With the holiday season just around the corner, we’re bringing back a very popular episode from 2022 featuring Elisabeth Shaw, CEO of Relationships Australia NSW.
Elisabeth is also a highly experienced clinical and counselling psychologist, specialising in couple and family therapy, with more than 25 years of wisdom to share.
In this episode, Elisabeth offers thoughtful and practical advice for anyone navigating the festive season after a separation or divorce—a time that can bring up all kinds of emotions and logistical challenges.
We cover a wide range of topics, including:
Why the holidays tend to heighten emotions and strain relationships
The emotional impact of your first major holiday without your ex—and how to manage it
Strategies for negotiating holiday arrangements for children
Helping kids handle their own feelings around the season
What to do if you're planning to travel with the kids
Coping with loneliness or resentment if you’re spending the holiday alone
And how to navigate holidays with adult children post-separation
Toward the end of the episode, Ben asks both Elisabeth and Heather for their one key piece of advice for couples facing their first Christmas apart—so be sure to stay tuned right through to the end.
In this episode of The Family Matters Show, Ben and Heather answer real questions from the Coffs Coast community - questions that might be on your mind too.
Can I force the sale of a jointly owned home if we’ve only lived together 18 months?
What can I do if my ex is demanding too much and I can’t afford legal fees?
Do we really have to split parenting time 50/50?
Can I stop my ex from introducing the kids to a new partner after just a few weeks?
What are my options if my ex has stopped paying child support?
Should my HECS debt be considered in our property settlement?
What can I do if I suspect my ex is hiding business assets?
If you’ve been asking yourself any of these questions, this episode is packed with clear, practical answers.
Ben and Heather are joined by Craig Budden from Aussie Home Loans in Coffs Harbour to discuss the tricky business of getting finance after separation.
Topic covered include:
Ben and Heather talk about the contributions to a marriage that can be factored into a property settlement, focusing on the non-financial contributions which can easily be missed. Together they discuss the following:
Ben and Heather are joined by Klaudia Gebert, psychologist and founder of Self Reflection, to talk about transitioning to a single person after separation. Topics discussed include:
Ben and Heather speak to the Practice Specialist (Counselling) at Relationships Australia NSW about how to know if your relationship is salvageable. Sandra is a psychologist with a Masters in Couple and Family Therapy and years of experience in relationship counselling. She helps tease out answers to the following questions.
Sandra also considers 3 different scenarios and provides her thoughts on whether the relationship can move forward under these circumstances.
The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 was passed through parliament in October 2023 and took effect on 6 May 2024. The Act involves changes to how the Courts will make parenting orders in the "best interest of the child" and challenges the assumption of week-on week-off parenting post-separation.
In this episode, Ben and Heather discuss (and sometimes debate) the need for and impact of the changes.
Ben and Heather have their eighth session answering questions from the Coffs Coast community - and there were some good ones this time. Here are the topics covered:
While the overall divorce rate in Australia is declining, there is an upward trend in divorce in couples over 50. Ben and Heather talk about this phenomenon on this podcast and some of the unique complications that arise when calling quits on a long term relationship.
Topics covered include:
Ben and Heather welcome special guest forensic psychologist Dr Robert Simon from San Diego California to talk about resist/refuse behaviour in children, including the heated subject of parental alienation. Dr Simon is a specialist in child custody matters in the United States and is renowned for his expertise in parent/child contact problems. He provides an excellent overview of the most common reasons for resist/refuse behaviour, and makes it clear that parental alienation is not the most common cause.
Topics discussed include:
Ben and Heather have put together a "top 10" list of mistakes people make when it comes to child custody disputes. In this episode they explain why each of these is a mistake and what you could consider doing instead.
In this episode Ben and Heather are joined by barrister Rhys O'Brien, a specialist in complex family law matters, to talk about how the Court deals with Domestic Violence (Family Violence). They cover a wide range of topics, including the following:
Also discussed was the Family Law Amendment Bill that has been passed through Parliament and will take effect in May 2024 and includes a "streamlined" parenting framework simplifying the "best interests factors". This legislation may impact how the Court deals with domestic violence issues when deciding children's matters.
This month Ben and Heather addressed a wide array of family law questions from the community, touching on a number of common issues faced by people going through divorce and separation.
The questions included:
On this episode, Ben and Heather were joined by The Honourable Colin Forrest. Now retired from the Family Court, Colin now handles mediation and arbitration in family law. We spoke to him about the delicate subject of managing power imbalances, and potentially domestic violence situations, in mediation and arbitration sessions. Our discussions covered the following subjects:
On this episode, Ben and Heather are joined by two special guests to discuss the growth of specialist Indigenous family courts, known as Indigenous List. Retired Federal Circuit Court Judge Robyn Sexton started the very first Indigenous List in Sydney in 2014. Rick Welsh is proud Murrawarri man and coordinator of The Shed suicide prevention centre focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These two worked together to design and implement a specialist Indigenous family law court. Together they discuss the following:
On this episode, Ben and Heather discuss Wills and estate planning, bringing our attention to the many things that can go wrong if you fail to keep your Will and estate plan up to date with your life circumstances, particularly following a family breakdown. They discuss the following questions and scenarios:
1/ What happens if you die without a Will?
2/ What happens if you have children from your first marriage, remarry and don't change your Will?
3/ What happens if you separate from your partner, but don't change your Will?
4/ What happens if you divorce your partner, but don't change your Will?
5/ What if you have children, but don't change your Will to include them as beneficiaries?
6/ What if you have children and don't specify guardianship?
7/ When you change your Will can you add notes to an existing Will or do you need to start again?
8/ What assets should (and should not) be included in your Will?
9/ What happens if the estate has debts?
10/ What are the responsibilities of an executor and what should you look for when choosing your executor?
11/ What happens if you have a serious accident or illness that leaves you unable to manage your affairs?
12/ Do you need a lawyer for estate planning or can you DIY?
This month, Ben and Heather were joined by experienced clinical psychologist Warwick McClelland to talk about divorce and separation when children with special needs are involved. Topics covered include:
This month, Ben and Heather delved into the topic of de facto relationships, answering the following questions:
Property settlement is one of the first things that separating couples need to deal with, and often one of the most emotional. In this episode, Ben and Heather answer the top six most commonly asked questions on property settlement. Over the years Ben and Heather have dealt with so many questions about property settlement, both in their practice and through the podcast. They have whittled down those questions to the 6 most frequently asked and on today's show provide you with answers. Here are the six questions:
Ben and Heather discuss same-sex separation together with clinical psychologist Dr. Catherine Boland. The founder of Relationspace, a team of skilled professionals helping people going through divorce to better manage their circumstances and protect the psychological health of their children, Catherine is ideally placed to provide insights into the social science side of separation. While Heather answers the more technically legal questions.
The team cover the following topics and questions:
