NSW Property Settlement & Conciliation Queries

[Kyl]

Hi,

I have to complete a joint balance sheet for an up coming conciliation conference. I have found the form online but would like to know if anyone can direct me to a sample already filled in?

I am uncertain as to whether I fill out a form based on my assets and liabilities and then do a separate one for my ex assets and liabilities. I have to then send the form to the ex for him to add what he wants etc, whereby he has to send it back to me and then anything contested is to be annotated, etc.

Next question. My ex took 98% of our property and household contents when he threw me out of our family home. He has either hid or given away most things, or has combined our property with that of his girlfriends, if a valuation is needed how do I go about being able to access the locations of everything (I know where it all is) to get a fair valuation or is there another way to work out what the value is, e.g. go by our last contents insurance value, etc?

Last question is their anyone who can give me an idea of how the conciliation will run and realistically what I should expect, my ex is not cooperative at all so my fingers are crossed the registrar will give him a good sense of what a court will determine if he won't come to the party on anything.

I'm hoping it isn't just another procedural waste of time.

 

[SamanthaJay]

As for your 2nd question, having been through similar, I think you should use any and all methods you can. Bottom line is that they can hide what they want, as my ex did, and it's your word against theirs. My ex has sold farm equipment, vehicles and tools, a lot of it for cash so there are no bank records or he would accept part cash and part bank deposit.

Getting access is another matter as well. My ex refuses me access although when I found out he had gone overseas, I returned to the property and took photos and video evidence of tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment he denied we had, he was in possession of or that we'd supposedly sold when still together.

I left with my car only full of stuff and set up the rental home with donations from friends and kerb side trash. The valuer just shook his head after he'd come from doing the family home property valuations to the rental home with a list my ex provided him with. The valuer was also a source of information when i queried certain items like classic vehicles and found out that ex had removed engines from them and stored elsewhere.

If you know where it is, you are one step ahead. Getting access could be a problem. I think the contents insurance policy is a good idea to go by as well. Especially if it has a detailed specified items list.

Also have a really good think about it. To this day, nearly 2 years after leaving, I still think of things I'd forgotten about.

Do either of you have a solicitor? My ex was also extremely uncooperative and after 30 years, was of the opinion that what was his was his and what was mine was his as well. He was also very abusive and I was afraid of even beginning the proceedings.

My solicitor advised me that he would most likely seek legal advice once he received the initial letter and that he would be told how it works and realise there was no way out of it. It's exactly what happened and I imagine a very rude wake up call for him.

 

[Shapely]

Hi There

Go look at the federal court circuit cases, most of those have balance sheets filled out by solicitors or magistrates that will give you an idea.

In regards to the furniture, you can ask for a valuation from him, I warn you now its valued at garage sale prices. Conciliation may give orders for you to access the property to get a valuation, but if he has another partner thats possibly unlikely, especially if there are mixed belongings.

If he hid or gave them away more than 12 months old ago its a lost cause, if in the last 12 months old he has to say what he sold them for value wise, if he says $5 each there wont be much you can do, unless you can prove it looking at his bank statements.

Do you have a solicitor? I'm assuming you already have his disclosure documents. If you dont agree with the values of the furniture, think very hard about bothering to fight that. At $300 an hour for a lawyer, and a valuation at garage sale value on whatever possessions he has left, its probably not worth it (up to you)

The conciliation conference is in front of a magistrate and the magistrate will look at your factors i your case and give a good understanding of whats going to happen in a trial and an approximation of what % of the assets each party is likely to receive. They will only focus on the big items. My magistrate wasnt the least bit interested in hearing about the household furniture and who had what.

The conciliation is the last real chance for you to come to an agreement before trial dates are set, and thats mega expensive. Whatever your issues are in the case, you really need to have a good hard think about trying to settle (as does he) unless of course he is hiding millions in a company or something.

I don't know your details at all, but the magistrate will make it very clear at conciliation the costs of going further.

Read up cases on the family court and federal court circuit to get an idea of what will happen at trial. They make very interesting reading.

Good Luck