Are you considering or currently going through a Separation or Divorce?

Feeling confused, emotional, overwhelmed or alone?

Wanting to try and avoid the Family Court and expensive traditional legal costs?

With a background in law, counselling, psychology and coaching we have the skills and

the resources to work with you to help you emotionally and confidently get through

this challenging time, feeling educated, organised, prepared and genuinely able to thrive beyond.

Book a time with us now to discuss how we can help. xx

BOOK AN ONLINE APPOINTMENT

with our experienced

Separation/Divorce Counsellor and Coach

LISTEN TO THE PODCASTS

'Keeping it Real with Susan & Friends'

buy the ultimate divorce planner

If you are considering Separation, we can help you carefully plan and provide you with the support you need all the way.

Our clients describe the Planner as 'a hug throughout it all'

It will step you through the options, provide effective checklists, explain legal jargon, provide important communication strategies and tips, guidance on providing help for the children, financial negotiations and tips, strategies to remain safe and help you get back on your feet and space to add evidence and a years worth of diary entries to help you recall things more easily.

  • Understand your legal options during separation and divorce

  • Develop a separation plan to help you feel organised, educated and empowered through the process

  • Ensure you have a safe exit strategy and can remain safe

  • Learn how to communicate with your spouse and children about separating

  • Understand how to protect your assets and secure your finances before separating

  • Record all your evidence and important dates and appointments in one place

  • Get organised with the practical and easy to follow checklists on what to prepare, what to locate and disclose

  • Self care strategies and wellness tips

enrol in the ultimate divorce course

Feeling confused? Do you need help understanding what to do next?

We've Got You!

This is one of the most comprehensive, easy to follow, practical and best value for money courses available in Australia. It has been carefully written by lawyers, mediators, psychologists, wellness experts and financiers to help you all the way.

Thousands of dollars worth of expert advice presented in an empathetic, organised, easy to follow way, which you can do at your own pace.

  • Dealing with the emotional challenges of separation and divorce for you and the kids

  • How to co-parent with your former partner

  • Strategies for dealing with different personalities in families

  • Understand what it means legally to be separated and what to expect during separation

  • Understand your legal options to reach financial property and/or parenting arrangements and how to minimise your costs along the way

  • Create a comprehensive separation plan which is easy to follow and helps you feel more organised and in control

  • What documents do you need to locate, secure, disclose? or get from the other party?

  • Child and spousal support options

  • Guidance on legal document preparation

  • Budgeting and financial guidance

  • Prepare for mediation or trial, if required

  • How to deal with domestic violence concerns and safe exit planning

  • Counselling, coaching and communication strategies

  • Wellness and self care help

enrol in the Financial wellness Course

This exceptional course will help you gain a really practical and valuable understanding of banking, superannuation, budgeting, your financial position, how to keep your finances secure, how to ensure you get a fair financial settlement and financial planning for the future.

Get financial and legal expert advice and improve your long term financial position in order to better protect your future.

Brought to you by Separation Support Network &

award-winning financial adviser Helen Baker

The easy to follow, practical and comprehensive guide to help you get it all together during your Separation, Divorce and beyond.

This is also a wonderful gift suggestion for anyone looking to support a family member or friend through separation/divorce. Each planner also comes with a small gift.

Thousands of dollars worth of advice for only $89.95 including postage within Australia.

(This version was updated in June 2024)

What do I do next to get help?

No matter where you are in the separation or divorce stage, we understand how hard it is, and we are here to support you. You are not alone.

We help reduce the stress by providing you with the education and practical guidance you need to understand all the options available to you.

We also carefully listen to you on what you want to do, to move forward. If you would like to arrange an online 30-minute complimentary mini session we can discuss where you are at and what help you feel you need, at your stage in the process. This just requires a Zoom connection.

We will be honest about what we can do to assist you to get the best outcome,  and give you a firm understanding of the costs associated with the help.  It will not be a sales pitch from us.

