By Anita Petrovic.
Amicable separations are not as few and far between as one might think; plenty of separated partners resolve their property settlement cordially and by consent.
If you have reached agreement to settle your property matter with your former spouse, you may trust your former spouse to honour that agreement and not to come back for more later. If you do not formally document your agreement, you are leaving the door open to this possibility.
No one knows what the future holds, and the price of documenting your agreement is a small one in comparison to the costs of lengthy and complex litigation that could ensue if the agreement is not formalised and your former spouse brings a Court application against you.
How are property agreements formalised?
Agreements can be formalised in relatively straightforward ways, including through Consent Orders or a Financial Agreement. Whilst these documents may take some time and money to prepare, the cost and emotional consequences of not having your agreement formalised in this way could be much more significant.
Without a formal agreement, your former spouse could make an application to the Court to have a second bite. You cannot know when this attempted second bite will come or whether it will be successful. Whilst the Court would consider the prior agreement and whether you have each acted on it and how much time has passed between separation, that agreement and the Court hearing, you would still be put to the cost of fighting the other party’s application or deciding to pay them some money to finalise the matter on a commercial basis once and for all time.
All of this can be avoided (to the extent possible under the law) by formalising your agreement by way of Consent Orders or a Financial Agreement.
If you need assistance with your property settlement, please contact us.
