England and Wales have recently adopted no-fault divorce laws which means that unhappy, separating individuals can end their marriages without needing to “prove” that their ex was guilty of adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion. It essentially means that separating couples in those countries no longer need to lay blame in order to legally divorce their partner.  

Before these laws were enacted, couples had to be living apart for two years before a divorce court be granted and this time frame was even longer if one of them objected to the proceedings.  

This issue has been a topic of discussion in England and Wales after the case of Tini Owens was before the Supreme Court there. Tini was unable to have her divorce granted even though she was stuck in an unhappy marriage for 40 years.  

The basis of the reform is to ensure that people do not stay in toxic relationships and do not have to endure the stress, time and large costs associated with lengthy court wait-times. 

In circumstances where Australia has had a No-Fault divorce system since 1975 it really highlights just how progressive Australia is in comparison to many other countries across the globe. 

Since 1975, divorces in Australia have been granted on a ‘no fault’ basis. Under the no fault divorce system, a divorce application can be filed by either spouse. 

Prior to the Family Law Act coming into force in 1975, there had to be proven grounds for divorce. Such grounds included adultery, alcohol & substance abuse, or insanity. This ‘fault’ could then be used as evidence in court proceedings. Since no-fault divorce was introduced, rather than proving that one party caused the breakdown of the marriage, a couple now only has to show that they have been separated for 12 months in order for a divorce to be granted. This can be done through a sole or joint divorce application depending on how the parties wish to proceed. 

Not sure whether you meet the requirements of a divorce? Contact us to book in a free 15 minute discovery call with one of our collaborative family lawyers and take the next step. 

For many parents involved in separation and divorce, organising a plan for your estate that is consistent with your wishes, dreams and desires is often overlooked.

You might think, “it’s not important right now” or “I’ll do it later”, but this may be a crucial part of your separation journey and an incremental step towards setting up the new chapter of your life for happiness, prosperity and clarity.

Here are 5 reasons why if you are separating, you need a Wills & Estates package.

(1) If you have not updated your will, there can be serious implications regarding who receives your estate if something were to happen to you.

Not updating your will post-separation or post-divorce can have a significant impact on who might be entitled to your inheritance. It’s even worse if you do not have a will.

I have previously written a Support Space article about this where I go through the separation journey and discuss not having a will, updating a will and the intestacy laws. To read this article, click here.

(2) You always need to have an emergency plan, it’s your children and your property!

We often say that separation can involve two of the most important things in people’s lives – finances and family.

You have worked hard to build the family and wealth that you have created. Like anything important in life, you should always have a backup plan especially for something that is the most important thing to you, right?

Depending on what your wishes are, this plan can be tailor-made to your circumstances. You may wish to reap the benefits of a Testamentary Trust for taxation purposes or asset protection from creditors. You may wish to have documents regarding the medical treatment you receive if you were to be incapacitated or appoint someone to manage your finances if that was to occur.

The most important thing to take away about all this is have a backup plan!

(3) Recent global events mean that life can change in the blink of an eye.

Further to the above reason, reflecting on the past two years it is clear that life is so short and it can change in the blink of an eye. I’ve seen videos of people in Shanghai, China in a further lockdown. People are travelling and may get stuck overseas. The war in Ukraine may progress further involving the entire world. The Australian Federal Budget may have an impact on your finances.

In short, there is a plethora of issues which do not really make things more “urgent” as regardless of these recent events, tomorrow is not guaranteed, but it has really illuminated the importance of putting the foundations in your life to keep your family safe and secure.

When going through separation, there can be many onflow effects that have an impact on different areas of your life that you might not be aware of. It’s important to do all things necessary to lay the building blocks for the next chapter of your life as a separated individual that does not solely address the separation itself.

(4) Make the most of the benefits that your family can achieve.

There can be several benefits that you might not be making the most of if you have not set up an estate plan that encourages you receiving these. Setting up a Testamentary Trust within your will has significant tax benefits.

A testamentary trust has the significant advantage of enabling the trustee to stream or split income amongst the trust’s discretionary beneficiaries in a way that minimises overall tax paid on the trust’s income. The trustee may decide which beneficiaries receive trust income. The beneficiaries that receive the trust income then include this income in their own assessable income which is taxed at that individual’s marginal tax rates.

