Susan Ilias
Principal Lawyer
+61 3 8600 6040
silias@aitken.com.au
Susan Ilias
Areas of Law: Family Law
Qualifications: Bachelor of Laws | Bachelor of Arts (Australian Politics) | Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice
Office Location: Melbourne
Susan Ilias is an experienced family lawyer with significant expertise in complex property disputes, parenting matters, and Intervention Orders.
Susan has been working as a lawyer for over 23 years, including five years at the Bar, where she focused on Intervention Orders and regularly appeared in both the Magistrates' Court and County Court appeals. She has also served as a Family Violence Duty Lawyer at both Melbourne and Heidelberg Magistrates’ Courts.
She regularly acts in financial cases involving substantial asset pools, business structures, family trusts, and third-party financial interests. Susan also has extensive experience advising on Binding Financial Agreements, superannuation splitting, and asset protection strategies.
Susan is particularly skilled at helping clients navigate financially and emotionally complex separations, offering strategic advice with a calm and practical approach. She is known for delivering clear, outcome-focused solutions, especially where property and parenting matters overlap.
Susan is regularly appointed as an Independent Children’s Lawyer in before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, bringing a child-focused approach to highly contested parenting disputes.
She regularly advises clients on a wide range of matters, including:
- Complex property settlements involving trusts, companies, family businesses, and overseas assets
- Assessing and advising on financial contributions, asset tracing, and non-disclosure issues
- Disputes involving third-party claims, such as loans or gifts from family members
- Superannuation splitting, including SMSFs and defined benefit funds
- Drafting and advising on Binding Financial Agreements (pre- and post-separation)
- Advising on parenting arrangements following separation, including time spent with each parent and decision-making responsibilities
- Drafting and negotiating parenting plans and consent orders
- Representing clients in relocation and high-conflict custody disputes
- Advising on parental responsibility, including schooling, health care, and international travel
- Extensive experience with Family Violence and Personal Safety Intervention Orders, particularly where they intersect with property or parenting proceedings
- Navigating interim and final parenting orders through the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
- Criminal law matters relating to Intervention Orders, particularly where parenting or communication arrangements are affected