Property Settlement Lawyer Adelaide

If mediation and negotiation are unsuccessful in reaching an agreement, you can initiate court proceedings to force a property settlement. The first step is filing an Initiating Application and a Financial Statement with the court. You can request that the court forces the sale of a property, or seek a sole occupancy order.

Financial settlements after separation take around one to three months if settled out of court, depending on the individual case, the terms of the settlement and how quickly each party is willing to settle. If all the parties agree, it can take less than two weeks; if one partner is unwilling to settle it will take longer. When a matter goes to family court, it can take two to three years for property settlement after separation.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no 50-50 asset split rule in Australia. It’s much more complicated than that, as multiple factors need to be considered. These include the value of the assets, when the assets were acquired, the contribution of both parties and the future needs of each partner.

After a separation, your de facto partner is not automatically entitled to half your house. There are multiple factors to consider to determine who gets what after a de facto separation or divorce. Whether or not you lived there together, whether your partner made contributions to the mortgage or upkeep, length of relationship and various other factors will determine how much, if any, of your house your partner is entitled to.

In Australia, it is possible to negotiate property settlements without court intervention, if both parties are willing to work together.  

• Understand your legal rights and responsibilities
• Value the common property pool
• Calculate both parties’ contributions
• Assess both parties’ future needs
• Consider fairness and practicality (hire a mediator if you need)
• Compromise
• Hire a lawyer to draft an agreement
• Keep communication open.

It depends on whether the divorce is a sole application or a joint application. In a sole application, one party initiates the divorce proceedings and will need legal guidance. The sole applicant must pay a fee to legal professionals and additional filing fees. 

In this case, the partner who is being served will not pay any fees unless they wish to oppose the application for divorce.

A joint application, in which both partners prepare the application and file for divorce together, will split the fees.

Randle & Taylor Barristers & Solicitors provide legal advice in a variety of areas including family law, sales of business, building and construction law, drafting agreements, wills and estates, debt collection, property law, residential leases and commercial litigation.