Income received by your children through testamentary trusts is taxed at normal adult rates rather than the higher tax rates that generally apply to minors. This means that with the current tax-free threshold of about $18,000 beneficiaries of the trust such as your children are able to receive up to this amount tax free from the trust each year.

To learn more about Testamentary Trusts, visit our shop and listen to Heela provide a webinar about this.

(5) There is something worse than death… it’s incapacitation.

At any point in time you may lose the capacity to make decisions regarding your life moving forward. If you were to lose capacity, consider how you would want your financial and personal affairs to be managed.

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is a document in which you appoint one or more trusted persons to control your financial affairs in the event of losing your mental capacity to conduct those financial affairs. An Enduring Guardianship may also be desirable to ensure the right person(s) are empowered to make decisions about your welfare and medical treatment when you are no longer able to make those decisions. Another useful document is an Advanced Health Directive which can be made if there are concerns about the form of medical treatment you might receive after you become incapable.

All in all, there are so many reasons why you need to be laying the foundations in to express your wishes through a Wills & Estates Package.

To learn more about the packages we offer, click here and be sure to contact us if you would like to learn more about how we can assist you in fulfilling your legacy.

Contact us to meet with our team of Collaborative Family Lawyers today.

What is a Testamentary Trust

There are 4 key Parties in a Testamentary Trust:

1. Settlor: the person who creates the trust (as part of their will).
2. Trustee: responsible for carrying out the terms of the will.
3. Beneficiary: person/s entitled to receive benefits of the trust.
4. Court: the probate court oversees the handling of the trust by the trustee, ensuring the trust is properly followed.

A testamentary trust functions in a similar way to a discretionary family trust, with certain provisions of the will operating like a trust deed. It allows the trustees of each trust to decide, from time to time, which of the nominated beneficiaries (if any) may receive the benefit of the distributions from that trust for any given period. A testamentary trust can exist for up to 80 years but can also vest (be wound-up) earlier if the trustee so decides. Under a testamentary trust, the ultimate control and legal ownership of the estate is clearly with the trustee. The beneficiaries do not legally own the assets of the trust but have a right to be considered in the distribution of the income and capital of the trust.

A testamentary trust works together with a will, and is similar to a discretionary trust. The major difference between a TT and a discretionary trust is that the TT only takes effect upon the death of the person who made the will. The trust can be funded by some or by all of your assets, and by payments derived as a consequence of death, such as life insurance payouts and superannuation death benefits.

Upon the death of a Will-maker, the assets of the deceased are distributed to the trustee(s) of the testamentary trust that hold(s) the assets for and on behalf of the nominated beneficiaries.

The decision as to who the trustee of the trust is of necessity an important one so as to ensure that the appointee is one that is trustworthy, competent and will serve to protect the beneficiaries’ entitlements.

The assets are not transferred to the individual beneficiaries directly, but rather to a trustee of the established testamentary trust that holds the assets in the trust fund, for and on behalf of the beneficiaries.

The long-term success of a testamentary trust is dependent on planning and a high level of co-operation between family members.

Advantages

Testamentary trusts are widely recommended by Australian solicitors because they are inexpensive to run and provide extremely valuable asset protection and tax minimisation opportunities to beneficiaries

Asset protection — protects from unwanted claims by creditors, spouses or partners of the testator’s children. It also protects inheritances from family law claims. Testamentary trusts protect a beneficiary who is experiencing family law difficulties. With the inheritance held in a testamentary trust, the primary beneficiary can isolate inherited assets from personal assets. This helps to protect their inheritance from family law property proceedings following a divorce or a de facto break-up.

Tax benefits — income generated by the trust can be allocated between beneficiaries in a tax effective manner. Beneficiaries under the age of 18 years will be taxed at normal tax (adult) rates, not at penalty rates which are normally applicable for prescribed minors.

The main tax advantage of using a discretionary, testamentary trust is that any income, capital gains and franked dividends can be distributed among all your family beneficiaries each year in the most tax-efficient way. A trust does not have to pay income tax on income that is distributed to the beneficiaries, but does have to pay tax on undistributed income. The trustee is free to distribute trust income to as many beneficiaries as possible, and in proportions that take best advantage of those beneficiaries’ personal marginal tax rates. The beneficiaries then pay the tax on distributions made to them. So essentially, it gives a beneficiary the option to reduce personal income tax by splitting income from the investment of the inheritance between a range of family members on low tax rates. The trustee can choose to distribute income to minor beneficiaries of the trust with each beneficiary being able to receive up to $18,200 of income tax-free to pay for education and living expenses. For example , for a one million dollar estate that is invested for a modest 5% return, this equates to $50,000 income per year, which if distributed among children or low-income family members could equate over ten years to half a million dollars tax saved for the benefit of your family rather than the ATO.

