How the assets are distributed in divorce in Australia is a prevalent issue on everyone’s mind.
Comparing The Rights Of Stay-At-Home Parents And Breadwinners
The stay-at-home parent frequently worries that because they did not contribute financially to the marriage—for example, by paying the mortgage and other bills—they are not entitled to an equal share of the settlement in the event of a divorce WA or legal separation.
This is untrue; while deciding how assets are distributed in divorce in Australia, the court actually takes into account the non-financial contributions of this parent and gives it equal weight with the role of the primary breadwinner.
The final decision of how the asset pool will be divided is subject to change and might not be a straightforward 50-50 split. Individual cases will determine how to proceed with this.
Factors Examined
Factor: Both parties’ assets and liabilities
Common Assets consist of:
- The Household
- Investment real estate
– Savings
- Stocks and shares
- Bonds and mutual funds
- the Superannuation
- Families trusts
- Autos and vessels
- Personal belongings, including jewelry and collectibles
- Items for the home (e.g furniture, televisions)
- Commercial interests
Typical Liabilities consist of:
- A mortgage.
- Credit cards
– Auto loans
- Card-related debt
- Commercial loans
- Purchase-to-own agreements
Direct Financial Contributions Include Possessions Acquired Before The Relationship And Assets Accumulated Over The Relationship.
A party may occasionally bring a former piece of property into the union. The property will be divided or shared based on how it is used and how the other spouse contributes to it. It is more likely that the partner bringing the property or shared assets that have been accumulated during the marriage will have a lessened interest the longer a couple has been together and the further the other parties’ contributions to it.
This basically means that the property belongs to you both more the longer you’ve been together. Therefore, how the assets are distributed after a divorce in Australia will depend on how long a couple has been together.
Assets Acquired After Divorce
When determining entitlements to property acquired following a divorce, there are two methods to follow. These two factors are crucial in figuring out how the assets are distributed in divorce in Australia.
The first considers the use of the property and the contribution of the other spouse to the property. The asset will then be included in the asset pool if the other spouse’s contribution is adequate to offset the interest of the spouse who owns the asset. The second method examines the non-owner spouse’s post-separation contributions to all issues affecting both parties.
Duration Of The Relationship
The length of a couple’s marriage will have a considerable impact on how their assets are shared in a divorce in Australia. Even if one spouse may have contributed much financially to the marriage, over time their contributions are diminished. This basically indicates that the right to the overall asset pool for the partner who has been the stay-at-home spouse or parent for a longer period of time is bigger.
The Total Number Of Kids And The People They’ll Live With
Each kid under the age of 18 in the main custody of one spouse is often allocated a larger portion of the asset pool to that spouse.
Future requirements of a party, such as their capacity for employment and health
- Any physical or mental impairments
- The level of life to which each party is used.
- If one party will be the children’s primary caregiver
- Financial assistance while looking for a job or further education.
Non-Financial Contribution Types
- Looking after the kids while one partner is at work.
One spouse will be the principal breadwinner, and the other will take care of the home and/or children. This is generally the non-formal marriage arrangements frequently formed in the ordinary household.
- The home’s maintenance, which includes:
- making dinner, cleaning, gardening, and so forth.
- Any modifications to the property:
- This can include any repairs or improvements that have either raised the property’s value or saved money on upkeep expenses.
- The scope of the work and the value the work has brought to the property.
Spousal Support
What if you lack the resources to maintain a respectable standard of life following the end of your relationship? What if you want to continue your education but have been putting it off due to your relationship? What if you’re having trouble finding employment?
The solution to your issues till you can stand again may be spousal maintenance! In essence, this is the situation when your ex-partner pays you support for the stated reasons.
When Spousal Maintenance May Apply:
- The respondent has the resources to support the partner financially.
- Must be granted within 24 months of a de facto separation OR 12 months after a divorce.
– assistance with the cost of education.
- financial assistance while looking for work.
The Family Law Act of 1975’s Section 75 lists a long number of factors to take into account while deciding whether to grant spousal maintenance, including: - The parties’ ages and states of health
- Their sources of income, wealth, and resources
- Their ability to work, both physically and mentally.
- Whether either party is responsible for or in control of a child from the marriage who is under 18 years old.
- Any obligations made by each party that is required for that party to be able to sustain themselves, a child, or another person.
- The obligation on the part of either party to help any other individual.
- Eligibility of either party under the laws of the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory, or another Country for a pension, allowance, or benefit.
- Any superannuation fund or program, whether it is located in Australia or not.
- To keep up a fair level of living in the given situation.
- The extent to which a party’s ability to establish themselves through training, job, or additional education can be helped by receiving maintenance payments.
- How a spousal support order will affect either party’s capacity to make debt payments.
- The degree to which the party receiving maintenance has contributed to the other party’s income, earning potential, assets, and financial resources.
- The length of the marriage and how it has affected the party eligible for maintenance’s ability to earn a living.
- To maintain a party’s parental responsibilities.
Whether or not either partner is cohabitating, as well as the financial details around such cohabitation - Any past, present, or potential future obligation to pay child support to a child of the marriage on the part of a party to the marriage.
- Anything else the court deems appropriate to take into account.
- The terms of any marriage-related, legally-binding financial agreement.
- The conditions of any order issued pursuant to Section 79; pertaining to:
In regard to a bankrupt party, the parties’ property or vested bankruptcy property; and
The provisions of any order or declaration issued or contemplated in connection with either:
- A participant in the union
- A person who is involved in a de facto relationship with a spouse
OR;
the possessions of a person who fits definitions 1 or 2.
OR;
vested bankruptcy assets in relation to a subject of clauses (1) or (2).
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