A financial agreement (also known as a binding financial agreement) is a written agreement or contract between two parties that sets out how the parties would like to divide their financial resources if the relationship comes to an end.
Under Part VIIIA for married couples, or Part VIIIAB for de facto couples, of the Family Law Act 1975, you can enter into a financial agreement either before, during or after your relationship has ended. So the term financial agreement is actually an umbrella term that covers each phase of a relationship.
You may be a married, de facto or same sex couple – it makes no difference. All are treated equally under the Family Law Act and anyone who is a resident of Australia can make a financial agreement.
Financial agreements are made under certain sections of the Family Law Act. For instance, if you’re planning on entering into a prenuptial arrangement, then you need to make your agreement under section 90B. If you currently married, or are separating from a marriage but not yet divorced, you need an agreement made under section 90C and divorced couples come under section 90D.
To make it easier for you to pick the right agreement, we’ve provided the “Choose your Agreement” pages which lead you directly to the correct document kit. We’ll guide you with simple explanations and make sure you get the exact document to suit your circumstances.
The short answer is: yes, they are the same document.
When binding financial agreements were first introduced back in 2000, they were referred to in the Act as “Binding Financial Agreements” but they were only available to married couples. For reasons only known to those who drafted the legislation, the word “binding” was dropped and since 2008 they have simply been known as “Financial Agreements”.
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