The tax concessions apply to income and capital gains derived by the trust the assets you leave it. Tax concessions also apply to any income and capital gains derived from assets acquired from the reinvestment of moneys received from the original inherited assets.

Protection from bankruptcy — a well-structured trust will protect a beneficiary’s inheritance in the event of insolvency or bankruptcy. Since the assets are not owned personally by the beneficiary they do not form part of the beneficiary’s personal estate. A creditor or other person claiming against the beneficiary, therefore, cannot obtain the assets held in the trust.

Capital gains and stamp duty – Testamentary trusts also provide the opportunity for beneficiaries to minimise Capital Gains Tax which arises from the sale of assets. Capital Gains Tax is not triggered when an asset belonging to you passes via your Will to your executor or the trustee of a testamentary trust. Also, there is no Capital Gains Tax when your assets are transferred from the trustee of a testamentary trust to a beneficiary. As with the income of the trust, the trustee can select which of the beneficiaries of the testamentary trust should take the capital gain.

By choosing to distribute the capital gain to a beneficiary on a low or nil income, the capital gains tax liability can be significantly reduced. Holding the assets of an estate within a trust offers the beneficiaries an opportunity to defer the need for the sale of assets (and therefore capital gains tax) until later when more numerous beneficiaries come into existence. Tax that is deferred is tax saved.

These extremely valuable protections and financial advantages can last for 80 years. Testamentary trusts are also able to be passed across generations creating a long term protected financial legacy for your family. Testamentary Trusts are how families keep their wealth in the family.

Superannuation is an increasingly significant asset in the property pool for separated Australian couples. For many, especially those who are separating many years in their marriage or de-facto relationship, superannuation can often be the “sticking point” in trying to reach a settlement.

Superannuation & financial disclosure

As an item that is required to be included in the balance sheet and the entire asset pool, disclosure of one’s interest in superannuation funds is required to be provided.

Disclosure regarding superannuation interests can include:

• Superannuation statements
• Screenshots of current superannuation balances
• Trust deeds for self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs)
• Trust Annual Accounts for the SMSF
• Bank statements for any accounts held by the SMSF
• Evidence of withdrawals from superannuation funds
• Valuation of the fund (via a Form 6 Superannuation Information Kit)

For many separations involving property matters, this disclosure is not always forthcoming.

The changes mentioned in the Australian Federal Budget

That is why the Australian Government has committed to improving the visibility of superannuation assets in family law proceedings.

The recently-released Australian Federal Budget 2022-2023 outlines how this commitment, under the overarching theme of improving economic security for Australians through their superannuation, is hoped to be achieved. From 1 April 2022, the Government’s reform to improve the visibility of superannuation assets in family law proceedings will come into effect.

The Australian Taxation Office will be able to share information with the Courts on superannuation assets held by parties during family law disputes.

These targeted measures are in addition to broader reforms implemented by the Government over recent years to improve equity and flexibility in the superannuation system and maximise the savings of all Australians.

How?

The Government has released legislation and explanatory material that amends the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and the Family Law Act 1975 to facilitate the identification of superannuation assets by parties to family law proceedings, leveraging information held by the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measure No. 6) Bill 2021 (Schedule 5) will allow the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to release superannuation information to a family law court upon request. To obtain this information, an applicant will have to be a party to a family law property proceeding and apply to a family law court registry to request their former partner’s superannuation information, held by the ATO. Parties will then be able to use this information to seek up-to-date superannuation information from their former partner’s superannuation fund.

What is the impact?

These amendments will make it harder for parties to hide or under-disclose their superannuation assets in family law property proceedings, and will reduce the time, cost and complexity for parties seeking information about their former partner’s superannuation.

Parties to property proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 will be able to apply to family law court registries for access to superannuation information from 1 April 2022.

This will help deliver fairer and more equitable outcomes for women going through separation proceedings by reducing the scope for former partners to under-disclose their assets. Access to this information will better support separated couples to divide their property on a just and equitable basis. This will help alleviate the financial hardship and negative impact on retirement incomes that women in particular can experience after separation.

