It’s a common misconception that when a couple gets divorced, that everything is split up fifty-fifty but this is not true. In fact, dividing all of your belongings equally between you is often not the fairest way to separate your assets between you. Keeping what is already in each person’s name and equally dividing up what is jointly owned can often lead to one person coming out far more disadvantaged in the long-run.
Deciding who gets what in a divorce typically boils down to needs and contributions, rather than whose name something is registered in. All contributions must be taken into account when determining how to divide your properties and, as we explain below, you do not need to be the one bringing in the money to be contributing. With so much to take into account, it is always best to find family lawyers in Melbourne with a proven track record to help you secure a fair financial outcome.
Continue reading to learn more about how divorce will affect your properties.
Understanding The Law
To ensure that there are no delays with your divorce proceedings and the dividing of your properties, it’s important to be aware of the guidelines laid out in the Family Law Act. When the court decides who will get what from a divorce, they will first identify and value all the property belonging to both parties. Once this step has been completed, they will then assess the contributions and needs of both parties before determining how to divide the properties.
Properties You Own Together
All of the assets and liabilities that you own together with your ex-partner are considered shared. These properties are considered to be shared regardless of whose name they are in or whether they were purchased before or after you separated. Financial interests in companies or trusts, superannuation and other things can be included in these shared properties. If you focus only on items that are in both names, such as a house or vehicle, it might seem on the surface that there is an equitable and just division but, in fact, one person can be left hugely disadvantaged.
Your Contributions
As we mentioned earlier, you do not have to be earning the money in the relationship to be contributing to the wealth of the relationship. You may have contributed to your relationship by staying at home looking after your children, and because of this, your ability to earn and build a savings account for retirement will have been affected.
Assessing contributions is a vital part of the divorce process. However, contributions tend to carry more weight in cases with shorter relationships. In relationships of more than fifteen years, for example, it would usually be seen that contributions are equal, as the relationship is long-term. However, this is dependent on the specifics of each case.
Assessing Your Needs
When assessing your needs, you need to consider both your current and future needs. Things that should be taken into account are your age, ability to earn (now and in the future), your health, and any responsibilities you may have in caring for your children.
Taking all of this into account, the court will decide how to best divide your properties to balance things out as evenly as possible. If one party is coming out more disadvantaged than the other, then they should get a bigger percentage.
However, it is not always as straightforward as it may sound and there are other things such as support from family and friends, a potential future inheritance, access to other resources that you might have, and more that need to be considered.
Hire A Professional Family Lawyer To Assist You
Applying for a divorce will have an impact on your properties as you find a way to split them evenly and fairly with your ex-partner. While, in principle, the process sounds very straightforward, the reality is that divorce can be messy and things don’t always go so seamlessly. Hiring an experienced legal firm such as Rockwell Bates family lawyers will help you to reach a property settlement in your divorce that you will be pleased with.
