A family should be a stable unit and must be worked upon to maintain the stability of the states. However, due to unfortunate developments of several types, it may not be possible to maintain the relationship further and attend a divorce. In Australia, recent data suggests that 27% of divorces are being observed in couples who have stayed married for more than 20 years. The divorces that occur constitute about 47.1% legally non-adult children in them. In this regard, the division of the property becomes an important issue, as the law of the country treats this matter differently after the introduction of the Family Law Act 1975 and allowed the subject of ‘no-fault divorce’. Therefore, if there is not any previous pre-nuptial agreement or any type of property agreement between spouses, it will be better to take the help of lawyers.
Why need a property settlement, lawyers?
In general terms, the joint properties of a married couple are to be equally distributed in the property settlement after the divorce time limit, but the case is not always so simple. There are several instances where the divorce is being used to leach out money and other belongings from the other partner. In addition, properties acquired by either of the partners before they entered a marital relationship with each other will not be counted in the property settlement. Any children in the equation will affect heavily upon the division of the property, as the future of them will need financial assistance. Therefore, it will be an intelligent decision to consult property settlement lawyers Perth for the proper division of the possessions.
The general ways of safeguarding your property
If there is no pre-existing property settlement agreement between the partners, then the properties, financial and real estate are needed to be protected from misuse from a spiteful partner. The actual decision of how are assets divided in divorce lies in the hands of the court, and therefore, it would be best to handle it by seeking the help of a professional lawyer. Meanwhile, after the separation period has started and the case is being placed in front of the court, there are some steps one can take to make sure that it is not being squandered. The guidelines to safeguard the properties can be listed as;
- Identification of assets
Like every court of law, the divorce settlement court also relies only on hard evidence. Therefore, it is best to clarify the property owned separately by a spouse and the joint properties acquired by them. Everything must be considered, from mortgages, financial earnings, joint accounts, and the works. Documentary proof will impress the judges more than a sad story of hardships.
- Get printed copies
The court of law will want to know the exact amounts of properties, movable and immovable before they can think about the ways of property settlement after divorce. In this regard, the court will consider only the verifiable documents, in black and white. Someone may ask, why can’t the digital forms be given; it is much easier and can be accessed anywhere. What if a malicious partner changes the user-id and passwords? Therefore, it is better to keep printed copies for the judges, because that’s what will be the clincher in the court.
- Keep cash available
To leave the other partner dry after divorce is a mean thing to do, but it has been seen to happen. Therefore, it is best to move some of the jointly acquired amounts to a separate personal account so that the partner has some liquid cash available to take care of the necessary costs. If the partner thinks that “I can get it by exercising my legal rights on property”; it is possible but immensely time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, the partner(s) should keep some liquid assets available under personal control and reach.
- Know the state’s law
The divorce laws differ from state to state and take into consideration the presence of a “Fault” and “No-fault” divorce. The state where the case is being fought is governed by community property laws, and then legally, anything jointly enjoyed will have to be divided equally in half. That means properties, as well as any mortgages or debts also. The property acquired before marriage, held in only one’s name, received through gifts, or inherited from the family will not be considered during the division of the properties among the two partners. Therefore, consult with the appropriate settlement lawyer to get the proper and legal dues.
- Engage a non-biased source
Divorces are full of emotion, and the meetings to extract property will be more so. Therefore, keep a person whom you trust, and who will not be affected by the emotional developments during the negotiations. It is better if the person is a financial advisor, knowledgeable in divorce laws, and can make you understand the developments in the proceeding in a way you understand. If you do not have such a person, then hire a lawyer who can help in this regard.
It is common to be the partner who does not really keep the count of the earning, expenditure or any financial matter in the relationship. Therefore, rather than being utterly incomprehensible during the divorce proceedings, it will be more prudent to engage a source who has experience in these matters and can handle the situation professionally, speak rightly on the partner’s behalf and ensuring the protection of the client.
Choosing the lawyer
Legal counsel to handle a divorce case is numerous, but not anyone could be a good fit for your case. The legal help for your situation has to professional, sympathetic to your situation, well-versed in the legal parameters, as well as proficient in the calculation of the financial counts. To ensure that all of the above services are available for utilization, a firm like Divorce Lawyers Perth could be approached to engage divorce lawyers Perth to have a just settlement of properties after a divorce. Whatever may be the choice of the council, it must be kept in mind that the lawyers must be experienced, have the required legal expertise, and can help a general person to fight their case.