Do you want to learn how to navigate your separation journey with as little stress, money and time as possible? 

Contact us to meet with our team of Collaborative Family Lawyers today.

Kalpaxis Legal is a boutique Collaborative Family, Divorce & Surrogacy Law firm in Parramatta also practicing in Wills and Estates.


“The court has the power to recover the children and bring them back to the state you relocated from, and also return them to the school they once attended.” Did you know this? Over the last few months, as borders opened up and life has returned to normal following Omicron, I’ve seen an increase in clients who are wanting to relocate post-separation and not understanding the legal parameters when there are children involved.

Want to read the entire article? Click here to view the article on Kidspot!

If you are interested in Parenting Coordination and would like more information about the numerous separation pathways that we offer at Kalpaxis Legal, be sure to contact us to organise a time to meet with the Family.

The importance of making a will during COVID-19.

Why should you make a will during the COVID-19 pandemic? Well, there are a few good reasons:

First, wills can help you decide on an executor who assist in administering your estate. Executors are in charge of tying up loose ends in your affairs. Examples of these include repaying existing bills, administering and distributing items to your nominated parties. Make sure you appoint someone you trust and are comfortable with handling your legacy, in accordance with your wishes in the will, for when you are no longer able to do so.

Secondly, wills are legally enforceable documents that help you distribute your belongings and property. Through a will, you can leave certain items and valuables to individuals that may hold special sentimental value to you. Alternatively, you can even make gifts to organisations, charities or loved ones. Wills are a good, legally enforceable way to make sure your loved ones are provided for in future. It’s important to engage a lawyer to ensure that the relevant requirements to have a will be considered valid are met.

Finally, having a will can help you reduce uncertainty. Anything can happen during a pandemic, so making a will can remove uncertainty when it comes to distributing your estate and providing for your loved ones. Without a will, your property is distributed by the court among your relatives- this distribution might be different to what you wish to happen! As such, it’s better to have things down in writing, distributed according to how you want it, and by an appointed executor you trust.

COVID-19 has brought along with it some uncertainty, anxiety and stress for many, in a variety of ways.

The unpredictable nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and how we as a society are to live with it creates a foreboding aura of the scarcity of life.

Life is short. I think that’s something that we are all coming to terms with if we haven’t already had such illuminated to us.

Global health is an ongoing concern and with the restrictions easing to facilitate international travel (even in circumstances that we are in now with the Russia/Ukraine conflict), it is important that before making any big decisions (whether it be vaccinations, international travel, or otherwise) that all your wishes are expressed in a will. Nobody can guarantee that tomorrow is going to happen, and this has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is better to be safe than sorry with these kind of things, and we look at the case study of Prince below who left hundreds of millions of dollars at the time of his death with no clear indication of who that was going to go to.

Case Study: Prince

For today’s case study, we look at the death of the famous musician, Prince.

Surprisingly, even the rich and famous can fail to plan ahead when it comes to their estate.

Prince died from an accidental overdose in April 2016, aged 57, and did not leave a will, with his fortune due to go to his siblings, though two of the six, Alfred Jackson and John R. Nelson, have passed away since then. Prince left a valuable and complicated estate that was made more complicated by his inactions and oversights. We do not even know if, how the estate is being dealt with now, is in accordance with his wishes.

He was twice divorced and unmarried at the time of his death and had no offspring. Prince had numerous full- and half-siblings. What this means is there are a lot of individuals who could make a claim on the estate.

After 6 years, the estate will now be almost evenly split between a music company, Primary Wave — who bought out all or most of the interests of Prince’s three youngest siblings, including Alfred, while the others rejected their approach. These family members were essentially entitled to millions of dollars without express provision by Prince (through a will) for such to occur.

Prince’s estate has been valued at about $160 million and continues to generate money. Since death, Prince’s streams on Spotify and Apple have sky-rocketed, generating millions of dollars dispersed to people whom we do not even know he wished to inherit.

The executor, or administrator, often is the key to determining how the estate is distributed and how much is available to distribute. While important in every estate, the role of executor is more important than usual in Prince’s estate due to its complex nature and the several individuals entitled to make a claim.

Because Prince died without preparing a will he didn’t have a say in even the basic decision of who should shares in his estate or be his executor. Even in the smallest of estates, this is critical. You have worked hard for your estate, even if it is small – wouldn’t you want to have a say on who deals with it when you pass?

