About Our Team

About me 

I’m Kelly and I am the Director and Principal of The Separation Place.  The firm used to be called Stanfords Solicitors & Mediators, but I thought I would change the name to reflect my passion as a Lawyer and Mediator.   So, welcome!     

Me as a person 

A little about me, outside of The Separation Place, I am a wife, mother and grandmother. I absolutely cherish my family (which in turn inspires me to help other families). I love to contribute to my community, travel, camp, crochet and learn about all sorts of things,  I am very curious.  

Me as a professional – how can I help you?  

I enjoy helping families stay out of Court.  I enjoy helping them document their agreement in a way that can be enforced if things don’t go to plan.  I do not enjoy my job when my clients are unable to reach an agreement and they end up in the Court system.  It is heartbreaking to watch on as a Judge who doesn’t know much about them, their children and their lives make decisions that change everything.  

My expertise and skill is helping families through the transition that comes with separation and working out what their new “normal” will look like.  As I have worked with families going through this process throughout my whole career, I have seen time and time again the emotional and financial stress that families go through when they can’t reach an agreement and they end up in the Court system.   

Having said that, it is only about 5% of separated couples that end up filing an application that asks the Court to make the decisions for them.  The majority of us that separate reach an agreement, with or without the help of lawyers or mediators.   

This is what inspired me to create The Separation Place, a law firm that is dedicated to helping separating families stay out of court. I want to work along side my clients to find solutions to the problems that are preventing an agreement being reached with their ex, and to help guide them through to the next chapter of their lives either as their Lawyer or their Mediator.    

I became a lawyer in 1999 and my goal was to help people.  That is why I love Family Law and Mediation.  Since I completed my degree and was admitted as a lawyer, I have continued to study to further increase my skills and specialisation in all things Family Law.  I’m an Accredited Specialist in Family Law (one of only about 600 in Australia), a Collaboratively trained Family Lawyer, an a Nationally Accredited Mediator, a Dispute Resolution Practitioner and a Specialist Family Law Arbitrator.  

Outside of Family Law and Mediation, I am also passionate about advocacy in the Care and Protection space. I am on the Legal Aid NSW panel of Care and Protection Lawyers. I have also been appointed as an External Legal Practitioner by the NSW Department of Community and Justice, Family and Community Services, Community Services (DCJ).  

How I can work with you:

Individuals 

• Advice on your family law matter (separation, divorce, property and parenting issues) 
• Representation during a collaborative family law approach  
• Representation in reaching an agreement with your former partner 
• Representation in court (if you have exhausted all other avenues).  

Lawyers and other professionals 

• Mediation services, both property and parenting as an FDRP 
• Arbitration services  
• Mentoring services 
• Parenting Co-Ordination