7th February 2015
DE FACTO RELATIONSHIPS AND PROPERTY Under Australian Law, separating de facto couples have largely the same rights and liabilities as those of married couples with regard to property settlements. De facto couples who want financial security can enter into a Binding Financial Agreement at any time during their relationship. Binding Financial Agreements are similar to pre-nuptial agreements, in that a couple can use them to set out how their property and other assets would be divided if they were to part ways. Couples can also use a Binding Financial Agreement to deal with issues such as spousal maintenance e.g. exempting each other from making a claim for maintenance, or specifying maintenance terms in the event of a separation.
Yarraville
104 Somerville Road 9316 9000
Williamstown 1/66 Douglas Parade (Corner Stevedore Street) 9393 1600 www.jasstephens.com.au
In the unfortunate event of a separation, couples have a time limit of two years from the date their relationship ending to make a property claim against a former de facto partner. Some exceptions apply, for example, where the couple has had a child together. It’s interesting to note that whether a couple lived together is only one factor that the court must consider in determining whether a de facto relationship existed and that the couple does not necessarily have to have been living together on a full time basis (or even a half time basis) for the court to consider them as being in a de facto relationship. The court need only consider whether the couple lived together as one of many factors that indicate the existence of a de facto relationship. Craig J. Stephens Managing Director / Officer in Effective Control M 0418 547 938
If you are in any way unsure of the potential impact your relationship could have on your financial situation, we recommend that you seek appropriate legal advice.
Jas H Stephens Pty Ltd (Jas Stephens) is bound by and adheres to the Australian Privacy Principals (“Principals”) contained in the Privacy Act 1988. Those Principals regulate most of our activities with respect to personal information collected, stored, used and disclosed by is. Our full privacy policy can be found at www.jasstephens.com.au. The purpose for which we may collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information are:-for security reasons- to keep a record of who has attended open inspections; to contact you in respect of the property and other properties we believe may be of interest to you; to provide you with a contract of sale and other documents you may request; to update you generally through the course of the campaign. We may also use your personal information to market other properties which we think may be of interest to you and to send you marketing material from our agency. You can always “opt out” if you do not wish to receive marketing material. By providing your personal information you consent to us using your personal information as described above. If you choose not to give us your information, we may not be able to provide an effective service to you. Your personal information is stored in a combination of computer facilities and paper based files and other records, which are located on site at our office and off site at secured premises. If you would like to discuss how we manage your personal information or complain if you think we have breached the Principals or to update/correct the information we are holding please call 9316-9000 or email privacyofficer@jasstephens.com.au We have obtained all information in this document from sources we believe to be reliable, however, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Prospective purchasers are advised to carry out their own investigations. We strongly recommend that you clearly register your interest with our representative at the open for inspection, so that in the event of a sale being imminent, your position is protected. We make every effort to contact all interested parties prior to a property being sold.
MEET THE TEAM
MARK HUTCHESON Sales Consultant m 0448 820 445 e mhutcheson@jasstephens.com.au
LEWIS FORD Sales Consultant m 0448 937 126 e lford@jasstephens.com.au
NATHAN GLEESON Sales Consultant m 0409 556 584 e ngleeson@jasstephens.com.au
CHELSEA BROWN Sales Consultant m 0407 183 380 e cbrown@jasstephens.com.au
HELEN CORALLO Personal Assistant to Tate & Branko m 0438 591 785 e hcorallo@jasstephens.com.au
ALEX TEEUWSEN Personal Assistant to George Alexander m 0487 648 159 e ateeuwsen@jasstephens.com.au
EMILY NELSON Personal Assistant to Anna Grech m 0402 397 473 e enelson@jasstephens.com.au
DENE MACDONALD Marketing Manager t 9316 9012 e dmacdonald@jasstephens.com.au
MAX WALLER Director Provincial Home Loans m 0438 430 436 maxwaller@provincialhomeloans.com.au
MAREE CECCHIN Sales Trust Administrator t 9316 9025 e mcecchin@jasstephens.com.au
DARIA BECK Rental Department Manager t 9316 9007 e dbeck@jasstephens.com.au
LACHLAN MCCRAW Rental Business Development Manager m 0400 335 498 e lmccraw@jasstephens.com.au
NICOLE SMITH Rental Business Development m 0431 177 048 e nsmith@jasstephens.com.au
SUE STEVENS Property & Finance Consultant m 0432 705 815 suestevens@provincialhomeloans.com.au