Financial Matters

The Family Law Act 1975  provides for parties to a marriage or de facto relationship to enter into a binding legal agreement about the financial arrangements should their marriage or de facto relationship break down. Sometimes people know these agreements as ‘prenuptial agreements’ but the legal term is ‘financial agreements’.

 

Sections 90B–90KA of the Family Law Act 1975  deal with financial agreements by parties to a marriage. Sections 90UA–90UN apply to financial agreements by de facto couples. The Act only provides for financial agreements between de facto couples if the parties to the relationship were ordinarily resident in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory or Norfolk Island when the agreement was made.

 

You can make a financial agreement before, during or after a marriage or de facto relationship. These agreements can cover:

• financial settlement (including superannuation entitlements) after the breakdown of a marriage or a de facto relationship
• financial support (maintenance) of one spouse by the other after the breakdown of a marriage or a de facto relationship,
• any incidental issues.

For a financial agreement to be legally binding, you must both have:

• signed the agreement, and
• received independent legal and financial advice before signing.

 

Source: Family Court

You can learn more by reading our blog here. 

How often can I see my children who do not live with me?

 

This will depend on what you and the other parent decide, or if there is no agreement, then the court will decide.

 

There are a range of possible outcomes:

1.Each of you have the children for a week at a time;
2.The children ‘live’ with one of you and ‘spend time’ with the other, for example every weekend; 3.The children ‘live’ with one of you and ‘spend time’, supervised, with the other at, for example a supervision centre.

 

Independent Children’s Lawyers (ICL)

An ICL is exactly what they sound like – a lawyer appointed to represent the children and their best interests.

 

They are usually appointed by the court, when:

• Allegations of child abuse or neglect exist;
• Serious mental health issues exist in relation to parents or children; or
• There are complex issues involved in the matter.

 

They provide an independent perspective about what arrangements are in the child’s best interests. In order to do this, they do things like meet with the children, their school teachers and counsellors, and examine any medical records.

 

Documenting Arrangements

As mentioned, arrangements for the children can be documented in an informal ‘Parenting Plan’, or formal consent orders. In some cases, the documents need to be provided to your children’s school or childcare centre.

 

The Parenting Plan can also be made legally enforceable, by presenting them to and gaining
approval from the court. This means, if one parent does something against what the orders or Plan says, the court may penalise them.

 

Who has to support the children financially?

 

Again, this depends on what the court decides (or the parents, in a parenting plan). The law says both parents are financially responsible – even if a parent has no contact with their child.

If parents can’t agree on the amount each party should pay, they can apply to Services Australia (formerly the Department of Human Services) for an assessment. The dollar figure is based on both parents’ incomes and the financial needs of the children, including health, education or childcare and any extracurricular activities.

If you were married, applications for property adjustment must be made within 12 months of your divorce becoming final.

 

If you were in a de facto relationship, your applications for property adjustment must be made within 2 years of the breakdown of your de facto relationship.

 

If you do not apply within these time limits, you will need special permission of a court. This is not always granted.

If the parties can agree informally on how to divide the assets, there is no need to go to court. We recommend this agreement is put into writing and signed by both parties, to mitigate any disputes in future.