Joan O'Mahony has been involved in the area of Family Law since she qualified in as a Solicitor in 1971. She has been a member of the Family Law Committee in the Law Society of Ireland for many years and was Chairman of this committee in 2004/2005.
Our aim at all times is provide you with advice in order that we might achieve the best possible outcome for you with the minimum amount of stress and anguish. We aim to resolve disputes in a calm, sensitive and sympathetic manner, while remaining professional and cost affective to you, our client.
We can advise you in relation to the following:
Judicial Separation
A judicial separation can be granted by the Court under the Family Law Act 1995 which amended an earlier Act of 1989. An Order granted by the Court relieves the spouses of a marriage of the obligation to co-habit and thereafter each person may live as a single person. The marriage is not dissolved however and they do not have the right to re-marry.Nullity
In certain very specific instances the Court may grant a Nullity of a Marriage i.e. saying that the marriage was void from the very beginning because one or both of the parties did not have the necessary contractual ability to enter into a marriage contract.Divorce
A Divorce may now be granted under the Family Law Divorce Act 1996 provided the parties have been living separate and apart from four out of the previous five years.Collaborative Law and Mediation
Collaborative law and Mediation are the processes where two parties to a relationship, with the assistance of their lawyers, seek to find solutions to the issues relating to their relationship breakdown in a non-adversarial context.Click here for more information
Maintenance
Maintenance arises where one party agrees to make a weekly or monthly payment to the other party either for the support of that party or the support of any dependent children whether the parents are married to each other or not. In the absence of an agreement an Order may be sought from the District or the Circuit Court providing for the payment of such sum as the Court thinks appropriate.Domestic violence
Under the Domestic Violence Act 1996 and various amending statutes that have occurred since then, various reliefs are available to a person who has been subjected to domestic violence either physical or psychological. These reliefs include the Protection Order, a Safety Order or a Barring Order.A Protection Order is when a person makes an application for a Barring Order or a Safety Order but the Court will make an Order directing the other party not to interfere, harm or put in fear the applicant. It is a criminal offence to contravene this Order.
A Safety Order - the Court may make an Order directing the other party not to use or threaten or use violence or put in fear the applicant, partner and/or the dependent children or not to watch or interfere with them. This Order does not mean that the responding party has to leave the family home.
A Barring Order - this is an Order preventing one partner from entering the family home even if he or she is the owner or from using or threatening violence or putting the other partner and/or the children in fear.
Co-habitation
This means living together and certain limited rights have been given to persons who are living together in the same Act provided of course that the co-habitants qualify under the Act.Civil Partnership
Two persons of the same sex may register their partnership under the law as set out in the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Co-Habitants Act 2010. The registration of their partnership affords them the protection of a significant number of rights set out in the 2010 Act.Ancillary Reliefs
Under both the 1995 Act and the 1996 Act, Ancillary Reliefs may be granted by the Court or agreed between the parties in relation to:- Children
- Property
- Pensions
- Maintenance
Our charges are available on application together with a listing of all necessary outlays.
