Gold Coast
Family lawyers help with separation, divorce, parenting arrangements and dividing property. Most matters settle through negotiation or mediation, with court as the last step.
117 firms
Browns Lawyers provides legal services in Miami, QLD. Listed practice areas include Property & Conveyancing, Wills & Estates and Family Law.
ROC Legal provides legal services in Robina, QLD. Listed practice areas include Contested Wills & Family Provision, Personal Injury and Probate & Estate Administration.
Hope Island, QLD · Gold Coast
Stacks Law Firm Tweed Heads provides legal services in Hope Island, QLD. Listed practice areas include Property & Conveyancing, Wills & Estates and Domestic Violence & AVOs.
JHL Conveyancing provides legal services in NSW. Listed practice areas include Property & Conveyancing, Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Wills & Estates.
Robina, QLD · Gold Coast
Keating Kate Lawyer provides legal services in Robina, QLD. Listed practice areas include Family Law, Property & Conveyancing and Partner & Family Visas.
Grant Lawyers provides legal services in Bundall, QLD. Listed practice areas include Insolvency & Restructuring, Family Law and Criminal Law.
Law Tram provides legal services in Varsity Lakes, QLD. Listed practice areas include Business & Commercial Law, Wills & Estates and Defamation.
Pelican Solicitors provides legal services in NSW. Listed practice areas include Property & Conveyancing, Business & Commercial Law and Wills & Estates.
Surfers Paradise, QLD · Gold Coast
Abledale Law provides legal services in Surfers Paradise, QLD. Listed practice areas include Criminal Law, Drug Offences and Bail Applications.
NSW · Gold Coast
Aspire Family Law provides legal services in NSW. Listed practice areas include Health & Medical Practitioner Law, Elder Law & Aged Care and Child Protection & Care Matters.
Surfers Paradise, QLD · Gold Coast
Brisbane Elder Law provides legal services in Surfers Paradise, QLD. Listed practice areas include Elder Law & Aged Care, Wills & Estates and Family Law.
Varsity Lakes, QLD · Gold Coast
Family Law Gold Coast provides legal services in Varsity Lakes, QLD. Listed practice areas include Family Law, Family Property Settlement and Property & Conveyancing.
Jimboomba, QLD · Gold Coast
Go To Court Lawyers Woolloongabba provides legal services in Jimboomba, QLD. Listed practice areas include Drink & Drug Driving, Wills & Estates and Immigration & Visas.
Helensvale, QLD · Gold Coast
Go To Court Lawyers Woolloongabba provides legal services in Helensvale, QLD. Listed practice areas include Drink & Drug Driving, Wills & Estates and Immigration & Visas.
Bundall, QLD · Gold Coast
Go To Court Lawyers Woolloongabba provides legal services in Bundall, QLD. Listed practice areas include Drink & Drug Driving, Wills & Estates and Immigration & Visas.
Southport, QLD · Gold Coast
Potts Bill provides legal services in Southport, QLD. Listed practice areas include Domestic Violence & AVOs, Criminal Law and Traffic Offences.
Burleigh Heads, QLD · Gold Coast
Reaburn Solicitors provides legal services in Burleigh Heads, QLD. Listed practice areas include Business & Commercial Law, Family Law and Property & Conveyancing.
Southport, QLD · Gold Coast
Reardon Family Lawyers provides legal services in Southport, QLD. Listed practice areas include Family Law, Mediation & Dispute Resolution and Parenting & Child Custody.
Bundall, QLD · Gold Coast
Stacks Law Firm Bundall provides legal services in Bundall, QLD. Listed practice areas include Drink & Drug Driving, Traffic Offences and Business & Commercial Law.
Tamborine Mountain, QLD · Gold Coast
Tamborine Mountain Law provides legal services in Tamborine Mountain, QLD. Listed practice areas include Wills & Estates, Criminal Law and Child Protection & Care Matters.
Beaudesert, QLD · Gold Coast
Tamborine Mountain Law provides legal services in Beaudesert, QLD. Listed practice areas include Wills & Estates, Criminal Law and Child Protection & Care Matters.
Family law in Australia is mostly federal. Parenting and property matters run under the Family Law Act and are heard in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, or the Family Court of Western Australia in WA. A good family lawyer will explain your likely outcome early, push for a negotiated agreement where it's safe to do so, and prepare you properly if a court hearing is needed. Where there is family violence, they can also help you get protection orders from your state's local or magistrates court.
Family breakdown is one of the most common reasons Australians need a lawyer, and decisions made early affect children and finances for years.
Family law is one of the few areas run federally, under the Family Law Act 1975, with separate protection order schemes in each state and a separate Family Court in Western Australia.
Understand the next step
Family matters often involve several decisions at once: living arrangements, children, immediate expenses, property and formally ending a marriage. A useful first consultation separates those issues and identifies what needs attention now. Tell the lawyer about safety concerns and existing orders before arranging discussions involving another person.
Southport, Surfers Paradise, Robina and Coolangatta offer different starting points for a Gold Coast search. A matter involving Tweed Heads or a NSW asset should be identified as cross-border from the first enquiry.
For family & relationships, ask which parts of the work the firm handles itself and whether it has relevant QLD experience. Let the lawyer know if a property, employer, other party or existing proceeding is outside Gold Coast. Your home address alone does not determine the applicable process.
Explain the relationship history, current arrangements and outcome you want. Identify immediate concerns and provide every existing order or agreement.
Discuss negotiation and family dispute resolution. Parenting applications generally involve prior dispute resolution unless an exception applies; ask the lawyer to assess the appropriate process.
Ask how an agreement would be documented and implemented. Clarify who handles related transfers, finance and estate-planning work.
Ask for separate estimates for advice, negotiation, document preparation and court work. A fixed divorce-application fee does not necessarily cover parenting or financial disputes.
Ask for a written scope identifying the work you are authorising, the person responsible and when costs will be reviewed. If you only want advice on one step, say so before the firm begins wider work.
Highlight court dates, proposed travel or relocation and any planned property sale. Ask which time limits apply to your particular issues rather than assuming there is one deadline for everything.
Directory guidance updated 19 September 2026. General information to help you prepare for a conversation with a professional; not advice about your individual matter. Check current requirements with the relevant authority.
Good to know
Not always. A simple divorce application can be filed online without one. It's worth getting advice before you apply if you have children, shared property or superannuation, because divorce starts the clock on time limits for property claims.
Married couples generally have 12 months from the date the divorce becomes final. De facto couples generally have two years from separation. After that you need the court's permission, which is not guaranteed.
For parenting disputes, you usually need a certificate from a family dispute resolution practitioner before filing in court, unless an exception applies such as family violence or urgency.