Why Do We Need A Financial Agreement?

By Ray Latimer


Prior to the right to create Binding Financial Agreements (BFAs) was extended to same-sex and de facto relationships, when such a relationship had broken down, both parties would have had to prepare themselves for some long-winded and laborious litigation through the Supreme Court. Thank goodness, this has now all been improved with the release of section 90UD of the Family Law Act 1975 which particularly entitles people in de facto relationships to agree upon what they consider to be a reasonable distribution of asset and money once the relationship has separated. Effectively, this now puts de facto agreements in the same category as is already enjoyed by married couples. It signifies that same-sex relationships are apportioned with the exact same rights to heterosexual couples and this will be observed as a welcome move by many gay rights groups that have been concerned and campaigning over these matters.

How Would You Go About Setting Up A BFA In These Situations? If a de facto, or same-sex relationship has split up irretrievably, s.90UD of the 1975 Act sets out that the following operations will have to be implemented in order for a court to recognize and apply a binding financial agreement. These are as follows. They would need to ensure that both parties seek professional and qualified legal services. This is crucial and it should help to make certain that each party's unique situation is evaluated and legally commented upon. If gross unfairness can be identified within the agreement as it stands, the legal advisor will point this out to the relevant partner and they will then only go on and sign once they know exactly what they are agreeing to and or possibly compromising.

A certificate must be received from the applicable legal professional which will attest to the truth that this need has been satisfied. It would then need to be included as an 'annex' to the main written legal document which will compose the BFA. The BFA will need to specify the scope of any relevant spousal maintenance to be provided. It will has to be signed by both people and a copy will be retained by each. Provided all of the steps have been taken above, the court should not scrutinize the BFA to ensure that it is just and equitable. The court would only tend to set a BFA aside if there were fundamental flaws with the documents like the BFA had been created in a fraudulent manner. It is also crucial that you note that a person can only get into a BFA if they are not already party to such an agreement with someone else.

Swifter Solution right at the end of a Relationship. This type of post nuptial agreement should help to ensure that any financial matters are dealt with far more smoothly than they may otherwise be. Given, some time would be needed on both sides to conceive the binding financial agreement, but once a settlement is decided, the BFA will provide a far quicker solution to the question of who gets what. Of course, to a large degree, right at the end of any relationship and at a time when communication between both sides may not be as manageable as it once was, a lot will depend on how fast an agreement can be settled. Nonetheless, it would probably end up being more prudent and cost efficient for the parties to settle the asset and financial implications in this way.

Whatever actions the members of a de facto relationship elect to take when things have broken down, the reality is that Australian law now offers them with these selections.




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