We are in Agreement ?

Paul Roberts

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You decide to separate, you and your partner come to an agreement, property is transferred, money is split and the bills are paid.  Money saved and no need for lawyers and all done over a coffee. Problem sorted…..well maybe not.

There is no law preventing couples reaching their own arrangements with regard to how they wish to share out their assets and debts upon separation and not documenting that in a form accepted under the Family Law Act 1975 (the Act).  But… there can be and frequently are unexpected consequences for couples that do.

Agreements not formalised under the Act are known as ‘ informal property settlements ‘ and significantly, these agreements are not legally binding and as a consequence you leave yourself open to future claims by your former partner, seeking a further financial adjustment of a settlement your thought was a done deal.

You may have had a written agreement witnessed by a justice of the peace or a police officer, it doesn’t matter, under the Act there are only two ways your family law agreement can be made legally binding by consent: an Application for Consent Orders, filed with the Court, or a private Financial Agreement, in a form approved under the Act.

Invariably upon separation parties adjust their finances on the strength of the agreements that have been reached, some going into significant debt to retain properties and making sizable payments to their partners.

Parties can be re-contacted several years after separation by former partners seeking significant financial adjustments to original agreements, which can and some cases do, lead to protracted legal proceedings.

In a recent case the Court allowed a wife to re-open her a family law property matter after a delay of 26 years.

Parties often believe they are saving money with ‘ informal property settlements ‘, only to later end up incurring greater expense and stress, when getting advice and guidance in the first instance would have resolved everything.

At Scanlan Carroll we have a unique mix of commercial, estate and family lawyers with over a 100 years experience, to provide you all the advice, guidance and support needed to assist you in your family law matter.

This bulletin is provided for general information purposes only. Each person’s circumstances are different and the information contained in this bulletin should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice.

The information in this bulletin is current as at the date of publication.