Separation, divorce, property, and parenting matters handled with clarity, care, and the senior expertise your family deserves.
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WHO WE ARE
The end of a marriage or relationship isn’t just a legal process. It’s one of the most difficult things a person can go through and the decisions you make in the months ahead will shape your family’s life for years.
You don’t need to face it alone, and you don’t need to face it with a lawyer who treats you like a file number.
At Borda Family Lawyers, every client works directly with Mark Borda, an Accredited Specialist in Family Law with the experience to guide you through the most complex matters, and the empathy to remember that behind every matter is a person, a family, and a future.
HOW WE HELP
From divorce and separation through to complex property disputes, we offer a full range of family law services tailored to your circumstances.
Our experienced divorce lawyers in Sydney guide you through every stage of the process, from filing for divorce to finalising financial and parenting arrangements, with clarity and compassion.
Our experienced family lawyers in Sydney help you establish clear, practical parenting arrangements, providing guidance on parenting plans, consent orders, and child custody matters to support your child’s best interests and long-term stability.
We provide strategic advice on property and financial settlements, helping you achieve a fair and commercial division of assets, liabilities, and superannuation, and ensuring you can move on with your life with confidence and certainty.
We assist with child support in Australia, including helping you understand your obligations and entitlements, navigating the assessment process with Services Australia, or reaching a private agreement with your former partner to secure fair and practical arrangements for your child.
We assist with de facto relationship matters, including property settlements, parenting issues, and financial support, ensuring your rights are protected following separation.
We offer clear guidance on spousal maintenance, helping you understand your entitlements or obligations and secure fair, practical financial support arrangements after separation.
We regularly assist clients through the process of mediation and dispute resolution services to help them reach practical agreements efficiently, reducing conflict, time, legal costs, and the need for court proceedings.
We provide expert advice on binding financial agreements in Australia, helping you formalise financial arrangements and achieve effective asset and wealth protection before, during, or after a relationship.
We assist with negotiating and drafting consent orders in Australia, helping you formalise agreed parenting arrangements and property settlements through legally binding court orders that provide certainty and enforceability.
We help resolve pet custody and ownership disputes in Australia, providing practical legal guidance on ownership and care arrangements after separation, that recognises the importance of pets within the family.
WHY BORDA
Mark Borda is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law, a credential held by only around 1% of NSW solicitors.
Bigger firms often hand your matter to whoever is available. Here, Mark is senior lawyer on every file. You'll always know who's acting for you, and why.
Family law is rarely won by aggression. It's won by preparation, clear thinking, and knowing when to push and when to settle. We'll give you advice that reflects the law, and your real life.
You'll understand where you stand, what your options are, and what each one is likely to cost. No jargon, no surprises.
For matters like divorce applications and straightforward consent orders, we offer fixed-fee pricing so you know the cost up front. For complex matters, we'll give you a clear estimate and keep you updated.
CLIENT STORIES
Divorce Lawyers Sydney
We support clients through every stage of the divorce process, from your initial consultation and understanding your legal position, through negotiations, mediation, and where necessary, court proceedings.
Our approach covers not just the divorce itself, but the full picture: property settlements, parenting arrangements, spousal maintenance, and any financial agreements needed.
We focus on practical strategies that help resolve disputes efficiently while protecting your financial interests and family relationships.
how it works
We believe in making the legal process as clear and stress-free as possible.
We take time to understand your situation and explain your options clearly.
We build a tailored strategy focused on your goals and circumstances.
Wherever possible, we resolve matters without the cost of court.
Where needed, we provide confident, assertive representation.
We help you understand the outcome and plan for what comes next.
common questions
At Borda Family Lawyers, we appreciate that a separation is not just an emotionally difficult time, but also one of financial uncertainty, as couples navigate how to divide their assets, income, and future expenses for children. We recognise that legal fees are an issue for many couples going through a separation, and we ensure that we provide a clear and transparent fee structure for all stages of separation.
As a boutique firm, we don’t have the overheads of a larger firm and are able to offer reasonable hourly rates and value for money. We also offer fixed fee options for some services, including divorce, applications for consent orders, and binding financial agreements.
We understand that the costs of engaging a lawyer can be an obstacle for many people in seeking advice. That’s why we offer a free initial consultation, so that you can get quality advice regarding the most important issues affecting you, and make an informed decision about the next steps.
During our initial consultation, we will set out our fee structure, which we can also send to you via email following our consultation.
There is no requirement to obtain legal advice following a separation and prior to filing an application for divorce in Australia, and the decision of whether to engage a lawyer depends on your individual circumstances and the nature of your separation.
However, if you’re considering separation or have already separated, it is always sensible to at least speak with a lawyer so that you understand how the law applies to your circumstances, and make an informed decision about how best to proceed.
If your circumstances are straightforward, and if you and your former partner have reached an agreement regarding most or all issues, you may not need to formally engage a lawyer, and you might be able to complete any necessary paperwork yourself. In that case, we will usually encourage you to lodge your own application for divorce to help reduce your legal costs. We are also able to review an application you have drafted yourself and let you know if there are any issues that need to be addressed prior to lodgement.
If your circumstances are more complex, then having a lawyer to help guide you through the process of separation can make all the difference. At Borda Family Lawyers, we can manage the whole process and make sure that all relevant issues are properly addressed with care, experience and attention to detail.
Under Australian law, you and your partner must be separated for at least 12 months before you can apply for a divorce. There are other requirements you must satisfy before filing for divorce, which you can read about here [link to divorce page.]
Once you have lodged your application for divorce with the Court, it generally takes around two to three months to receive the formal Divorce Order. This period includes the time it takes for the application to be served on your former spouse, the time for the court to review your application, and make the final Divorce Order.
It’s important to remember that divorce is a separate process from parenting, property and child support issues that may arise following a separation. Unlike divorce, there is no minimum separation period to start addressing those issues, and negotiations, or in urgent cases, court proceedings can begin immediately following separation. If you and your partner can reach agreement in relation to some or all of those issues, then they can be finalised prior to a divorce order being made.
If you are unable to agree in relation to those issues and it becomes necessary to commence court proceedings, then the court process can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months (and in some cases, even longer.)
We recognise the significant stress and uncertainty involved with protracted court proceedings, which is why we are dedicated to providing commercial and practical advice to help you finalise matters at the earliest opportunity and move on with your life.
The terms divorce lawyer and family lawyer can be used interchangeably, but it’s important to be aware that there is a significant difference between divorce proceedings, which can be quite straightforward, and family law proceedings, which can include parenting, property settlement, child support, and maintenance issues, and be much more complex.
A divorce lawyer can help with applying for a divorce; but most divorces involve wider family law issues that are more complicated and require specialist knowledge. If you are navigating a family law matter, then working with an Accredited Specialist in Family Law will ensure you receive specialist, tailored advice to help you make the best decisions for you and your family.
Yes. We offer a free 20-minute consultation via phone or video call. This initial consultation is designed to give you the opportunity to get specialist family law advice about the most important issues affecting you, and to see if we are the right fit for your case. No financial obligation or strings attached.
During this call we aim to give you a clear pathway forward, and we will also discuss our fee structure if you decide to move forward with us.
