What's fair & equitable?
If you are entering a property settlement, we can help.
Our team of family lawyers can advise you on your rights.
- Our Process
- Property Divisions
FreePhone case assessment
Let’s talk about your relationship confidentially. We will need to run through some basic details with you to ensure we can actually provide some valuable assistance. Get the process started now, by making a quick enquiry.
Book appointment with our settlement lawyers
If it's clear consulting a solicitor you will help your situation, we can identify the right one for your case and arrange a convenient appointment for you.
In depth consultation
At your meeting the solicitor will be able to indicate the outcome they expect to achieve and the legal pathway they would take with you to ensure the best possible result based off past cases and experience. Possible defences will be explored and all of your questions answered.
Decide to negotiate directly or through us
Once you have run through everything with our team, you might decide to proceed with the application process. Having our family lawyers complete the application and representing you in court could reduce your stress and anxiety levels and ensures there are no hiccups along the way.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
TOP TEXT
IN PLAIN ENGLISH
When you separate, you will need to consider the following items to establish a property settlement with your spouse:
- How to divide assets such as real estate, shares, cars, jewellery, savings and furniture;
- How to split superannuation;
- Whether one spouse will provide financial support for the other (Link to spousal maintenance);
- What arrangements will be made in regards to the financial support of the children (child support).
By identifying the above items will assist is determining who will get what from the settlement.
HOW ITS DIVIDED
There is no formula used to divide your property. No one can tell you exactly what orders a judicial officer will make. The decision is made after all the evidence is heard and the judicial officer decides what is just and equitable based on the unique facts of your case. There is also no presumption or starting point that property should be divided between the parties on an equal (50% / 50%) basis.
The Court will look at the particular facts of each case on its own merits and then make an Order they consider appropriate for the circumstances of that case. (Link to Process of property settlement)
An Order made by a Court is usually framed in terms of the percentage of the total property pool that each party will receive. That is, the percentage of the total assets and liabilities each party have either jointly or individually.
The Court will usually specify which assets each party will retain, if assets must be sold or whether a party needs to pay a “cash adjustment” amount to the other party, so as to achieve the stated percentage property division.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Lawyers with extensive divorce experience
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and have successfully applied for divorces.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
Before you make the divorce application, there are criteria that must be met, you also need to consider a number of things before you execute the application. For a thorough analysis of your situation it would be an intelligent decision to seek professional legal advice from a fully qualified family lawyer. Get the process started by making an enquiry.
1. Define The Assett Pool
To create the net asset pool all assets and liabilities will need to be identified.
These include assets and liabilities jointly owned and personal assets and liabilities. It is essential that you declare all of your assets and liabilities to ensure that proceedings are fair.
Assets are the things you own that have a value. Assets could include
- Properties (Homes & Investments)
- Vehicles
- Furniture
Liabilities can be seen as debts, where money is owed. Examples of liabilities include:
- Mortgages
- Vehicle Loans
- Credit Cards
The net asset pool figure will then be calculated and it is this net asset pool figure which is the amount of money that will be divided between you and your spouse.
If both you cannot agree on a value of an items, then an expert will need to brought in to value the item.
2. Contributions
The next step is that the court will look at how each party contributed to the relationship. The court has broken the contributions into four specific groups:
- Financial
- Parental
- Homemaker
- Non Financial Contributions
1. Financial Contributions
Financial Contributions are all monetary contributions to the relationship. Financial contributions can include but are not limited to
- Wages
- Amount each person had at the start of the relationship
- Lotto winnings
Once the financial contributions to the relationship have been identified, the court will look at which parties made contributions and when.
2. Parenting Contributions
These contributions could be described as the amount of parenting that was done with regard to caring for the children. The Court is not concerned with the quality of parenting performed by the person claiming to be the main contributor, but the availability of the parent claiming to have made the significant contribution.
If the parents have made parental help for example hiring a nanny this will often be considered as a factor in discounting the amount of parental contributions provided by the party.
