The 1-Page Guide To

Formalising Your Settlement

Ready to get your agreement sorted out?

If you're ready to start, we can get it underway for you by tomorrow. 

But maybe you're not there yet. If you want to talk things through, we're happy to chat - there's no charge. 

Or if you need help actually getting to an agreement, we can assist with that, too.

Tell us what you'd like to do:

How To Protect The Deal You've Agreed

Divorce Partners is Australia's specialist financial settlement firm.

We help separating couples reach sensible resolutions, inexpensively and quickly.

1300 975 994
www.divorcepartners.com.au

  • If your deal includes a property title transfer, a Consent Order or BFA allows you to obtain exemption from stamp duties that may otherwise have been applicable.
  • If one of you is taking over a mortgage, most finance companies will require a Consent Order or BFA.
  • If you’re making a superannuation transfer, the super fund won’t allow the transfer without a Consent Order or BFA.


But most importantly of all, a Consent Order or BFA protects each of you against claims by the other for more settlement money in the future. 

There are several reasons to create a formal agreement between you.

  • There are only two ways to make your financial separation deal legally enforceable. One is called a Consent Order and the other is a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA).

    • A Consent Order is an approval from the Family Court Registry for the deal the parties have agreed.
       
    • The alternative - a Binding Financial Agreement - involves two independent law firms reviewing and advising on the proposed arrangements before the agreement is signed.

No-one can force the two of you to get legally binding documents for your deal.

The problem is that if you don’t get a formal agreement, then at any time up to a year after divorce (which could be many years if you delay the divorce itself), or up to 2 years if you were a de facto couple, your former partner can ask for more. 

Any payments you might have made to each other don’t prevent a further claim if you’ve not obtained Consent Orders or a BFA.

For many couples at least one of them re-partners quickly. With a new “voice in the ear”, that’s precisely when troubles occur. What you thought was an amicable parting, where you trusted each other that the deal was the deal, can quickly turn into an almighty fight.

Taking your agreement to a law firm is rarely the best option. Lawyers are very expensive and take a long time. 

But the biggest problem that some people experience with law firms is called "unstitching the deal".  

You explain to the lawyer the deal you've agreed, but then the lawyer finds a bunch of reasons why you shouldn't do that deal. Or they write to the other side's lawyer demanding extra terms. 
Before you know it, you're at war, when all you wanted was to peacefully wrap up your agreed arrangements.

Almost everyone has heard stories like these, because, sadly, it happens so often. 

So if you want to keep your deal together, and not spend a fortune, law firms are not your best option.

So if you have already reached a deal, we'd be pleased to get it formalised for you, quickly and inexpensively.


[And if you haven't reached a deal yet, let's talk about the least painful way to get that sorted out.]

If you've reached a "deal" with your former partner about how you'll separate your finances, it's always in your best interest to formalise it.

This 1-Page Guide offers you straight-talking, factual information to help you understand how and why you should do so.

Because delay can be very financially dangerous for you:

  • When you eventually settle, you must declare the values at the time you sign the documents, not prices at the time you split. So if you’re intending to retain a house and you expect prices to rise, your ex gets an uplift in wealth each year you wait - at your expense.
  • Usually both parties get angrier until payment has been made and protection against future claims has been created.

  • Unresolved financial arrangements frequently lead one or both parties to resort to “lawfare”, with eye-watering litigation fees that decimate your financial position, so you both lose, as do children.

What's The Hurry?

It's important to know that these are quite different processes.
A Consent Order is a decision by the Court that your arrangements are "just and equitable". By contrast, a BFA is a private agreement between you which is not subject to anyone else's approval.

However, BFAs can be more susceptible to being challenged (under certain specific circumstances) and are generally more expensive to prepare.

Most separating couples seek Consent Orders because they're less expensive and more secure. BFAs tend to be used for particularly complex deals or if the parties do not want external scrutiny of their arrangements.

A far better option is to ask a neutral firm to do the work. 

Divorce Partners is a specialist and totally neutral firm.  To be clear: we're not a law firm! 

We're neutral advisors who get hired by both parties in a separating couple, not one side.  

That means we're not trying to work in favour of one of you at the expense of the other. And it also means we can communicate quickly and informally between you, to clarify matters without fuss - and even deal with some "niggle", which of course happens often. 


Convenience

We do all our work by phone and email, so you don't need to travel to attend appointments with us - far more convenient for you.


Affordable

We only charge fixed fees to arrange formal documentation.

Unlike lawyers, our low fixed price fees do not increase "by-the-hour" with more charges for drafts if you disagree or need help finalising some details.  We make payment as easy as can be, with credit card facilities and installment payment plans starting as low as $250.


Safe

Most importantly, if you've reached a deal between you, we won't "unstitch it". 

Should we go to lawyers?

Neutral advisors can help you do this faster, at much lower cost and with far less stress than going to lawyers.

Why Do You Need To Do Anything At All?