Legal requirements of a de facto relationship

7/31/2019 Legal requirements of a de facto relationship

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Registered TM 1227576

DeanR.Love &AssociatesBarristers & Solicitors

DRL Legal Pty Ltd (ACN 123 034 846)

FAMILY LAW CIVIL LAW CRIMINAL LAW

ABN 34 123 034 846

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1st Floor, 231 Adelaide Terrace

PERTH WA 6000

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PO Box 3263PERTH WA 6832

Tel: (08) 9218 9993Fx: (08) 9218 9557

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www.drllegal.com.au

DE FACTO RELATIONSHIPS

Couples live together without being legally married. This is often called de facto marriage.The term de facto means in fact.

There is no single legal definition of the term de facto. De facto relationships may berecognised for one legal purposes but not another. Those purposes may change as therelationship changes.

The Law in Western Australia

If you separated from you de facto partner on or after 1 December 2002, and satisfy otherconditions, then you may be able to apply to the Family Court of Western Australia (theCourt) to have your property settled and/or any disagreements relating to partnermaintenance.

The other conditions that must be satisfied in order for you to make an application to theCourt are:

Either you or your partner lives in Western Australia on the day the application is madeto the Court; and

You and your partner lived in Western Australia for at least one third of yourrelationship, or the party making the application has made substantial contributions toproperty or the welfare of the family in Western Australia.

If you separated before 1 December 2002, or do not meet the other condition, then youcannot apply to the Family Court to ask it to settle any disagreements between you and yourpartner relating to property or financial matters. This will be discussed later under theheading Property Arrangements: Couples who separated before 1 December 2002 or do nototherwise qualify for property settlement in the Family Court.


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If you have satisfied the conditions to enable you to make an application to the Court, therewill be three situations in which orders will be made:

There was a de facto relationship lasting at least 2 years; There is a child of the de facto relationship under 18 years old and there would be

serious injustice to the partner caring or responsible for the child if no order were made;or

The person applying for property orders has made substantial contributions to theproperty or the welfare of the family and would suffer serious injustice if no orderswere made.

What is a de facto relationship?

A de facto relationship refers to a relationship between two people who are not married, but

who live together in a marriage-like relationship. Indicators of a de facto relationship mayinclude:

The length of the relationship between you and your partner; Whether you and your partner have lived together; Whether there is or has been a sexual relationship between you and your partner; How financially dependent you have been with your partner and vice versa; The commitment with your partner to any children and a shared life; Ownership of property between you and your partner; Whether your friends and family see you as being in a de facto relationship.It doesnt matter that you and your partner are the same sex, or legally married to someoneelse or in a de facto relationship with someone else.

What does substantial contribution to property, or the welfare of the family mean?

If you need to satisfy the condition that substantial contribution to property or welfare of thefamily has been made, you will need to get legal advice. Some things for you to think aboutbefore getting legal advice include:

What direct or indirect financial contributions to property of the relationship have youmade?

What direct or indirect non-financial contributions to the property of the relationshiphave you made?

What contributions have you made to the welfare of your family including as ahomemaker or parent?


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Where in Australia were you living when you made the contributions?

Have you separated?

It is very important for you to get legal advice about whether you are separated or not andwhen the separation legally occurred. An application for property settlement must have beenmade within 1 year of separation. If more than a year has passed and no application has beenmade, you may have to use laws as they applied before 1 December 2001.

Whether you are separated or not will depend upon the facts of your case. Some things toconsider are:

Have you definitely decided to end the relationship, and when did you decide?

Have you communicated this decision to your partner and when? Are you still living with your partner? Are you still having a sexual relationship with your partner? Are you and your partner still behaving as if your de facto relationship is continuing in

your relationship with each other?

Have you acted to reach agreement about arrangements for your children?

De facto relationship property settlements under the Family Court Act

Property settlement means an agreement between you and your partner, or an order of theCourt about dividing your property once you have separated. There are three aspects to aproperty settlement:

1. Identifying the property

Property includes all the property of you and your partner whether owned individually byyou or jointly with your partner or with a third party, for example, any interest in real estate,businesses, motor vehicles, shares, savings, furniture and chattels (pots, pans). Property doesnot include entitlements in the future such as dividends, superannuation or unpaid

compensation claims. Once the property has been identified, it then needs to be valued.

2. Past contributions

After determining the value and nature of the property, the next stage is to consider thecontributions to your property made by you and your partner. Contributions include financialand non-financial, and direct and indirect. Examples of these are, wages, inheritance,


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A negotiated settlement avoids the potentially high cost of Family Court proceedings. Somepeople benefit from assistance through mediation; however, if you and your partner cannotreach an agreement and there is no binding financial agreement, you can apply to the FamilyCourt for a property settlement. An application made to the Family court prior to any

genuine attempt to resolve the dispute may incur additional cost penalties.

