During any divorce or split, painful and difficult decisions must be made. Some of these may have to do with children and custody arrangements, which can affect family bonds. These, of course, can be crucial and highly emotionally-charged decisions. But other important decisions have to do with property and how it will be divided, which can affect your lifestyle and your future financial stability. It’s important to access the right legal assistance to help you navigate these issues successfully.

Often, property issues are complicated by binding financial agreements that the parties may have entered into. Most of us are familiar with the concept of pre-nuptial agreements, which are defined as financial agreements made before marriage or before entering a de facto relationship. Financial agreements can also be made during the marriage or de facto relationship, and financial agreements may be made after separation, following the breakdown of a marriage or de facto relationship.

Property Division After Divorce

There is no standard formula for working out property division following a divorce because each relationship has different circumstances, but your lawyer can help you reach an agreement with your ex, either through negotiation or in court proceedings. Each settlement is unique, according to the particular circumstances of your family, and may not resemble agreements reached by other people that you know or have heard about.

Here are some of the things that the law will consider:

·       Your assets and debts at the time of the split.

·       Direct financial contributions by each party to the marriage, such as wages/salary.

·       Indirect financial contributions by each party, such as gifts and inheritances.

·       Non-financial contributions to the marriage, such as caring for children and homemaking.

·       Future requirements – a court will take into account things like the age, health, medical issues and the financial resources of each party, as well as the care of children and the ability of each person to earn an income.

And of course, you will need to consider any binding financial agreements made with regard to marriage and property.

Existing Binding Financial Agreements

You may have entered into a legal agreement that will hamper your efforts to recover assets following a divorce. For example, if you signed a pre-nuptial agreement, assets covered in that document may not be considered during divorce negotiations. There are some exceptions to this. For example, if you were under threat or duress when you signed the document, it may be set aside.  If false or incomplete information was given at the time of a binding financial agreement, this may also render it void; failure to disclose either assets or debts negates the effectiveness of a pre-nuptial agreement. A drastic change in circumstances of the signatories can make the provisions of the agreement impossible or ineffectual. Any pre-nuptial agreement that requires involvement from a third party cannot be enforced. Agreements that are found to be greatly unfair could also be declared invalid.