Binding Financial Agreements Lawyers Brisbane.
Your Family Lawyers Brisbane & Sydney
Drafting and reviewing legal agreements that outline the division of assets and financial arrangements in the event of a separation or divorce.
At CG Legal, we understand the importance of protecting your assets and financial interests in the event of a separation or divorce.
Protecting Your Assets and Financial Interests.
Our Family Law lawyer is here to provide expert guidance in drafting and reviewing binding financial agreements that offer clarity and security for your future.
Our Binding Financial Agreement Services:
Our team of Binding Financial Agreements Lawyers Brisbane specialises in creating binding financial agreements that are tailored to your unique circumstances and financial goals. These agreements comprehensively outline the division of assets, liabilities, and financial arrangements in the event of a separation or divorce. We take a precise and meticulous approach to drafting these agreements, ensuring they are legally sound and offer you peace of mind.
If you are presented with a binding financial agreement, our team can thoroughly review it to protect your rights and interests. We explain the implications of the agreement and offer advice on potential modifications if necessary. Our Binding Financial Agreements Lawyers Brisbane provide expert legal guidance on binding financial agreements, ensuring you understand your rights and obligations under the agreement.
Experienced Brisbane Family Lawyers for Binding Financial Agreements and Family Law Matters.
If you’re facing family-related legal issues in Brisbane, our team of experienced family lawyer is here to help. Our services encompass a wide range of family law matters, including Binding Financial Agreements (commonly known as prenuptial agreements), property settlements, consent orders, child support, court orders, estate planning, and more.
Property Settlement and Consent Orders: Our Binding Financial Agreements Lawyers Brisbane specialise in property settlement matters, including Binding Financial Agreements, and can assist you in negotiating and formalising consent orders to ensure a fair and legal division of property.
Child Support and Child Custody: Our dedicated family lawyers in Brisbane provide guidance and representation in child support, child custody (parenting orders), and Binding Financial Agreements cases. We work diligently to secure the best outcomes for you and your children.
Estate Planning and Financial Arrangements: In addition to family law matters, we offer estate planning services to help you protect your assets and provide for your loved ones in the future. We understand the financial intricacies involved in family law, including Binding Financial Agreements.
Prenuptial Agreements (Pre-Nuptial Agreements): We can help you draft Binding Financial Agreements, commonly known as prenuptial agreements or pre-nuptial agreements, to safeguard your assets and outline financial arrangements in the event of separation.
Domestic Violence and Protection Orders: Our compassionate lawyers are equipped to handle domestic violence cases, including obtaining the necessary protection orders, and can also assist in creating legal agreements to protect your financial interests.
Whether you’re dealing with separation, family violence, or any other family-related legal matter, our Brisbane family lawyers are committed to providing you with comprehensive and compassionate legal support. We understand the complexities of family law and the importance of Binding Financial Agreements in securing your financial future, and we are dedicated to helping you navigate the legal process effectively.
Navigating the Legal Landscape of Binding Financial Agreements.
Our commitment to compliance and enforceability means that all binding financial agreements are crafted to meet the legal requirements for enforceability, assuring you that your agreement will hold up in court if necessary.
The Family Law Act allows married and de facto couples to enter into private financial agreements without the need for court review. These agreements can cover property and superannuation division in the event of separation, both before and after it occurs. Our expertise in family law enables us to assist you at any stage of the agreement process, whether you are considering creating an agreement, evaluating one presented by your spouse, or dealing with an agreement post-separation.
Financial agreements can also address spouse maintenance, with the option for spouses to agree not to seek court-ordered maintenance in the future. This executed agreement prevents either party from pursuing maintenance through the court.
Binding Financial Agreements, often referred to as BFAs, are legal agreements made before, during, or after a relationship. These agreements determine financial arrangements during the relationship or after its conclusion. Signing a Binding Financial Agreement means you agree to the specified division of your financial resources, assets, and liabilities. If a dispute arises and you have a Binding Financial Agreement in place, your right to dispute the division of your financial assets in Family Court is relinquished, as the agreement governs how resources will be divided.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Binding Financial Agreement (referred to as a BFA or sometimes a prenuptial agreement when executed during a relationship) is a legal contract outlining the division of assets and potential spousal maintenance arrangements in the event of a separation. These agreements can be established at various points:
- Before marriage or entering a de facto relationship.
- While already married or in a de facto relationship.
- After separation but before the divorce is finalized.
- After the divorce or breakdown of a de facto relationship.
When a Binding Financial Agreement is created during a relationship, it specifies how financial matters should be handled if the relationship ends. These agreements, designed to preemptively address asset distribution in the event of a separation, are intricate and can become costly if not executed correctly. They are complex because they aim to safeguard not only the current assets but also future wealth. To achieve this, legal professionals must anticipate future financial circumstances, necessary clauses for asset protection, and the parties’ conditions at the end of the relationship. Therefore, creating a Binding Financial Agreement during a relationship is typically more expensive, as it intends to commit the parties to financial decisions in the future.
