E & A

E&A Lawyers is a law firm in the northern beaches of Sydney with a long and local history of providing services in Family Law, Wills & Estates, Conveyancing and Commercial & Business Law. For those who have lived in the region for a long time, you may know us as Edgington & Alfonso.

In 2006, we chose to make that pronunciation a little easier but rest assured, we offer the same level of professional expertise, experience, care and attention to detail that we have for over 50 years.When your inquiry branches across more than one area of expertise, because we work as a team, you can be comfortable in the knowledge that the best people are working on any and all aspects of your matter.

We believe it's important for you and for us that we are open and transparent about how we charge you for the work we do. We will answer any queries you have about costs and we can provide you with our rates and terms in advance of working with you. By law, we must provide you with a "costs agreement".

A divorce is the legal termination of your marriage. To obtain a divorce in Australia, you must satisfy the court that there has been an irretrievable breakdown of your marriage. This is automatically proved if you and your spouse have lived separately for a period of at least 12 months.

An Application for a Divorce Order is separate from proceedings about financial matters including property settlement or matters related to children and parenting issues.Before preparing your Divorce Application you should seek legal advice about your rights and responsibilities, as well as the impact of obtaining the divorce on your overall financial circumstances.

In ideal circumstances, the best arrangements for children and parenting, where relationships break down, are often arrangements agreed to by the parties themselves. Importantly, when considering and formalising parenting arrangements, the 'best interests of the child' is paramount. We work with our clients, and often other experts where needed, to help our clients negotiate arrangements for children that meet the needs of children.

After separation, in the majority of cases, parties need to divide their assets and liabilities, so that each can be financially independent of the other. The Division of property after a relationship breakdown (either marriage or de facto) is commonly called a 'property settlement'.

Unlike the time frames that apply for divorce, to bring an end to your legal relationship with your spouse, dividing property can begin as soon as the parties are ready to take those steps.Sometimes, because of the nature of the assets to be divided, this process may take some time. A common example is the family home, which may need to be sold for each party to receive their entitlements.