Property settlements.
Time limits.
An application for a property settlement must be made within 12 months from the date your Divorce Order is made (for married couples) or within 2 years from the date of separation (for de facto couples). If you and/or your ex-partner make an application for a property settlement after the limitation period has passed, the Court may grant your application, however there are very limited circumstances in which this may occur.
Who gets what?
A common misconception in family law is that the assets of a relationship are split down the middle and divided equally.
In deciding how you and your ex-partner’s assets should be distributed, the Family Court and Federal Court of Australia must first determine whether it should alter property interests, and if so, a 4-step process is followed:
What are the assets and liabilities of your relationship? All assets are taken into account, irrespective of whether they were acquired before, during the relationship or after separation. This includes (but not limited to) real estate, motor vehicles, superannuation, bank accounts, shares, trusts, and businesses.
What were yours and your ex-partner’s contributions over the course of the relationship? This includes both financial contributions as well as non-financial contributions (parent and/or homemaker).
Do you and/or your ex-partner have any future needs? This takes into consideration matters such as who has care of the children, disparity in income earning capacity, health, age and availability of financial resources. If either you or your ex-partner have future needs, an adjustment may be made in yours or their favour.
Is the proposed property split just and equitable, taking into consideration all of the above factors? In this last step, the Court considers whether the proposed property settlement is just and equitable after consideration of steps 1, 2 & 3.