SA Separation from Partner - Get More than 50% of Property Settlement?

[Eagle]

I am a single mother with a 3-year-old child. My partner & I are going through a separation and are selling our house, our only asset apart from our superannuation.

There will be a surplus after the mortgage is repaid. Centrelink tells me I must divide the surplus on a 50:50 basis. I am not sure this would be correct. My claim would be that since my unemployable partner only gives $7 per week to support my child & myself, I should be able to claim more than 50% in property settlement.

Could you please give me an opinion or suggestion on whether or how I may be able to get more than 50%?

My child is the one who would benefit from the extra financial support. My partner can not be relied upon to provide this. I am happy to divulge any further details you may require.

Thank you

 

[AllForHer]

I'm not sure why Centrelink would be sharing their opinion on what is obviously a matter for consideration as a property settlement, but moving on...

What you can do is pursue a property settlement with your ex spouse. The first step in this process is to try and reach agreement about how to divide your assets. If you can do this yourselves, that would save time and money - see Separation Agreement Kit – Australia - Legal Documents - LawAnswers.com.au

If you're unable to reach agreement, you can file an initiating application for a property settlement through the court. The court follows a four-step process to determine property settlements:

1. What's the value of the joint asset pool?
2. What were the financial and non-financial contributions of each party?
3. What are the future needs of each party?
4. Is the settlement just and equitable?

There's no formula for determining each of the above questions, but generally, people start at 50:50 and go from there - if one party made significant financial and non-financial contributions, it may move to a 55:45 split in their favour, but if one party had limited prospects for future employment, it may go back the other way and more granted to the unemployable party.

In any case, I hope this helps.

 

[Eagle]

I am a single mother with a 3-year-old child. My partner & I are going through a separation and are selling our house, our only asset apart from our superannuation.

There will be a surplus after the mortgage is repaid. Centrelink tells me I must divide the surplus on a 50:50 basis. I am not sure this would be correct. My claim would be that since my unemployable partner only gives $7 per week to support my child & myself, I should be able to claim more than 50% in property settlement.

Could you please give me an opinion or suggestion on whether or how I may be able to get more than 50%?

My child is the one who would benefit from the extra financial support. My partner can not be relied upon to provide this. I am happy to divulge any further details you may require.

Thank you

Thank you for your prompt and helpful reply

 

[CathL]

Agreed. You might also find this article about Property Settlement helpful: Property Settlement After Separation - Agree Now, Don't Pay Later - Legal Blog - LawAnswers.com.au