NSW Kennon v Kennon and evidence of exceptional DV

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Fwowr

Member
16 August 2019
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How does a person provide documentation of "exceptional" DV for a Kennon adjustment?

I'm working with Legal Aid. I've been assigned solicitors twice who have left (quit or been fired) after being assigned to me. Due to Covid-19 there will be a delay before I get a new lawyer. My previous solicitors told me I was getting ahead of myself asking about this so I was never given a clear answer.

What evidence do I present to the courts in order to demonstrate I was severely abused and this affected my ability to contribute to the marriage? I have letters from my partner describing the abuse. My previous solicitors said I need records from an unrelated third party but neither told me where to get the records. The police didn't investigate when I reported it.

This isn't like ringing up the bank for old statements. It would likely require quite a lot of advance preparation. Who handles these situations?
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
6 February 2019
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My previous solicitors told me I was getting ahead of myself asking about this so I was never given a clear answer.
Tend to agree with that advice.... Strong grounds for a Kennon adjustment can be a difficult thing to establish & an even harder one to quantify in $ terms.... It's likely to involve days of legal argument & reams of paperwork.... Basically any adjustment in your favour would likely be consumed by legal costs & then some...

IMO, one of the broadly accepted principals is that a kennon adjustment should only be applied in exceptional cases, & then is probably only practical where there is a very large property pool to draw upon
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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Firstly, all sympathy for your experiences. From here on you're not gonna like my advice.

have a read - a small adjustment in 'exceptional' circumstances.

If you're dealing with legal aid I reckon you need to cut your losses.
 
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