Don’t delay – sort out that property settlement today
Separation and divorce inevitably means a property settlement will need to be worked out but what can you do if your former partner is trying to delay settlement? Beyond that being frustrating, you need to be aware of time limits. It is usually not a good idea to try and delay a property settlement.
And there are a number of reasons for that.
Firstly, if you end up going to court, the property pool is assessed at the time of trail, not the time you separated.
Until you are legally divorced, your spouse remains your spouse. This adds greater implications than you simply being unable to remarry. If you don’t have a Will, your former partner could be entitled to a large part of your estate, should you die before the property settlement is finalised.
Similarly, if you’re likely to receive a large inheritance in the near future, it’s better to get that property settlement finalised sooner rather than later, otherwise that inheritance of yours will almost inevitably be considered by the courts to be part of the asset pool.
Sometimes a booming property market can be a disadvantage. If you’d like to stay in the former martial home, an increase in property priced can make that harder for you in property prices can make that harder for you financially. Dealing with the property settlement promptly can solve this problem.
If you happen to win lotto after you spilt, that can be included in the assets pool too!
If you are married, it’s important to remember that you can finalise your property settlement as soon as you like after separation, you don’t have to wait the 12 months until you can file a divorce application. However, there are time limits that come into play once a divorce order is made.
If you are getting divorced, you have 12 months to finalise the property settlement from the date of the divorce and if you’re splitting from a de facto relationship, you have two years to finalise the property settlement from the date of separation.
In a recent case, a husband and wife delayed their property settlement until six years after separation. The judge hearing the matter was critical of bother parties for the delay in finalising matters and noted that the lapse of time since separation had greatly increased the complexity of resolving an otherwise straight forward matter.
It was contended that the while the wife had received the advantage of remaining in the home, she had accrued substantial debts relating to her living expenditure. The husband on the other hand had made use of assets in his sole control and spent approximately $150,000 on expenses which included a luxury holiday for him and his new partner, school fees and legal expenses.
The husband also gifted the party’s eldest son the sum of $200,000 to put towards the purchase of a unit in the son’s name. the husband had lived with the son since separation and said it was unreasonable of the court to include the son’s unit in the property pool available for distribution.
The court determined that the assets be split in the husband’s favour 55 per cent and 45 per cent to the wife. Which was mainly due to the husband having made a more significate “initial contribution”.
If so much time had not elapsed, the husband may have received a greater percentage adjustment.
Here at Michael Lynch Family Lawyers, we know that every case is different. Our aim is to give you some realistic expectations and well as an idea of what the finish line will look like for your property settlement. If it clear negotiation are going to be difficult, we can work out a pathway to finalise settlement.
If you have questions about divorce, separation, property settlement or any other aspect of family law, please call Michael Lynch Family Lawyers on (07 3221 4300 or email us: [email protected]