If you decide to proceed with Separation Support Network, you are welcome to book a PAID one-on-one confidential consultation with one of our highly trained senior separation support personnel. The first appointment will require a new client form to be completed and returned, to help us gain a better understanding of your position and to not waste your precious time.

As seen in our testimonials, we are renowned for having excellent relationships with our clients and are very conscious of providing quality, affordable services, all the way.

We take great pride in ensuring that every one of our service providers have your best interests at heart, emotionally and financially. Our motto is ‘providing our clients with a hug all the way.’

FAQ image

Why should I use Separation Support Network instead of going to a traditional law firm?

Separation Support Network provides one-on-one support to guide you through the entire separation and divorce process. We provide counselling support, help you navigate the immediate practical steps of your separation, listen to your unique circumstances, outline your options and recommend the services you need. We also provide help long term through your separation and divorce journey to reach your longer term goals.

We do have a panel of lawyers who can assist, if and when required, but we work with you to avoid legal costs as much as possible by helping you understand all your options, assist you to gather your documentation and evidence, draft your proposed terms, and coordinate other specialist support if required to support your position. This helps avoid a lot of the initial outlays you would normally experience in a law firm, which often charge very high legal costs, per hour, for their time. It also helps you avoid a lot of time, stress and frustration.

Once legal matters are resolved by traditional firms, our clients report they often feel a sense of confusion and concern about what comes next - on how to actually co-parent and fulfill the parenting obligations, how to deal with the financial arrangements that were agreed upon, where to obtain the necessary financial education to manage your settlement, and how to secure your financial future. There is often the need to get help to change other key legal and financial documents, strategies to assist with co-parenting and communication with former partners, sorting the sale of assets, access to counselling for the family, finding a new career or a plan on how to start the next chapter of life. Separation Support Network can walk beside you through all of this. We help you find the care you need and work collaboratively with a team who can assist.

Our aim is to ensure our clients are safe, emotionally supported all the way, personally educated and empowered to make their own decisions, and ultimately achieve a fair and equitable settlement, suitable parenting arrangement and successful future.

What range of support can you offer me?

The most common things said to us over the years by our clients:

"I am so confused about what to do next, where to get the help I need and who to trust."

"I can't work out what financial documents I even need to access and what I have to disclose ."

"I worked all my life to save and secure my superannuation and now we are going to destroy it with all the ongoing legal bills."

"I was a good parent and we had a great relationship but now I just can't reconnect with them."

We hear you!

Separation Support Network is essentially a one stop service network where you no longer need to spend countless hours finding the resources, locating kind and supportive care, legal and financial expertise, all at an affordable rate.

We work alongside incredibly experienced, supportive specialists who share our values in making the separation and divorce process more amicable, more empowering, more supportive and more affordable.

  • Mediators

  • Psychologists and counsellors

  • Parent assist programmes

  • Empower programmes

  • Lawyers

  • Domestic Violence support

  • Financial Planners and Advisors

  • Property Valuers including farming valuers

  • Banking advice

  • Business and Company valuers

  • Forensic Accounting and IT

  • Private Investigators

  • Accountants

  • Mortgage Brokers

  • Business brokers

  • Conveyancing and Will and Estate Planning support

  • Life Coaches

  • High Conflict Coaches 

  • Career assist - resumes, job applications and interview preparation.

  • Empower You programmes

Our clients have also reached out and requested that we prepare practical and affordable resources including audio/visual podcasts and webinars which consist of easy to understand, questions and answers to many of the day-to-day issues that they experience, but don’t know how to do. These can be booked and listened to at any time, anywhere by our clients. A transcript is also provided for our paid webinars.

In late 2024, Separation Support Network will release a series of highly practical webinars for all our clients at a very affordable price which can be viewed any time, anywhere as part of our new Separation and Divorce course.

These webinars are not just made up of general information about topics. They are step by step practical guides on how to get through this challenging process to ensure your safety and legal rights.

We have interviewed some of the leading experts on these most sought after topics and hope that you find the content understandable, relatable and invaluable.  Please feel free to reach out anytime to suggest additional topics you would like us to add to our webinar library or to add to our course.

