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These conferences are held on the third level of the Family Court in small individual conference rooms.
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A Registrar of the Family Court chairs the conferences.
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It will be necessary for you to attend Court on these dates and we will either meet you at Court or travel with you from our office to Court.
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In matters concerning property and children, Conciliation Conferences are designed to help yourself and your partner reach a resolution (without proceeding to a Trial) on matters in dispute.
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Usually, during these conferences the Registrar (not a Judge) will ask each party or ourselves for a summary of the relevant positions and then the Registrar will help to facilitate negotiations by doing one or more of the following things:
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Talking and discussing the issues in dispute with both yourself and your partner with both legal advisers present;
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Discussing the matter privately with yourself and us or your partner and his/her legal adviser;
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Have discussions with yourself and your partner without legal advisers being present;
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Make recommendations and give an opinion as to any issues in dispute.
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It is important to remember that anything said at this conference is confidential and cannot be relied upon or repeated in Court unless an agreement is reached or in other very rare circumstances.
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A Conciliation Conference will usually go for about two (2) hours but may be longer depending upon how negotiations progress.
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If your matter does not resolve at the end of the Conciliation Conference then the Registrar will either:
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Adjourn the Conciliation Conference so that further discussions/negotiations and exchanging of documents can take place; or
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Allocate a Pre-Trial Conference; or
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Immediately make directions for the filing of Affidavit material for the Trial and allocate a Trial date.
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The Pre-Trial Conference is a short conference (usually of 15 minutes duration) chaired by a Registrar of the Family Court.
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At this conference the Registrar will enquire as to whether there are any prospects of the matter settling and may have some brief discussions about settlement of the matter.
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The main function of the Pre-Trial Conference however is to allocate a Trial date and to make directions for all parties to file and serve Affidavit material and other evidence to be relied upon at the Trial.
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At the end of the Pre-Trial Conference you will know what date your Trial is on and the deadline for filing material.
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