In 5 Breaths Ease Your Christmas Stress
Can you believe that Christmas is only five Sunday’s away now? Yes - the end of the year is coming fast.
While Christmas is meant to be a time with family and connection, it can often be full of unrealistic expectations and stress. With gift giving, parties and kids coming to the end of a long year, it can be easy to forget to look after yourself. To take time out to relax; or even a breath.
I am also realistic working Mum of three kids, so I am not saying book a holiday to Fiji for a quick relax! But you can take a few moments a day to sit outside with a cup of tea and breath. Try this quick sensory calming exercise; that can easily happen with kids running round or your phone buzzing away!
Once you find your breath, go through the following steps to help ground yourself in 5 easy steps:
5: Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you.
4: Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you.
3: Acknowledge THREE things you hear.
2: Acknowledge TWO things you can smell.
1: Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste.
I hope this quick moment of self bliss helps keep a sense of calm during this busy time.
In this month’s newsletter I have highlighted the two BIG things I am seeing the most in Family Law. Enjoy reading on.
SEEKING ADVICE EARLY
I have a lot of clients who only seek advice after they have spent months negotiating with their partner or ex partner, about important matters like children’s arrangements, how to meet interim mortgage payments or other expenses and whether they agree to the sale of the family home.
Seeing a lawyer to obtain advice about these things before separation, or at an early stage, is a sound investment that can save you time, stress and money.
It can mean the following:
- Agreements can be reached that you can get compensated for certain interim payments you make
- Your financial stress can be reduced, if you seek financial maintenance from your partner early, while still negotiating the overall financial division
- If you have left the family home, you can reach agreements that you can be compensated for having to pay rent, while your partner remains living in the family home
- You can ensure that property owned by one spouse, such as real estate, is not able to be sold or refinanced without joint consent
COST OF LIVING
More of us are struggling to make ends meet. This is also affecting our ability to house ourselves, with many couples now not being able to obtain approval for finance to buy a home (or to up-size from their existing home).
Many more couples are relying on loans from one of their parents. There has also been an increase in couples who are only newly together, taking the risk of buying a property together as it is much more cost-effective than them paying rent.
I am seeing an increase in clients seeking advice on property sharing agreements, or contracting out agreements, to address these types of property purchases.
Contracting out agreements do not need to be complex, and can be fairly simple, especially if they only deal with the property which is being purchased, and all other property’s status upon separation is dealt with under the family law legislation.
They always require independent legal advice for each party signing the agreement, witnessing and certification by that lawyer and full disclosure of assets and liabilities in order to be valid and binding.
So, if you’re in this situation, or looking to the Bank of Mum and Dad with your partner come and have a chat with me to get the legal part sorted too.
I will be available to take calls and work with you right up until Christmas, so please don’t think “I’ll wait until next year”. Reach out now and get the advice you deserve, so you can have one less thing on your mind and focus on how to not let the turkey dry out cooking!
Take care,
Jane
P.S. If you feel like you want to connect about either of these topics, or any other Family Law concern you have please call me during business hours on 022 345 7187 or book a free 15 minute consultation by choosing a time. Alternatively if you know you want to proceed then please book a time that suits you and we can get started. Pick either by using this link >
