HFM Legal
With over 25 years experience in Family Law (divorce, de facto separation, property, children and superannuation) and wills and estate administration, HFM Legal is one of Perth’s premier law firms.
Perth Lawyers with Your Best Interests at Heart
HFM Legal has over 25 years of experience in Family Law, providing assistance with de facto separation, children, property, superannuation, and divorce law.
We also write wills, manage estates and claims under the Family Provision Act 1972 (WA), employment law, criminal law, and general commercial and civil matters.
OUR SERVICES
Family Law
HFM Legal is focused on encouraging settlement in a timely and cost effective manner without going to Court. We can assist you with:
- Divorce or Separation
- Spousal Maintenance
- Property settlements
- Child and parenting issues
- Financial agreements
- Child support agreements
- Relocation
- Restraining orders
- Consent orders
Employment Law
HFM Legal offers a wide range of services to both employers and employees. We can assist you with:
- Awards and workplace agreements
- Termination of employment and unfair dismissal
- Employer and employee obligations and contract negotiations.
Will & Estate Administration
HFM Legal strives to make the process of making a Will stress free. HFM Legal also has expertise in the areas of succession and the administration of deceased estates. We can help with:
- Making a Will (learn what a will is)
- Making a power of attorney or enduring power of attorney
- Applying for a grant of probate of a Will
- Administration of a deceased estate
- Applying for a grant of letters of administration if a person died without a Will
Commercial and Corporate
HFM Legal offers professional advice and representation in all areas of commercial law including commercial contracts, negotiations and mediations and in areas such as leasing, mortgages, trusts and loan agreements.
Property Settlements
Buying or selling a property can be a stressful exercise. HFM Legal can make the process easy and hassle free by providing friendly professional settlement advice and services for both residential and commercial property buyers and sellers.
Debt Recovery
HFM Legal offers a complete range of debt recovery services for both individuals and businesses. Our services are designed to ensure that you recover debts due to you in a timely and cost effective manner without unnecessarily offending your customers.
Public Notary Services
A Notary Public is a public officer, usually a practising solicitor, appointed for life by a State or Territory Supreme Court, and given statutory powers to witness documents, administer oaths, and perform other wide ranging administrative functions of a national and international nature.
Will Disputes
HFM Legal has extensive expertise in the area of challenging Wills (Will disputes). We offer expert legal advice and representation for applicants seeking provision out of the estate or for beneficiaries seeking to protect provision under a will and for executors dealing with a claim or potential claim.
Guardianship and Administration
Occasionally, through injury or disability, a person may become unable to manage his or her financial affairs or to make appropriate and informed decisions regarding welfare. The experienced lawyers at HFM Legal can assist you in this respect including in applications to the State Administrative Tribunal where necessary.
Criminal & Road Traffic Matters
HFM Legal offers professional legal advice and court representation in all criminal and road traffic matters including trials and appeals in all Courts throughout Western Australia.
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
HFM legal offers professional legal advice and court representation in all courts and jurisdictions within Western Australia with a clear focus on resolving disputes in a timely and cost effective manner.
Restraining Orders
A restraining order (whether a violence restraining order, family violence restraining order or misconduct restraining order) is designed to prevent family violence or personal violence from occurring in the future. HFM Legal offers a range of services for both applicants and respondents to a restraining order application.
HFM Legal – Mount Lawley Office
Business Address:
653 Beaufort Street
Mount Lawley, WA 6050
Postal Address:
PO Box 1 Maddington
WA 6989
Get In Touch With Us
- Opening Hours
About Our Law Firm
HFM Legal has offices in Maddington, Mount Lawley, Denmark, and Broome. If you’d like to speak to our Broome lawyers, please contact our Broome office.
Our vision is to provide each client with a professional, personal and friendly service at every stage of their journey. We challenge ourselves to provide realistic and efficient solutions to your legal problems in a timely and cost-effective manner.
If you’d like to learn more about our services, read our blog posts on how to calculate spousal maintenance in WA, what a will is, and what happens if you die without a will in Western Australia.
Perth FAQ
As at 1 July 2019 the Family Court of Western Australia filing fee for a divorce application is $910 (reduced to $305 in some limited circumstances). Current fees can be obtained from the Court’s website.
You can file a divorce application without the assistance of a lawyer. Applications are now filed online using the Family Court’s Commonwealth Courts ePortal system. However, an application for divorce will not resolve property or children’s matters and it is always advisable to obtain the advice of a lawyer experienced in the area of family law prior to applying for a divorce.
If parties can agree as to the division of their property upon separation then they can formalise the agreement by way of consent orders filed in the Family Court of Western Australia or by way of a binding financial agreement. There are pros and cons of both methods. If parties cannot agree as to the division of their property upon separation one or both parties will apply to the Family Court of Western Australia for orders dividing the property for them. The Court will consider the existing property of the relationship, the various contributions parties made to the property of the relationship, the respective needs of the parties and the justice and equity of each particular case.
If the child does not have a passport you can make a Child Alert Request to the Australian Passport Office to prevent a person from fraudulently obtaining a passport for your child. This will only last 12 months and you must ensure that your contact details with DFAT are kept up to date while the child stop alert is in place.
If your child already has a passport you can apply urgently to the Family Court of Western Australia for your child to be placed on the family law watch list. This is an airport watch list system operated by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and is designed to prevent children being removed from Australia without the consent of the other parent or court. If there is a real risk of your child being removed from Australia without your consent you must obtain legal advice from a lawyer experienced in the area of family law as a priority.
To apply for a divorce in Australia you and your spouse must have been separated for 12 months and fit one of the following: be an Australian citizen; live in Australia and regard Australia as your permanent home; or, ordinarily live in Australia and have done so for at least 12 months before the divorce application.
You should not move interstate after separation without the prior written consent of the other parent or prior order of the Family Court of Western Australia. If you move without a court order or without the consent of the other parent, the Family Court of Western Australia may require you to return with the child/ren until the case has reached an outcome.
In Australia, children are entitled, in the absence of family violence or child abuse, to the benefit of both of their parents having a meaningful involvement in their lives, to know and be cared for by both of their parents, to spend time on a regular basis with, and communicate on a regular basis with, both their parents and other people significant to their care, welfare and development.
It is possible for you and your spouse to be separated but to continue living in the same home during the 12 months before applying for divorce. This is known as ‘separation under the one roof’. If this applies to your situation you may need to file additional evidence proving that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.