Navigating the Seas of Change: THE ART OF FORMALISING PROPERTY SETTLEMENT AFTER SEPARATION AND WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT BY GEORGIA SPENCER
The breakdown of a relationship can be an emotionally taxing and confusing time, leaving couples grappling with feelings of disappointment, stress, and even anger. Amongst the difficulties of separating, there are crucial legal matters that demand consideration. Georgia Spencer, Solicitor at Orbell Family Lawyers (located in Erina), takes a deep dive into the importance of getting your affairs in order as soon as possible and documenting your property settlement. Love, they say, can move mountains, but when love fades and a relationship crumbles, the aftermath can be tumultuous. Amidst the emotional whirlwind of separation, it’s easy to overlook the practical steps that ensure a stable future. Formalising your property settlement after separation is a crucial step in ensuring you and your children have stability and certainty for the years to come.
FACT: A verbal or simple written agreement is not legally binding, no matter how amicable you and your ex are. Ensuring you formalise your property settlement with what is known as ‘Consent Orders’ is essential to protect your future. Let’s explore five reasons why this important step can pave the way towards a secure future:
Enforceability
Certainty In the tangle of post–separation life, a beacon of certainty can guide you through your darkest hours. Formalising your property settlement with a Financial Agreement or Consent Orders offers that very beacon. These documents ensure that your former spouse can no longer raise future claims against you, granting you peace of mind and a clear path to embrace your new chapter, without any doubt or worry about the past.
Asset Protection Picture your hard–earned assets as delicate petals on a breeze; without proper protection, they may scatter to the wind. It’s crucial to be aware that oral or written agreements, regardless of sincerity, lack the legal fortitude
to shield your assets. Whether it’s an inheritance, a new property, or even a life–changing lottery win, without formalising your property settlement, your ex–spouse may seek these be added into the assets to be divided between you. It is incredibly important to finalise your settlement to safeguard your assets and your future.
Formalising your agreement empowers you to hold your former spouse accountable. An ironclad settlement, backed by the Court, grants you the authority to enforce the agreed–upon terms should your ex–partner falter. A legal document ensures that justice is upheld, and your interests are protected.
Transfer Exemptions In the realm of property division, a saving grace awaits those who seek the path of formalisation. By having a Financial Agreement or Consent Orders in place, the transfer between spouses of Real Property (think the matrimonial home), as well as motor vehicles, becomes exempt from stamp duty (or transfer duty). Formalising the property settlement can save you tens of thousands of dollars of stamp duty which would otherwise be payable.
Shop online activatefoods.com.au or instore Shop 2/222 The Entrance Rd, Erina
28
O N T H E C OA S T – FA M ILIES
