01 Dec Ways to formalise your agreement in Family Law

Ways to formalise your agreement in Family Law

If you and your partner can reach an agreement in regards to property and financial matters (including negotiations directly if appropriate otherwise through lawyers), you can save time, money and stress by not going to Court.  Formalising it means you have piece of mind knowing you have covered yourself in the future for any possible claims against your assets.

There are various methods of alternative dispute resolution, which can be used to settle your matter without going to court, one of these methods is Mediation/Family Dispute resolution which we discussed in a previous blog.

Formalising your agreement can be done through either:

• a financial agreement, or
• consent orders

What are financial agreements?

A Financial Agreement, also known as a Binding Financial Agreement, is a legal agreement that can be made during any stage of a relationship including after separation or divorce.  A financial agreement allows parties to make a contract which finalises a financial settlement either after a relationship has broken down, or during a relationship planning for the unfortunate contingency should the relationship break down.

A financial agreement can help parties avoid going to Court to deal with the division of their property upon separation, saving time, money, and stress.

What are consent orders?

A consent order is a legal written agreement that is approved by a court, this can include parenting arrangements as well as financial arrangements such as property and maintenance. Consent orders have the same legal effect as if they had been made by a judicial officer after a court hearing. Consent orders have to ability to formalise agreements without necessarily attending court, thus saving you time, stress, and money.

Rule 10.15(2) of the Family Law Rules requires that a draft consent order should be:

• set out clearly the orders that the parties ask the court to make
• state that it is made by consent
• be signed by each of the parties, and
• unless the order relates to an Application for Consent Orders filed by electronic communication, it must be accompanied by additional copies of the order so that there is a copy for each person to be served and an additional copy for the court and each of which is certified by the applicant’s lawyer, or by each party to the application, as a true copy.

We recommend to discuss any agreements with our experienced family lawyers to make sure you get the right advice before signing any legal documentation.

If you have any further questions on these agreements – contact us today to take advantage of our legal consults. They can be done in person or via Skype or telephone conference. 

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