VIC Divorce - How Much will I Lose in Property Settlement?

[john1]

We were married for 1 ½ years and was wondering what percentage of my assets I would lose now that my ex-wife is chasing a property settlement via the Family Law Court. Divorce has gone through.

She is from overseas and has no assets. She now has a permanent residency. She earns approx $700 pw. We did not have any children. We lived in rental accommodation and she was lazy so did not contribute much to house work nor make financial contributions to rent and bills.

All assets (property and superannuation) are in my name and were accumulated by my own efforts which I owned before the marriage. Would like to know what percentage of same that I am likely to lose.

Thank you.

For future reference: If one would set up a prenup (before marriage) where terms would basically state that in the eventuality of a divorce, one would be able to keep all their assets, i.e. lose nothing; can this sort of prenup be challenged in court?

Is it safe to have a girlfriend relationship, or do they have a claim to your assets as well in the eventuality of a breakup?

Answers to the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thanking You all in advance

 

[Sophea]

Hi John1,

With regard to the likely outcome of a property settlement and how much of the joint asset pool you will retain. Please see these other posts: The short answer is, it is impossible to say what the court will determine, however the system it uses is to calculate the joint asset pool, determine the financial and non-financial contributions of each party to the relationship, determine the future financial requirements of the parties and their ability to make income themselves and then comes to what it believes to be a fair division of the assets.

Court property settlements can only be pursued by couples who have been married or in a de facto relationship. Girlfriends can become defactos if you are a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis - whether you depend on a variety of factors including the duration of the relationship, the extent of common residence, the degree of financial interdependence, acquisition of joint property and care and support of children etc.

Before entering into a relationship, you can execute a binding financial agreement. in order for one of these documents to be enforceable both parties need to obtain independent legal advice before signing. This ensures that they cannot be disputed in court.

 

[Sophea]

Sorry forgot to attach:

Property Settlement After Separation - Agree Now, Don't Pay Later - Legal Blog - LawAnswers.com.au
WA - Fair Share Split for Property Settlement After Separation? | LawAnswers.com.au

 

[john1]

Sorry forgot to attach:

Property Settlement After Separation - Agree Now, Don't Pay Later - Legal Blog - LawAnswers.com.au
WA - Fair Share Split for Property Settlement After Separation? | LawAnswers.com.au

Thanks for reply Sophea,

It was much anticipated as I am very worried about this property settlement situation. It's just about the last thing I would ever have wanted to be involved in.
Further to your comments about what the courts consider in these matters;
During the marriage, I was paying for everything food, rent bills etc. She did not contribute much to non-financial tasks either like housework. I was giving her $200 a week also.

She is 35 and has unskilled labour, but she may think of doing a university course. She has no assets. She earns about $700 a week. Could you please elaborate on “future financial requirements of the parties”?

Could you elaborate on the court's consideration on a fair/equitable division of assets? Is the main consideration that she has not made a contribution to any of my assets so it would be unfair for her to take any of my assets

I read that length of marriage is important, i.e. Will court regard any marriage under 10 years to be short and, therefore, will allow parties to maintain theirs before marriage assets. I have an investment property.

So I should not lose anything I owned before the marriage?

 

[john1]

Forgot to ask.
Even though she has a job and a means of income, she may be more economically compromised now to when she was living with me. What does the court do here? Would the court consider maintenance payments and how much would this be per month/week, and for how long does one have to pay this?

 

[N Knight]

HI John,
Given that it is a 1 1/2 year marriage and she has had very little to no contribution to the marriage, I would say that at best she would receive 5 - 10 based on her future factor being an unskilled labour etc....

 

[IanReg]

I have acted in cases like that of John1 where the wife gets nothing or was paid out $5k to $10k nuisance value. I have also see where the wife has applied for an intervention order. Even if the claim is baseless, it leaves you out of your own house for about 6 months and increases your incentive to pay a higher nuisance value figure. Many lawyers would not want to act for the wife, so this can be an advantage to you. However, if the wife finds a determined volunteer or legal aid lawyer you can be in for a hell of a fight. You would definitely want to discuss with a lawyer experienced in Property and Financial Settlements to offer an opinon.