Tips for Negotiating Your Property Settlement:
Make sure you remain calm and respectful when negotiating your property settlement. It will go a long way to being able to resolve your matter if you stay on task and keep a business-like approach as much as possible.
Here Are 10 Practical Steps to Help You Negotiate Your Property Settlement:
Step 1. Write down your assets and liabilities at the time you and your partner commenced your relationship
Step 2. Have your partner write down a list of their assets and liabilities at the time you and your partner commenced your relationship
Step 3. Write down a list of assets and liabilities that have been generated during the relationship
Step 4. Disclose all of your financials, including income, assets, and liabilities
Step 5. Determine what the property pool is (total assets minus total liabilities)
Step 6. Try and reach a fair agreement with respect to who is to retain what property
Step 7. If you disagree on a matter, find something to bargain with
Step 8. Time your negotiations
Step 9. Reach a middle ground and settle.
If you can reach an agreement with respect to your property settlement, you will save yourself money that would otherwise be spent on legal costs using lawyers to negotiate your property settlement for you. Once an agreement has been reached, you can retain a lawyer to prepare the required documents for your outlining your agreement, and file them with the court.
Example of assets

Income (salary, wage or dividend)

Funds in bank

Money you are owed

Property (sole or jointly owned)

Interest in a company or business

Cars, boats, trailers, machinery, tools

Superannuation

Inheritances

Personal injury awards

Livestock

Shares, stocks and bonds

Cryptocurrency

Valuable collections (ie antique collection, sports memorabilia collection – any collections of value)

Insurance policies

Furniture and contents.

 
Example of liabilities

Mortgage over property
Home equity loan
Car loan or car lease
Student loan
Other loan (personal or joint)
Credit Cards
Tax debt or liability.

For further assistance with this you can download our free workbook here. This can help you to walk through all these steps.
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Negotiating with your ex-partner about your property settlement can be a great way to reach an amicable agreement, and to reduce your need to incur legal costs. Some couples find discussing who gets what in the property settlement causes conflict. Other couples are easily able to negotiate who gets what property, and can resolve matters amicably. Either way, don’t expect it to be easy to reach agreement, it usually isn’t. It takes time and patience.
Negotiating A Property Settlement
For couples who are still able to communicate with each other effectively, talking and negotiating a property settlement can be very beneficial. Parties may already have an idea of what each party had at the commencement of the relationship, what each party contributed during the relationship, and what each party should retain upon separation.
Family Court Consent Orders Property Settlement
For parties who can negotiate and reach agreement with respect to who gets what, they can have their property finalised by way of consent orders. Once you and your ex-partner have reached agreement, you can prepare your own documents with a Do-it-Yourself Consent Order Kit available from the Family Law Court of Australia or from www.familycourt.gov.au. Alternatively, and if you can afford it you should  have a lawyer draft your documents outlining who gets what property, and file the documents in court (in this case a lower fixed fee rate may apply). This is the best way to protect yourself moving forward.
Meet With One Of Our Family Lawyers In Brisbane or Gold Coast
If you would like to know more about consent orders, we offer a free initial appointment in our Gold Coast or Brisbane offices where you can meet with one of our family lawyers  to learn more.
The post My Partner And I Have Separated. Should I Try To Negotiate With My Ex-Partner About A Property Settlement? appeared first on Caldwell Family Lawyers.

If you have more assets than your partner, then the simple answer is yes! Under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) parties who live as a couple for a period of twenty four months or more are considered de facto. De facto couples are subject to the same laws with respect to property rights as married couples under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). You do not have to be married for a partner to have a claim against your assets.
If you have greater assets than your partner (house, boat, jewelry, an inheritance, superannuation, cash in the bank, artwork, antique collection etc), then you should seek legal advice about a prenup agreement to protect your assets.
What is A Prenup Agreement?
A pre nuptial agreement in Australia can outline a list of each parties assets at the commencement of the relationship, the financial responsibilities of each party should they separate, and who will get what. A pre-nup is a way to secure your assets should you and your partner separate in the future.
A pre-nuptial agreement is known as a binding financial agreement and can be entered in to before, during or after cohabitation or marriage.  A lawyer needs to prepare a financial agreement to protect your assets should you and your partner separate in the future. Further, both you and your partner need to seek independent legal advice from your own lawyers.
If you would like to know more about pre-nuptial agreements  and whether it is right for you, we offer a free initial appointment in our Gold Coast or Brisbane offices where you can meet with one of our family law solicitors to learn more.
The post I Want To move In With My Partner. Should I Get A Pre-nup? appeared first on Caldwell Family Lawyers.

If you are considering leaving your partner we recommend you first try family counselling to see if the relationship can be salvaged.
Seek Legal Advice
If you have decided to leave your partner and own property (sole and/or joint) and/or have children to the relationship, you should seek legal advice. It can be empowering to know your legal rights and helpful to assist you with moving forward in your separation. At Caldwell Family Lawyers we offer a free initial appointment at our Brisbane and our Gold Coast office with one of our lawyers. This can allow you the clarity that you need to move forward with your matter.
Separation is often a stressful and emotional time for all parties involved. Getting advice from a lawyer can assist you with making major decisions about the future care of your children, and how to divide your property, money and belongings.
What Influence Division Of Property?
A lawyer will ask you about initial contributions to the relationship, a list of all the assets and liabilities and any other relevant factors, and can provide you with advice about what you may receive in a property settlement. By identifying your assets and liabilities you can easily clarify your financial position.
An overall division of property can be influenced by factors such as the initial financial contributions at the commencement of the relationship, financial contributions during the relationship, non-financial contributions during the relationship, whether there are children to the relationship, any income disparity, and other facts under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (see example below).
A lawyer can advise you what your rights and responsibilities are, and can assist you to reach an agreement with respect to property and parenting matters without going to court. If you have clarity around your matter then you have more chance of being able to negotiate an agreement on your terms without the help of a lawyer. If this is the case, you will save money and hopefully be able to move on from your relationship in a more amicable way.
The Agreement
If you and your ex-partner can reach agreement with your family law matters, a lawyer can prepare documents which are filed in court and become orders that outline your agreement with respect to property and children. Once you have court orders by consent, you and your ex-partner must comply with those orders.
It is best to have one of our experienced lawyers draft the documents for you. We can do this for anyone in Australia, it doesn’t matter where you are situated, you will not need to attend out office or meet us face to face. We offer fixed fee consent orders, so that you know what the costs will be.
If you are interested in knowing more, please contact our office.  
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