In many cases, what the deceased would have wanted differs greatly from what happens once the issue of probate has been dealt with by the Courts.

If you are wanting to learn more about creating your own unique and bespoke legacy package that accords with your wishes, be sure to contact us to organise a time to meet with the Family.

TW: Domestic & Family Violence

What is gaslighting?

Gaslighting behaviour refers to making someone question their perception of reality, their memories and possibly their identity. This is a form of psychological abuse that is often carried out through one’s words or actions, and it often causes confusion to its subject.

According to popular belief, the term ‘gaslight’ arose from the 1944 film of the same name. In this film, a man psychologically manipulated his wife which eventually led her to believe she was insane.

Gaslighting is a type of manipulation, and often results in one questioning their version of the truth and/or reality. In fact, some victims of gaslighting may not even realise that it is happening. Some common indicators of gaslighting are:

Trivialising one’s feelings and concerns

Questioning one’s memory or truth (statements such as ‘Are you sure about that? You have bad memory’ and the like)

Denying certain events or statements and allegedly claiming that they were false.

These are just some examples of the various ways gaslighting behaviour occurs. If an individual experiences such behaviour on a regular basis, it is likely that recognising such behaviour becomes increasingly difficult as one eventually becomes accustomed to it.

Gaslighting may also occur during your separation journey.

Emotions run high and you can feel that the conflict between you and your ex is escalating. There is a real possibility that gaslighting behaviour may occur where one may end up questioning their reality and memory of events that occurred prior, during or after separation.

Case Study: Kim Kardashian & Kanye West (Kimye Divorce)

Recently, Kanye took to social media to post private messages from Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson in the midst of their new relationship. Kanye’s PR team came to the hurry to delete the posts, but as mentioned in our Support Space article here about social media, once you share something to the internet it’s there forever!

In his barrage of Instagram posts, Kanye told his million followers that Kim has tried to keep him from his children maliciously, despite the concerns she has for his mental health and stability. It all centred around their child, Chicago’s birthday party which Kanye asserts that he was not made aware of the party or its address. According to insiders, Kanye tried not once or twice, but three times to enter the party until Kim’s little sister Kylie opened the gate.

People are now asking Kim – why didn’t you let him into his daughter’s party?

From the perspective of Kanye’s fans, Kim is being a “bad mother” for not allowing Kanye to see his children despite the concerns that she has.

As mentioned above, gaslighting can (in a completely unique way to your circumstances) have you questioning reality. In this kind of circumstance, you might be saying something like:

Is it true that I am a bad mother because I didn’t tell him about my daughter’s birthday party because I’m concerned about his mental health?

Everyone around me is telling me that I’m in the wrong.

Maybe he is right and I should just give up even though I know that I shouldn’t.

Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse and is considered same by the Courts given the definition of family violence in the Family Law Act.

Gaslighting can affect anybody, and it is important to get in touch with the support networks available to better understand the situation that you are going through.

If you are experiencing family or domestic violence, the 1800RESPECT hotline is available 24 hours on 1800 737 732. If you are wanting to learn more about how your experiences may arise in your separation, be sure to contact us to organise a time to meet with the Family.

As a collaborative family lawyer I always strive to keep families out of court, especially after a parenting order has been agreed on.

Going to court is a significant expense, and often does not address immediate disputes that are occurring between parents. A new service launched last year that is such a valuable tool for high conflict co-parents to make decisions, but it’s also one so many families don’t yet know about.

It’s called Parenting Coordination, and it’s an innovative new approach to the family court system that launched Australia-wide late last year, as a way for co-parents to work together to make decisions on things they may not agree on.

Parenting Coordination

When the ink settles on an interim Court Order, that isn’t the end of making decisions as a co-parent, and often we can see families back in court over all sorts of things, from which school the child should attend, to travel plans in the school holidays. This service works to keep these things out of court, freeing up the backlogged system- particularly as we battle with the impact of COVID.

The service can be used before, during and after final Court Orders are put in place, and can be useful for more minor conflicts that can use up resources and valuable court time. It also teaches parents the skills to communicate and negotiate in a high-conflict situation. We are seeing it as a very valuable resource though after parenting arrangements are agreed on.

Parenting Coordination can be conducted online or in-person as it currently stands. Both parties need to agree to attend or can be court-ordered to attend, and they meet with the Parenting Coordinator once a month for a minimum of twelve months.

