Family and Relationship Law
Judy Swan leads the family law team at Swan Lawyers. Judy’s experience in the field and her qualification as an Honours Graduate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Cape Town places her in a position where she is able to assist you through the traumatic process of separation and divorce with both delicacy and compassion without losing sight of the importance of the process. Judy’s experience as a barrister at the Cape Town bar and specialist in children’s matters, has enabled her to conduct complicated parenting matters in both the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court without the use of counsel thus reducing the overall costs to you considerably. Judy has an abhorrence for the expenses involved in family disputes and will always guide her clients towards a more conciliatory and collaborative approach if possible. If the matter is extremely complicated or to save money, Judy uses the services of various paralegals and barristers. Judy is an advocate for changes to the system to a less adversarial approach and to a system where lawyers’ fees are capped.
As a mother of four children, Judy’s passion is to protect the children of separating couples and to ensure that what is best for them is placed foremost even at the expense of the parents’ wishes. Judy is prepared to quote fixed prices for various steps of the process so that you know what to expect financially. Separation can cripple you both emotionally and financially. It is easier if you know what to expect up front than to be confronted with a bill when you are least capable of managing it. We believe in keeping you informed, ensuring that you receive expert advice while being mindful of the difficulties with the process and the current system. Judy Swan specialises in providing advice in relation to arrangements for your children, finalising Family Law settlements, mediation, property settlements de facto relationships, spouse maintenance, divorce, binding financial agreements and child support. Judy has recently completed the National Accredited Mediation Course in order to ensure that she is equipped to assist you in all mediation processes that you may face.