Family Law
Adelta Legal has a highly experienced team of family lawyers to assist you in every aspect of family law. We put you, the client first and offer timely, competent, and efficient family law services.
At Adelta Legal we offer you a full service of family law tools to assist in whatever your matter requires, including:
- general ongoing or one-off family law advice including pre-separation advice;
- lawyer assisted negotiation of parenting and financial issues;
- mediation and family dispute resolution;
- collaborative process and mediation;
- arbitration; and
- litigation and court proceedings.
Our aim is to work with you to tailor a plan to navigate your separation or divorce that best suits your matter and your individual situation.
We have a team of experienced family lawyers, family mediators, collaborative practitioners, and arbitrators.
We see the court process as a last resort. We are cost conscious and aim to resolve matters amicably without resort to lengthy and delayed court hearings.
Matters involving serious domestic violence, wastage from gambling and addictions or complex property matters may need to be dealt with on an urgent and contested basis. International children’s matters and child abduction need urgent litigation and we are skilled to assist with this.
We have a policy of one family lawyer assigned to each client’s matter and do most preliminary arguments, conferences, and mediations “in house” and only brief barristers after careful consideration if your matter warrants this extra support.
The time of the breakdown of a relationship and the family is one of the most traumatic and stressful times of a person’s life.
On request we work closely with a team of counsellors, mental health specialists and financial advisers to ensure your negotiation during this difficult time considers your mental health, family violence issues, and the grief cycle.
We also know at separation one partner has little knowledge of the finances. We will support and assist you to gain this knowledge. The timing of when and how you engage in the legal process is important.
Legal Aid
We can assist you as a legal aid client if you qualify for legal aid. The assessment of eligibility is carried out by the Legal Services Commission based on legal merit and financial need. Please check the Legal Services Commission website for an application form and seek a determination from them as to whether you may qualify for legal aid. You can nominate Adelta Legal as your preferred legal aid lawyer. We suggest you ring us to discuss our availability to accept your assignment first. The commission will contact us directly and we will not be able to assist you until the commission has approved your funding.
Private Clients
Our fees are competitive with other family lawyers in South Australia. We are always happy to have our lawyers discuss our fees in a preliminary discussion at no cost. We have accredited family law specialists and senior family lawyers together with other family lawyers who charge at different rates.
We are open to discussing fees and payment plans at all stages of your matter and provide clients with regular accounts and updates on projected fees going forward.
We offer the full range of family law services including:
Children
- family violence and child abuse;
- alienated children;
- long term separated parents;
- blended families;
- parental issues in drug and alcohol addiction;
- children with special needs;
- grandparent and third-party applications;
- cultural diversity families;
- LGBITQ families;
- surrogacy, adoption, discharge of adoption;
- change of name, paternity;
- Hague Convention matters; and
- international and national relocation.
For more information on children matters click here and for information regarding surrogacy and adoption click here.
Property
- simple house and superannuation pools;
- multi-million-dollar property pools;
- all types of business; sole traders through to partners in large corporations;
- complex legal structures including various trusts;
- farming matters;
- offshore and interstate property; and
- hidden or non-disclosed property.
For more information on property settlement matters services click here.
We also offer:
- Child Support and Binding Child Support Agreements;
- adult child maintenance for full-time students and those with a disability;
- spousal maintenance; and
- binding financial agreements (BFA’s) including prenups.
Urgent matters
If your matter is urgent, involving serious domestic violence, wastage from gambling and addictions, together with international children’s matters and child abduction all of which may need urgent litigation and we are skilled to assist with this.
Please ring for a short phone consultation for us to determine whether we can assist you on a no obligation basis.
We have offices in the city, at Tea Tree Gully and Morphett Vale for the convenience of clients. In addition, for the elderly or infirm, visits can be made to clients at home or in hospital.
Call us on 08 8415 5000 or send an email to make an appointment.
Key people for Family Law
Julie Redman
Accredited Family Law Specialist
e: jredman@adelta.com.au
p: (08) 8415 5017
Accredited Family Law Specialist
LL.B.
Julie has over 40 years’ experience practising in all aspects of family law in South Australia. She has been ranked every year by the profession, though the Doyle’s guide, as one of the top family lawyers in South Australia
In 2018 she merged her very successful family law practice Alderman Redman with Adelta Legal to establish the Adelta family law unit.
Julie is an Accredited Family Law Specialist, a Nationally Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP), an Independent Children’s Lawyer and a Nationally Accredited Mediator in Mediation Practice since 1990.
She is also a Nationally Accredited Arbitrator in family property matters and practises in Collaborative Family Law on request.