3. Homemaker Contributions
These are the contributions made to the home and include domestic duties such as vacuuming, cooking, washing. When the Court looks at this contribution it is not concerned with the quality of the duties performed, but rather the fact that they were performed and who performed them.
The use of domestic help whether it was paid or performed by a family member is often a factor in discounting the amount of domestic contributions provided by the person claiming that it was their responsibility.
4. Non-Financial Contributions
Non-financial contributions are contributions that a party has made that has added value for example renovating a house. The value of the non-financial contribution can be determined by how much it would have cost to pay someone to come in and do the same thing.
3. Identifying Needs
During a property settlement, current and future needs will be taken into account. The following is a list of the needs that the court will look at
- Age
- State of health
- Income, property and financial resources
- Physical and mental capacity to gain employment
- Parent or sole carer under the age of 18
- Commitments that are necessary to provide for themselves or a child
- Responsibilities of either party to support another person
- All parties are living a reasonable standard of living
- Duration of the marriage
- The maintenance of the property that affected the earning capacity of a party
Once the appropriate needs of each party have been identified the court will then look at the cost of each of these needs.
4. Distribution
There is no formula used to divide your property. No one can tell you exactly what orders a judicial officer will make. The decision is made after all the evidence is heard and it is determined what is “just and equitable” based on the unique facts of your case.
The purpose of this final step is to determine whether the proposed settlement is fair, taking into account the factors listed above, to both parties.
Once the splitting percentage of the asset pool has been decided it will then be determined what assets each person gets. In some cases, the asset that the person obtains is over their percentage and they will need to pay the other person in order to keep with the percentages.
Your solicitor can help you to;
- Defining your pool
- Understanding Contributions
- Identify your future needs
And ultimately provide you with an indication on what would be considered "fair & equitable".
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Separation Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
Our Process
FreePhone case assessment
Let’s talk about your relationship confidentially. We will need to run through some basic details with you to ensure we can actually provide some valuable assistance. Get the process started now, by making a quick enquiry.
Book appointment with our divorce lawyers
If it's clear consulting a solicitor you will help your situation, we can identify the right one for your case and arrange a convenient appointment for you.
In depth consultation
At your meeting the solicitor will be able to indicate the outcome they expect to achieve and the legal pathway they would take with you to ensure the best possible result based off past cases and experience. Possible defences will be explored and all of your questions answered.
Divorce application & representation
Once you have run through everything with our team, you might decide to proceed with the application process. Having our family lawyers complete the application and representing you in court could reduce your stress and anxiety levels and ensures there are no hiccups along the way.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
Property Divisions
IN PLAIN ENGLISH
When you separate, you will need to consider the following items to establish a property settlement with your spouse:
- How to divide assets such as real estate, shares, cars, jewellery, savings and furniture;
- How to split superannuation;
- Whether one spouse will provide financial support for the other (Link to spousal maintenance);
- What arrangements will be made in regards to the financial support of the children (child support).
By identifying the above items will assist is determining who will get what from the settlement.
HOW ITS DIVIDED
There is no formula used to divide your property. No one can tell you exactly what orders a judicial officer will make. The decision is made after all the evidence is heard and the judicial officer decides what is just and equitable based on the unique facts of your case. There is also no presumption or starting point that property should be divided between the parties on an equal (50% / 50%) basis.
The Court will look at the particular facts of each case on its own merits and then make an Order they consider appropriate for the circumstances of that case. (Link to Process of property settlement)
An Order made by a Court is usually framed in terms of the percentage of the total property pool that each party will receive. That is, the percentage of the total assets and liabilities each party have either jointly or individually.
The Court will usually specify which assets each party will retain, if assets must be sold or whether a party needs to pay a “cash adjustment” amount to the other party, so as to achieve the stated percentage property division.
Know Your Settlement Entitlements.
Don't let your ex dictate what you are entitled to. You have legal rights, arm yourself with knowledge before negotiating.
Our Settlement Lawyers Can Help
Meet with lawyers who understand the system and can easily explain your settlement options.
- Past Cases
- Good Results
- Happy Clients