The session generally runs for a few hours and beforehand there is an agreement to discuss three issues that have arisen in the month with a view to resolving those issues in the session.

The benefit of a Parenting Coordinator is if the parties cannot agree, then the Parenting Coordinator has the ability to make a direction (non-court binding) about how the issue is to be dealt with and the parties are expected to follow it.

The other benefit is if urgent issues arise a Parenting Coordinator can be available to deal with an issue of urgency at the last minute. For example, if someone’s parent dies and the other party doesn’t want the children going to the funeral – a decision can be made then and there.

Finally, all of this extends to email monitoring, text message monitoring, wherein if there is high conflict, the Parenting Coordinator can jump in and ensure that the communication is not rude, inappropriate, and is child-focused. All of this is reportable in the event that the matter goes to court.

The biggest benefits of Parenting Coordination for kids

I am currently one of three fully trained parenting coordinators in Sydney but there are many more nationally available.

I have found that the benefits are huge, especially for children and include:

• Enhancing the child’s confidence and self-esteem.
• Increasing the likelihood of keeping two active parents in the child’s life.
• Reducing the child’s symptoms of stress as parental conflict decreases.
• Diminishing the child’s sense of loyalty binds.
• Creating a good set of ground rules which are followed by their parents surrounding communication and interaction.

Likewise, there are long term benefits to parents as well, to educate them on an ongoing basis, these include:

• Educating parents on the impact of parental conflict on their child’s development.
• Working with parents in developing a detailed parenting plan.
• Teaching parents anger management, communication and conflict resolution skills, and children’s issues during divorce.

Kalpaxis Legal is a boutique Collaborative Family, Divorce & Surrogacy Law firm in Parramatta also practicing in Wills and Estates.

A new service launched last year that is such a valuable tool for high conflict co-parents to make decisions, but it’s also one so many families don’t yet know about, writes family lawyer Cassandra Kalpaxis.

Want to read the entire article? Click here to view the article on Kidspot!

If you are interested in Parenting Coordination and would like more information about the numerous separation pathways that we offer at Kalpaxis Legal, be sure to contact us to organise a time to meet with the Family.

I have a confession to make. This week I was watching MAFS.
 
If you have been following the show you will know that Domenica, one of the brides, was recently married and divorced before joining the show as a contestant. The entire first episode of her MAFS wedding was based around her BIG, HUGE news.

I was on tender hooks waiting for the big reveal. 

The big news was that she had been divorced. Que my immense disappointment. 

The language that channel 9 used around delivering Domenica’s big “news” is the very problem that exists in today’s day and age when we are discussing divorce. 

The language used was very much based in Doom and Gloom. It alluded to her feeling as if she was a failure because she had previously been divorced. 

I call bullshit on this. 

 We know nothing about Domenica’s former marriage. We have no idea why that relationship didn’t work, and more importantly why should we care?
 
Divorce is not a failure. It is not a pathway demonstrating a fault in you or your former partner. Something to be feared, ashamed and uncomfortable about. 
 
The type of language used in MAFS when discussing Divorce, further perpetuates that exact myth which is deeply rooted in an outdated view on ‘for better or worse.’

The unhealthy obsession with magnifying divorce to be a depressing minefield contributes to the decline in mental health for so many considering separation or those brave enough to take the first step. It encourages people to continue to view Divorce as a failure.

For better or for worse does not mean suffering in a marriage where your mental health is being eroded and you no longer share joint goals, or dreams with your partner. 
 
Leaving a marriage that is no longer fulfilling you is not a failure. Leaving a marriage that is no longer filled with mutual respect, adoration, commitment and shared aspirations is an act of bravery and the highest act of self love that could be performed. 

I struggle to understand the irony of a major network who perpetuates this type of divorce narrative and yet claims to be assisting people to find love and to encourage people to live their best lives in their new found relationships. Channel 9 you need to do better.
 
By perpetuating the myth that Divorce is a failure through this popular TV show, we are effectively telling people it’s fine to surrender to love and to be vulnerable enough to marry a stranger, but please do not champion your divorce, it does not sell ratings. 

It is socially irresponsible for a major television network to be isolating the brave. To be isolating those who are in the middle of a radical life change for the better. When we should be celebrating the choice to start life again and live a life that is based on joy, love and adoration. 
 
Channel 9 it’s time for a change. You are at the forefront of this movement. Lead by example.

It’s time to change the narrative about Divorce.