Family Lawyers & Mediation Services (FLMS) - can help with the drafting and filing of consent orders after separation and dealing with financial property settlements following divorce through negotiation, mediation or litigation. Improperly drafted orders can have serious financial consequences.
IF MY PARTNER AND I HAVE ALREADY AGREED ON HOW TO DIVIDE OUR PROPERTY WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
You should obtain legal advice and document your agreement to ensure that neither of you make claims against each others property in the future. You will both want to have a guarantee that claims won't be made in the future, particularly when the value of your assets may have increased substantially after separation. If you are purchasing your partners share of real estate and obtaining a mortgage your lender will want to sight an agreement.
If there are transfers of real property (house, land, commercial property etc) properly documented agreements or court orders will provide stamp duty relief saving considerable amounts of money.
WHAT TYPE OF DOCUMENTS CAN I USE?
You may enter into a financial agreement or file a consent order with the Family Court. Either document will provide the certainty you both need. Finanacial agreements are private contracts which comply with the Family Law Act whereas consent orders are issued by the Court after filing an application for consent orders.
Consent order applications are generally a less costly option than financial agreements. Consent orders, once made by the court are enforceable by the Court upon application by an aggreived party. The use of consent order applications means that you both don't have to have your own lawyer although of course each of you should obtain independent advice. Orders made by consent attract stamp duty exemptions where transfers of property are the subject of the orders.
Call us to discuss your particular circumstances. For an initial consultation of $110 we can tell you how best to either document your separation or alternatively how best to protect your interests before and during a relationship or marriage.
