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Property Settlement Agreement in De Facto or Close Personal Relationship Breakup

What is a De Facto Relationship?

If you’re living together with someone as part of a couple, the law will recognise your de facto relationship and your rights will often be exactly the same as if you were married.

What is a Close Personal Relationship?

If you’re living with someone and providing them with free care or domestic support (or if they do the same for you), the law recognises this as a ‘close personal relationship’ and also gives you certain rights.

If you are living with someone and you are unsure of your legal rights or what type of relationship you are categorised under, a member of our specialist family law team could assist you in clarifying what you are entitled to. [...]  READ MORE →

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Family Court Can Make Property Orders Even Before Parties Separate

In an unusual case heard by the Full Court (the Appeals Court) of the Family Court in early 2012 the Court decided that in certain circumstances it is able to make a property settlement agreement even when the parties have not actually separated.

In this case, an older couple had both been married before and had adult children from their previous marriage. The wife became ill and needed to go into an aged care facility. There was no question of divorce and they were separated only because of her medical condition. Her adult children after seeking Family Law advice brought an application to the Federal Magistrates Court as her case guardians seeking property settlement orders that the home in which the couple had lived be sold and that she receive some of the proceeds of sale to pay for the bond and fees payable to the aged care facility. The husband wanted to stay in the home but agreed to continue paying ongoing expenses and maintenance for his wife to remain in the aged care facility. By the time the matter came to be heard by the Court the first time the wife’s condition had deteriorated to such an extent that she needed to be in high care where in fact it was not necessary for her to pay any bond. [...]  READ MORE →

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Family Law Act Changes to Property Settlement Agreement

An important recent change to a property settlement agreement came into force on 4 January 2010. The new laws apply to any property settlement agreement made either as a consequence of a divorce settlement or as a property settlement after the separation of a de facto or same sex couple.

The law was changed because of difficulties encountered by some separated couples who had entered into what they thought was a binding property settlement agreement but then found out that the agreement was not binding because it did not comply with all of the formalities under the old law. [...]  READ MORE →