Financial Agreements:During A Continuing De Facto Relationship Hetero, Gay or Lesbian.

Often when deciding to live with your partner there is little consideration to the rights of each person about money and property. We hope to stay together forever. However for those who have previously paid the financial and emotional costs associated with a divorce or separation, it is understandable that there may be concern about the possibility of another failure.

Issues about dividing property (also known as de facto property settlement) might not concern a younger couple, but many older couples who may have significant assets or children from an earlier relationship, may enter cohabitation a little more cautiously. One might say once bitten twice shy.

While there are no figures on break-ups of de facto couples (hetero or same-sex), there is no reason to think that figures in those communities will differ with those for married couples. Overall, there's a failure rate of around 48% for all couples, and second relationships have higher failure rates than first ones.

Until recently you could choose to live with your partner and not marry providing benefits for some and disadvantages for others. Changes to the Family Law Act came into affect on the 1st March 2009. This allows de facto couples to make application to the Family court for orders about dividing property (property settlement) and maintenance for de facto couples.

This means there is no clear difference in the rights of the couple under the law whether they are married or not. The new laws apply to both heterosexual and same sex couples alike.

The good news is, under section 90UC of the Act de facto couples can now make a legal financial agreement that will protect their assets and finances, in the same way married couples have been able to since 2000. By agreeing in writing now, you can quarantine certain assets from litigation during a property settlement, which can have a surprisingly positive effect on how secure one might feel. Particularly if one partner has significant assets and the other does not.

Your financial agreement allows you to decide what you think would be a fair and equitable distribution of property if you separate instead of leaving it up to the courts. You can choose to deal with all of your financial interest now or just deal with a single asset like a family farm, a business or an inheritance.

Financial agreements can comfort and reassure people living in or entering a de facto relationship. They are recognisable and enforceable under Part VIIIAB of the Family Law Act and can save you time, money and heartache.

Our financial agreement review service is available as an option with all these agreements providing the necessary legal certification required to make your document binding by law..

If the agreement you are looking for is not listed or you have specific questions about the most suitable template please feel free to e-mail us and we will answer your enquiry within one business day.

Choose the Agreement you require

NSW, QLD, Victoria, ACT, Northern Territory, Tasmania.

90UB. Financial agreement before de facto relationship

90UC. Financial agreement during de facto relationship

90UD. Financial agreement after breakdown of a de facto relationship.

Same Sex Gay Male and Lesbian Financial Agreements

Western Australia (Family Court Act 1997)

Sect 205ZN. Financial agreement before beginning a defacto relationship.

Sect 205ZO. Financial agreement during defacto relationship.

Sect 205ZP Financial agreement after de facto relationship ends.

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