FAQ image

What is your cancellation and refund policy?

Given the nature of our support services, last minute cancellations are costly, and it means that other clients may miss out on receiving the required support.  For cancellations within 48 hours of the scheduled appointment there is a $65 part fee payment. For less than 24 hours cancellation notice or a non-show, the full session fee will need to be charged. These fees are refunded however if the session can be filled at the last minute. Thank you for your understanding.


Have a question that we haven’t answered? Or just want to chat please book here

Financial Abuse

Economic Abuse Awareness Day

November 26, 20243 min read

 

Economic and financial abuse is a form of domestic abuse in Australia.

It often occurs in the context of intimate partner violence, and involves the control of a partner or ex-partner’s money and finances, as well as the things that money can buy.

Economic abuse and financial abuse involve similar behaviours, but it can financial abuse is often thought of as a subcategory of economic abuse. Economic abuse encompasses the many ways that an abuser may control someone’s economic situation, including employment, food, basic necessities, medication, transport and housing, for example. Financial abuse can often be thought of as controlling the actual money by stealing, gambling, coercing someone into taking on debt, controlling their allowance each week,

1 in 6 women in the Australia have reportedly experienced economic abuse by a current or former partner.

Economic abuse can include exerting control over income, spending, bank accounts, bills and borrowing. It can also include controlling access to and use of things like transport and technology, which allow a person to work and stay connected, as well as property and daily essentials like food and clothing. It can include destroying items and refusing to contribute to household costs. Gambling away your financial security and destroying your credit rating.

Refusing to pay child support and not financially disclosing assets and debts during financial property settlements are also a way of economically abusing a person and intentionally controlling them.

This type of abuse is a form of coercive and controlling behaviour.   Economic abuse rarely happens in isolation and usually occurs alongside other forms of abuse, including physical, sexual and psychological abuse. 95% of cases of domestic abuse involve economic abuse. It can continue long after a leaving and can have lifelong effects 

This type of abuse is designed to create economic instability and/or make one partner economically dependent, which limits their freedom. Without access to money and the things that money can buy, it is difficult to leave an abuser and access safety. Someone experiencing this type of abuse can become trapped in a relationship with the abuser, unable to resist the abuser’s control and at risk of further harm. In this way, economic safety underpins physical safety.   

The impact of economic abuse makes leaving and rebuilding lives more challenging for survivors and their family. Many victim-survivors leave with large amounts of debt and poor credit ratings, affecting their long-term economic stability.

Red Flag (warnings) of economic/financial abuse

Economic abuse can take many forms. The perpetrator/abuser:

Sabotagesyour income and access to money: 

  • prevent you from being in education or employment  

  • limit your working hours 

  • takesyour pay 

  • refuse to let you claim government payments/ benefitsor take all the benefits

  • take children’s savings or birthday money 

  • refuse to let you access a bank account 

  • making you work in a family business without pay

  • give you a small allowance for necessities only

  • takes any windfall you get such as an inheritance

Restrict how you use money and the things that you own: 

  • control when and how money is spent 

  • dictate what you can buy   

  • make you ask for money

  • give you a small allowance to cover necessities only

  • check your receipts 

  • make you keep a spending diary 

  • make you justify every purchase made 

  • control the use of property, such as a mobile phone or car   

  • insist all economic assets (eg savings, house) are in their name   

  • keepfinancial information secret 

Exploits your economic situation: 

  • steal your money or property 

  • steal your identity or inheritance

  • cause damage to your property 

  • refuse to contribute to household costs   

  • spend money neededforhousehold items and bills 

  • misuse money in joint bank accounts 

  • insist all bills, credit cards and loans are in your name and make you paythem 

  • build up debt in your name, sometimes without your knowledge

  • destroying your credit rating affecting your future financing ability

There is help

If youhaveexperienced economic or financial abuse,you are not alone. There are people and organisations that can help .Refer to www.dvsupporthub.com for information on various services that can help as well as ways to help you financially get back on your feet.

Call 1800RESPECT for immediate assistance

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