Family & De Facto Law – Changes in De Facto Law and its effects on Property
In legal terms, a de facto relationship is essentially a relationship between two individuals who are not married and who live together as a couple on a ‘genuine domestic basis’.
The laws governing de facto relationships have recently changed to allow couples to divide their property in accordance with the same laws that currently apply to married couples under the Family Law Act 1975.From this year, if you are in a de facto relationship and that relationship has broken down on or after 1 March 2009, you will be eligible to apply to the Family Law Courts in relation to your property matters. As with married couples,you may also now be entitled to spousal maintenance under these new changes.
There are exceptions. In order to come within the scope of the Family Law Act, you must satisfy one of the following requirements:
>> You must have been in a de facto relationship for at least 2 years;
>> there is a child of the de facto relationship;
>> there has been a substantial financial or non-financial contribution to the property by either of you or as homemaker or parent and a serious injustice would result if an order was not made in the circumstance; or
>> the de facto relationship has been registered in a State or Territory.
If your de facto relationship has broken down before 1 March 2009, Victorian state laws will continue to apply to your relationship. However, you may still apply for a division of your property under the current family regime if there is written consent by all parties involved.In this instance, you will both need to obtain a certificate of independent legal advice.
Couples who have already obtained final court orders in respect of their property or spousal maintenance, or who are parties to existing binding financial arrangements, will not be able to apply for a resettlement incorporating these new changes.
Alternatively, couples who do not wish to settle their matters pursuant to these new laws are still able to enter into their own binding financial agreements. This arrangement effectively excludes the courts jurisdiction and enables the parties to enter into their own private agreement.
At times, parties may be in dispute as to whether their relationship constitutes a de facto relationship for the purposes of property division. In determining whether a de facto relationship exists, the court may have regard to all the circumstances of the relationship including:
>> the length of the relationship;
>> whether a sexual relationship exists;
>> the degree of financial dependence or interdependence between the individuals including any financial arrangements that may exist;
>> the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life, the nature and extent of a common place of residence and public recognition of the relationship;
>> whether the relationship has been registered in the relevant State or Terrority;
>> the care and support of any children of the parties; and
>> the ownership, use and acquisition of property of the parties.
Irrespective of the way you choose to resolve your property matters, you should note that property must be settled within 2 years of the end of your relationship.
If you are interested to know something more about Family & De Facto Law – Changes in De Facto Law and its effects on Property and Family Lawyers then please visit our website www.laclawyers.com.au
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