To ensure that your Binding Financial Agreement remains legally binding and can withstand challenges, it is crucial to update it regularly, reflecting the current assets and the financial and life situations of both parties, such as changes in employment or the addition of children.
When a Binding Financial Agreement is established after separation, it outlines the division of existing assets, liabilities, and superannuation. While it is more common and often preferable to use a consent order to legally formalize the division of assets after separation, there may be circumstances where a Binding Financial Agreement is more appropriate. It is advisable to consult with an experienced family and divorce lawyer to determine the best agreement for your situation.
If you have signed a Binding Financial Agreement during a relationship, it typically governs how your assets will be divided upon separation, and you may forfeit your right to dispute this division as specified in the Agreement. However, in limited situations, you may have the option to challenge the Binding Financial Agreement in the future and regain your ability to seek asset division under the Family Law Act 1975. Seek legal advice if you believe you have valid reasons to consider overturning your Binding Financial Agreement.
It has taken you years of hard work and effort to accumulate your assets.
It is important that when you enter a committed relationship, that is likely to be long term, that you take steps to protect your wealth and your assets.
You might consider entering into a (Pre-nuptial) Binding Financial Agreement when:
- You have more money and assets than your partner at the commencement of your relationship;
- You have children of a former relationship and you want to protect their interests in your assets in the event of separation;
- You may be entitled to a gift or an inheritance at a later date;
- You receive significant distributions from a Trust that you want to protect;
- You own / have an interest in a family business that you want to protect;
- You seek to agree in advance upon the division of your assets to avoid a dispute and the potential of court down the track.
Asset Protection: A Financial Agreement can safeguard your assets by legally formalising their division, preventing the other party from making future claims against them.
Customised Asset Division: It allows parties to agree on an asset division that doesn’t align with the “Just & Equitable” standard set by the Family Law, giving you the flexibility to deviate from what a court might determine as fair. This means you can agree to receive more or less than what you might be entitled to under the Family Law Act.
Stamp Duty Savings: You can avoid paying stamp duty, which would typically be applicable when transferring assets between parties in other situations.
Certainty and Reduced Stress: If you are in a relationship, a Financial Agreement allows you to pre-plan the division of assets, providing clarity and reducing stress in case the relationship breaks down. You’ll know in advance what will happen and who will receive what.
Asset Protection for the Majority Contributor: In cases where one party has contributed the majority of the assets, a Financial Agreement can provide some assurance that these assets will be protected from the other party in the future. While it can’t guarantee 100% asset protection, it is the most effective means of safeguarding your assets.
Estate Protection: It ensures that your estate is protected, ensuring that all the assets you own will be passed to your family as intended in your will and not taken by your former partner.
It’s important to note that most of these benefits can also be achieved by formalising asset division through a consent order, except for situations where you are still in a relationship and want to plan for a potential future separation. In the majority of cases, a consent order is recommended for asset division.
A Binding Financial Agreement does not require approval from a court, and it is not subject to scrutiny to ensure its fairness or equity. When a Binding Financial Agreement is established during a relationship, often referred to as a prenuptial agreement, it should be regularly updated if circumstances change to maintain its binding and enforceable status.
While a Binding Financial Agreement is the most effective means of pre-planning for separation and asset protection, it does not offer guarantees of protection in the event of a separation. Therefore, Binding Financial Agreements can become more costly if not executed correctly.
A Binding Financial Agreement is enforceable under the provisions of the Family Law Act, specifically section 90G for married couples and section 90UF for de facto couples, when the following conditions are met:
Agreement Signed: The Agreement must be signed by each of the parties involved.
Independent Legal Advice: Before signing the Agreement, each party must receive independent legal advice regarding the agreement’s implications on their rights and the advantages and disadvantages it offers.
Confirmation of Legal Advice: After signing the Agreement, each party must be provided with a signed statement from their respective lawyer confirming that they have received the necessary legal advice.
Exchange of Legal Advice Statements: The statements of legal advice for each party should be exchanged between the parties, often attached to the Agreement.
Not Terminated or Set Aside: The Agreement remains enforceable as long as it has not been terminated or set aside by a Court.
In cases where the parties have not yet separated or divorced, a separation declaration should be signed by one of the parties post-separation. This declaration serves as evidence that the parties have indeed separated and that there is no reasonable likelihood of cohabitation being resumed. Only after the separation declaration is signed will the terms of the Binding Financial Agreement be triggered, as specified in sections 90DA and 90UF of the Family Law Act.
It’s important to note that, similar to a consent order agreement, the Agreement must still be served on the superannuation fund to enable a superannuation split to take place.
