What is a Pre-nuptial Agreement?

These Agreements are for people intending to enter into either a marriage or a defacto relationship but the Agreement must be completed and signed before the marriage or cohabitation commences.

A Prenuptial Agreement is one form of Binding Financial Agreement that binds both parties to certain obligations in the future should their relationship breakdown.

The requirements for such Agreements include:-

• Both parties must obtain independent and comprehensive legal advice and the Solicitor advising each party must sign a separate statement of advice;
• The Solicitors for both parties must be told all aspects concerning each party’s financial situation and you need to be aware that sometimes future predictions can be wrong;
• Agreements such as these can be a good way to protect your assets but unless the Solicitors have given both parties comprehensive advice, there is a risk that these Agreements may later be overturned by a Court;
• Because each party must also obtain independent legal advice there can be a significant cost for legal fees to ensure the Agreement will be binding and enforceable in the future.

What is a Post Separation Agreement?

This is also a type of Binding Financial Agreement and it is an agreement for property division after the parties have separated from each other.

Both parties must receive independent legal advice. The Courts are not involved at all. There is still a requirement to disclose all assets to each other and it is still possible to split a party’s superannuation. The document must contain a list of all of the assets owned by each party.

What is a Binding Child Support Agreement?

This type of Agreement essentially blocks either party from making future claims for child support from the other parent through the Department of Human Services Child Support section.

You must have a formal child support assessment prior to entering into a Binding Child Support Agreement.

People should be wary of these agreements as they can only be changed in exceptional circumstances, meaning that something quite significant must have occurred for the Agreement to be overturned. Simply losing one’s job or a change in a child’s care percentage would not be enough to satisfy this threshold.

Once again, each party must obtain independent legal advice prior to entering into the Agreement and once signed, the Agreement is registered with the Child Support Agency.

What are Spousal Maintenance Agreements?

These are similar to Binding Child Support Agreements where one party promises to pay the other a certain amount of money in maintenance for a certain period of time.

Each party must obtain independent legal advice for the Agreement to be valid and binding.

If you would like more information on separation or any of the Family Law Agreements mentioned above, please Call our Family Law Team at Brazel Moore Lawyers on (02) 4324 7699 to speak to an experienced Family Law Solicitor today.