ANSWERS TO COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Property

• Equal sharing of property doesn’t start until you have lived together for three years or more.
• When you are in a relationship it does not matter whose name the property is recorded in- property is jointly owned if obtained during the relationship.

Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce)

• You have to have been living apart for two years to apply for a dissolution of marriage. However it is possible to be separated but live in the same house.

Trusts

• If you put property into a trust during the relationship it may not be considered as separate property if you separate. Much depends on how a trust is operated. eg. if a trustee has the right to remove beneficiaries and is the only beneficiary, then the trust assets will be considered relationship property, not trust property.

Contracting Out Agreements

• These can be drafted any time during a relationship. Either before the relationship or during. It is never too late.

Care of Children

• If a father is not on the child’s birth certificate this does not always prevent a father from seeing the child or making decisions regarding the children. The father may still be a guardian.
• If the children are in one parent’s care, that parent cannot relocate overseas with the children without consulting the parent. This applies even if just going overseas on holiday.