People usually have a number of questions about putting a financial agreement in place. We’ve put a list together here – feel free to give us a call on 1800 608 088 if you can’t find the information you need.
Married or Getting Married
De facto couples are treated no differently than married couples. Under the Family Law Act, both de facto and married couples have the same rights.
The Family Law Act covers married couples in every state of Australia, and covers de facto couples for every state except Western Australia. De facto couples in W.A. are covered by the Family Court Act.
Should I get a Prenup? Before we proceed, I just want to make it clear that under Australian Family Law the correct name for a Prenup is a Financial Agreement. Financial agreements can be made before, during or after a relationship. –
At present if you want to protect, or shall we say quarantine certain assets from spousal claim, the only choice you may have is to get a prenup (financial Agreement). They allow couples to decide how their assets will be handled at the beginning of the relationship, should the relationship break down at some time in the future.
In a Financial Agreement, both parties give up the rights they would otherwise have under the Family Law Act to apply to the Court for the division of the asset pool. Instead, the couple make their own agreement about how assets will be dealt with up front, both during the course of the relationship, and in the event that the relationship comes to an end.
Whether a prenup is absolutely necessary would depend very much on your personal circumstances. If you need to protect assets then you may consider it necessary but if you don’t need to protect assets then you might not. Remember too that it’s not just about assets – you may want to quarantine debt. – Read more at:
Yes, prenups are legal, although in Australia they are called “Financial Agreements” which are made before marriage. The Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) gives couples the option to enter into a legally binding Agreement in relation to how assets are to be dealt with should the relationship break down and the marriage come to an end.
Section 90B of the Act deals with Financial Agreements made between people who are contemplating entering into a marriage.
As long as the parties to the agreement comply with Section 90G of the Act, the financial agreement will be binding on the parties.
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