What Is A Financial Agreement

What is a Binding Financial Agreement? In Australian law, a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) is a written contract, which complies with Part VIIIA or Part VIIIAB of the Family Law Act 1975 (“the Act”). Financial agreements allow couples to set out how they will divide assets and liabilities such as houses, shares, money, cars, personal property and debt etc, in the event of a relationship breakdown. Since the amendments to the Family Law Act (March 2009) all couples regardless of gender or marital or de facto status can enjoy the protection and certainty that financial agreements provide. This means that you can use a financial agreement if:•

You are plan to get married and wish to set out the financial arrangements of your union – Pre Nuptial Agreement. If you decide to put an agreement in place after the wedding this is called a Post Nuptial Agreement.

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You are living together (heterosexual or same sex couple) – Cohabitation Agreement. You can also put an agreement in place BEFORE you move in together.

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You are separating and wish to formalise the property settlement – Separation Agreement.

Why use a Financial Agreement? Primarily Financial Agreements were introduced as a non-combative method of allowing couples to decide between themselves how property should be divided, thus freeing up the Family Court system. When a BFA is correctly executed and put in place, it prevents either party making an application to the Family Court for the division of assets in a property settlement. There are a number of advantages to using Financial Agreements. You can: • •

Avoid potentially divisive issues that could arise if you ever separate. Specify ground rules for buying and owning property.

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Coordinate and support your estate plans, to be sure that family property passes as you wish. Avoids costly litigation following a relationship breakdown.

RP Emery and Associates provide low cost Financial Agreement Templates that will allow you to put an agreement in place without spending a fortune. We also offer the fixed price Review Service so you can obtain your Certificate of Advice to make your FA binding. For more information see www.financialagreements.com.au

Can anybody use Financial Agreements? Making your own FA works best when you are prepared to talk to your partner openly and amicably about your arrangements. We like to refer to our system as “The Peaceful Path to Settlement” – it’s about the couple working together to decide what they want to do so that they can minimise conflict, emotional and financial stress. Agreements for De facto Couples and Same Sex Couples __Pre De Facto 90UB _____De Facto/Cohabitation Agreement 90UC _________De Facto Separation Agreement 90UD Agreements for Married Couples __Prenup / Pre Nuptial Agreement 90B ____Post Nuptial Agreement 90C _______Separation Agreement 90C __________Divorce Agreement 90D

Financial Agreements Common Names The term “Financial Agreement” is an umbrella term to describe an agreement more commonly know as either a pre nuptial (pre nup, prenup, prenuptial, prenuptual) agreement, a cohabitation agreement, a defacto agreement, a post nuptial agreement, a

marriage agreement, or a separation agreement. Each of these agreements are more accurately known as financial agreements under the appropriate section of the Family law Act 1975.

© RP Emery and Associates 2013