Julie accepts instructions in:
- complex property matters involving large property pools, family businesses
- spousal maintenance, child support and adult child maintenance
- sensitive and complex children’s and parenting matters including relocation
interstate and overseas
- Hague Convention matters
- surrogacy and adoption.
Julie keeps steady focus on the best interests of children and her advocacy is designed to retain co-operation, preserve goodwill and promote resolution as the preferable pathway to progress.
Experience governs Julie’s approach to the law. Julie works with clients to explore all options and to respond appropriately and speedily to a client’s needs. If litigation is necessary it will only be embarked upon after careful consideration of all other options, recognising it is hardly ever in the client’s interests to progress to lengthy, protracted litigation. If litigation is recommended it will be prepared with diligence and resolve.
Julie is the SA Representative and Director of AIFLAM (The Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators). She has been on many government and non-government children’s interest boards, including the SA Government Children’s Interest Bureau, The Council of Reproductive Technology, Uniting Communities and the Children and the Family Law Committee of the Law Society.
Julie has presented numerous papers at conferences and universities both nationally and internationally on family law issues and has a particular area of legal interest in surrogacy arrangements and other alternate family formations.
Julie has been married “for a long time”, is a keen bushwalker, reads widely and enjoys the theatre and visual arts. She is an accredited volunteer guide at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Contact Julie Redman
Ian Charman
Accredited Family Law Specialist
e: icharman@adelta.com.au
p: (08) 8415 5024
Accredited Family Law Specialist
BA. LL.B. GDLP
Ian was admitted to practice in 1987 and brings a wealth of experience to Adelta Legal. He joined Adelta Legal in October 2018 after several different practices in the Adelaide city and at Gawler. Ian spent 18 years practising in his own practice before merging with Adelta Legal to expand the Family Law Section. He is one of a few Accredited Specialists in Family Law practising in South Australia. He is also a qualified Independent Children’s Lawyer and regularly appointed to represent the best interests of children in complex family law matters.
Ian is a skilled and persuasive advocate appearing regularly in the Federal Circuit and Family Courts.
In the past, Ian has been a member of the Law Society’s Family Law Committee. He has also written and presented papers for the further legal education of other lawyers in the area of Family Law. He has been a member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia and been a member of a discussion panel to the National Conference of Independent Children’s Lawyers.
Ian’s approach to the practice of family law is to provide appropriate advice to his clients as soon as possible to try to ensure the best result as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Ian practices in matters involving disputes between parents and care givers over children, property settlements and spousal maintenance.
Ian’s experience and expertise enables him to quickly get to the core of most disputes and to avoid being bogged down in a paper war. He tries at all times to keep the focus upon the client’s bottom line and to maintain a sensible, common sense approach to the practice of the law.
Contact Ian Charman
Tom Hawkes
Consultant
e: tmhawkes@adelta.com.au
p: (08) 8415 5032
Consultant
LL.B.
Tom was admitted to practice in 1975. Tom joined the firm when Lempriere Abbott McLeod merged with Adelta Legal in 2021.
He practices primarily in the areas of family and de facto law, with a particular focus on the resolution of property and financial disputes.
He has considerable experience in the preparation of pre-nuptial and other relationship agreements. Tom also attends to the preparation of wills and powers of attorney and acts in contested estate and guardianship matters.
Tom recognises the benefit of a strong customer/client focus and as a recognised leader in his field receives numerous referrals from within the profession.
Tom has a wide range of experience in:
- family law
- divorce
- de facto matters
- property
- maintenance
- children
- child support
- pre-nuptial and financial agreements
- Hague Convention
- wills
- deceased estates.
Tom is a member of the Law Society of South Australia and Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
Contact Tom Hawkes
Catherine Hokin
Senior Associate
e: cmhokin@adelta.com.au
p: (08) 8415 5033
Senior Associate
LL.B., BA (Jur), BA (Hons)
Catherine has more than 20 years of experience practising in family law and professional negligence matters.
Catherine was admitted in 1995 having gained a Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence) with Honours in Politics and a Law Degree with Honours at the Adelaide University.
Catherine joined the firm when Lempriere Abbott McLeod merged with Adelta Legal in 2021, she has also worked in Port Augusta and Whyalla.
Along with expertise in all areas of family law, Catherine’s skills include major litigation matters regarding professional negligence and personal injury claims.
Catherine is committed to providing support and a high standard of professional service to clients in the following areas:
- family law
- divorce
- de facto matters
- financial agreements
- spousal maintenance
- professional negligence
- personal injury
- wills.
Catherine is a member of the Law Society of South Australia and Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
Contact Catherine Hokin