At BrightSide we don’t charge by the minute so you will always know what your separation is going to cost you.

We have three basic packages, Silver, Gold and Platinum tailored for couples who can still communicate a little, cant communicate much or cant communicate at all.

But don’t worry we also realise everyone is a little different so if you don’t see something that fits, give us a call and we can design something specifically for you.

Silver                                                                                                        

This package is for people who can still communicate or are close to agreement and just need a little advice and guidance and someone to take care of all the legal details.

This package includes all legal drafting, dealing with your super fund, managing the court process, checking to make sure your agreement is fair and access to all of our info and experience about the process.­

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­Gold                                                                                                          

This package is for people who don’t communicate well or who have tried and become stuck. It is also suitable for people with more complex financial needs such as if you have a SMSF or multiple investments.

As with the Silver package the Gold package also includes all legal drafting, dealing with your super fund, managing the court process, checking to make sure your agreement is fair and access to all of our info and experience about the process but it also has 1 round of hands off negotiation, 2 title searches and up to a total of three hours of phone and email access to our lawyers.

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­Platinum                                                                                                                                          

This package is for couples who cannot communicate at all, have significant differences of opinion or where the relationship has broken down so much that no contact is possible. It is also suitable for people with complex financial structures or complex financial interests (e.g. family farms, family businesses, partnerships, or jointly held assets)

As with all of our packages the Platinum package includes all legal drafting, dealing with your super fund, managing the court process, checking to make sure your agreement is fair and access to all of our info and experience about the process but it also has access to 3 sessions with our separation coach, 3 rounds of hands off negotiation, 5 title searches, weekly phone or email check-in’s with your lawyer, weekly check-in’s with our client relationship manager and automated collection of ATO and bank records.

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What does my package get me?

SilverGoldPlatinum
Initial ConsultXXX
Written legal adviceXXX
Consent Orders applicationXXX
Financial ScheduleXXX
Superannuation splittingXXX
Separation declarationXXX
Witnessing of DocumentsXXX
Family Court filing feesXXX
GSTX
Certificate of title search1Up to 2Up to 5
Negotiation with the other sideDIY advice1 round3 rounds
Exchange of financial documents (disclosure)DIY advice XX
Phone calls and emailsUp to 3 hoursScheduled weekly
Lawyer to lawyer negotiationXX
Access to our separation coachUp to 3 sessions
Weekly check-ins (with our client relationship manager)X
Automated collection of ATO and bank recordsX

Sometimes there is just one sticking point, sometimes you and your ex are miles apart.

­Either way mediation is a great first step which can save you significant time, money and stress and get you a better agreement than going through a court process.

Mediation has been proven to be very useful in both property and parenting disagreements but is especially effective for parenting disputes. So much so that the family court now requires all separating couples trying to address parenting issues to try mediation before attempting a court process.

At BrightSide we only use fully qualified and nationally accredited FDRP mediators who have significant experience with a huge range of separating couples, all the way from near agreement to high conflict and domestic abuse.

For more information about mediation and an idea of costs and time frames click here 

Knowing your wishes will be respected and your family looked after takes more than just an online will. Our packages cover everything you know you need and a few things you may not have thought of yet, giving you real peace of mind.

All of our packages include a legal will, a Binding Death Benefit Nomination, an Enduring Power of Attorney, an Enduring Power of Guardianship and a My Plan workbook.

The My Plan workbook is designed to be read alongside your will to give your loved ones help, guidance, context and understanding about your decisions. In our My Plan workbook you can leave messages for your loved ones, write letters to be read after your passing, create a register of your on-line life and guidance for what you would like done with on-line assets to help your executor manage your will.

Individual: $1,595 (all inclusive)                                                               

  • A legal will,
  • Binding Death Benefit Nomination (for superannuation benefits),
  • Enduring Power of Attorney,
  • Enduring Power of Guardianship,
  • My Plan Workbook,
  • Filing fees.
  • Signing and witnessing.

Partners: $2,595 (all inclusive)                                                                

  • 2 x legal will’s
  • 2 x Binding Death Benefit Nomination’s (for superannuation benefits)
  • 2 x Enduring Power’s of Attorney
  • 2 x Enduring Power’s of Guardianship
  • 2 x My Plan Workbook’s
  • 2 x Filing fees.
  • Signing and witnessing.

The Collaborative Process – $14,000 per couple (starting from)                

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The collaborative process is based on the Inquisitorial legal system found in large parts of Europe. A collaborative process is very different to the adversarial legal process we are used to because the collaborative process employs a team of experts to give you advice with the aim of guiding you to a mutually beneficial agreement outside of the court system.
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Although anyone can use a collaborative process it is especially suited to people who have complex financial or legal structures such as family farms, family businesses, partnerships, jointly held assets or complex superannuation funds where having to divide those – or wind them up – will cause huge financial ripples through a wider group.
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A collaborative process ordinarily involves a series of face-to-face joint meetings with you, your lawyer, your ex, your ex’s lawyer and a collaborative coach working together in a holistic and interest-based manner to finalise the terms of an agreement and then document it in a legally binding way. Other experts such as accountants, finance brokers, mortgage brokers and financial advisors may also be brought in if needed.
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The collaborative process is an opportunity to explore creative options that fall outside usual legal solutions, and to discuss issues and concerns that would otherwise not be considered by the Family Court or lawyers in a traditional legal process. Joint meetings mean negotiations and discussions are open and transparent. The lawyer’s may provide legal advice in those meetings but they will not conduct any negotiations outside of those meetings.
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At your first joint meeting all parties would sign a collaborative agreement which ensures confidentiality and commits everyone to a negotiated pathway rather than court. If at any point anyone pulls out of the process to file a court application the process would end and we could no longer represent you meaning you would need to find new legal representation. This process is not about gaining an advantage or pursuing a particular legal strategy – much like mediation the idea is that all parties come to the table in an effort to work together on a family solution.
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As collaborative family lawyers our role is to ensure you and your ex stay on track and focused on possible workable outcomes, within the bounds of what is and isn’t relevant to a family law property settlement.
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The beauty of collaborative practice is that the resolution of your matter is tailored to exactly what you and your family need. It usually takes between 3-6 months, over three collaborative meetings, for a matter to proceed and along the way you may engage with different members of the collaborative team.
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We get that those may be scary numbers, but it is not unusual for traditional lawyer-based, time-billed negotiation to rapidly exceed those figures, and they are a fraction of what you would pay if your matter went to court.
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With Bright Side you will know in advance what it’s going to cost and payment is made in accordance with defined stages of your matter.

Sometimes you need some ongoing advice. You might be trying to negotiate with your ex directly, or drafting your own documents, or preparing for a mediation, or trying to understand what a lawyer has sent you, or why things are taking so long. Our lawyers can be available to you on call – or txt, or email – for a negotiated fixed weekly fee for as little or as long as you need.

To book a free no obligation 15 minute Whats Next chat click this link

We are

Bright Side

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Nine things you thought you knew about family law . . .

Welcome to Bright Side

Family law thoughts
From the blog
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Let’s Work Together
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