Pre-Action Procedures (PAP)

You are required to follow what is called Pre- Action Procedures. This means you mustmake a genuine attempt to resolve your disagreements with your partner prior to making anapplication to the Court. You will need to get legal advice about the requirements of PAP,which include your duty to make full disclosure of all financial circumstances which willeffect the property settlement. The Court specifies the financial circumstances which requiredisclosure, including:

The parties earnings including income that is paid or assigned to another party; Any vested or contingent interest in property; The parties financial resources; Any trusts; and Any property or any disposal of property.

Preventing sale of assets

If there is a risk that your partner might attempt to sell any of the property of the relationshipbefore a property settlement is finalized, the court may issue an injunction to restrain him orher and to preserve the property.

12 month time limitation period

Applications to the Family Court for property settlement, including applications for ConsentOrders, need to be made within 12 months after their relationship ends. In specialcircumstances, the court might give permission (i.e. leave of the court) to file an applicationafter this time has expired

If more than 12 months have passed and they have no property settlement, you should see alawyer for advice without delay.

WARNING: get advice, including advice about tax implications of any agreement, and

the impact of financial settlements/agreements on pension entitlements, property

settlement or partner maintenance claims.


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Family Court: Financial Agreements

From 1 December 2002, you and your partner have been able to make what are calledFinancial Agreements (FAs). These operate similarly to a contract between you and yourpartner. The following information is very general and you must get advice about FAs.

FAs Can set out how all or any of the property or financial resources are to be dealt with if

the relationship breaks down.

May also deal with partner or child maintenance (stage one). The part of an agreementdealing with maintenance will be void unless certain requirements are met.

Can be made before or during a relationship or after separation. Dont require registration in the Court to be enforceable. For this reason, there are very

strict requirements about the process of completing an agreement. For example, youand your partner must get legal advice on very specific matters before signing theagreement. There are also requirements about how a lawyer certifies that they havegiven this advice.

If binding a FA can only be set aside in limited circumstances, including:

The agreement cannot be carried out. The agreement was obtained by fraud (including non-disclosure of a material matter) or

it is void/voidable/unenforceable according to contract law.

There has been a significant change in circumstances and as a result a child or theresident parent would suffer hardship if the agreement were enforced.

You or your partner behaved unfairly in relation to the making of the agreement. If enforcing a FA, the court applies contract law, not the Family Court Act principles.

Property arrangements: Couples who separated before 1 December 2002

or do not otherwise qualify for property settlement under the new laws

The following information applies to you if you either:

Separated before 1 December 2001Or

Do not meet the conditions that the Court requires as mentioned above.


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Their starting point is generally that the legal owner is the person whose name the property isin. It is up to the person making a claim to show that the property, is in fact, theirs becausethey paid for it or have some other legal claim.

If both parties are willing, they can negotiate their own division of the property.

The parties may have an agreement which covers how their property will be distributed.They need legal advice about whether their agreement is binding before relying on it.

What is property?Property may include things such as household items, money in bank accounts, cars, land,houses, investments or shares. It does not include superannuation or unpaid insurance orcompensation claims.

Examples of where problems may arise.

When a de facto relationship ends problems may arise where property is in one personsname but the other party has contributed to that property in some way and feels they have aninterest in it. For example, during the relationship:

A car is in one persons name but the other person pays the weekly payments and thecar was intended for use by both parties;

One person may have the house in their name and pay the mortgage on theunderstanding that the other person pays for all household costs and improvements;

One person may pay the deposit on the home and place their name on the title then theother person pays the mortgage; and

Household items are purchased with joint funds.

What to ask for?

You may ask for the property to be returned to your possession since you paid for it, it was apersonal gift, you owned it before the de facto relationship began, or other valid reason.

If the property cannot be divided according to the direct contributions made by the partiesduring the relationship it may be sold and the net proceeds divided, or it may be placed in thepossession of one party and a sum of the money equal to the proportion of the other partyscontribution to be paid to the other party.


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Negotiations or Court

It is important to negotiate a settlement of de facto property rather than go to court becauselegal procedures are expensive, complicated, lengthy and uncertain.

Help in negotiating, or persuading the other party to agree to negotiating, may be obtainedthrough the Citizens Advice Bureau, Relationships Australia, Centrecare or a CommunityLegal Centre.

Which Court?

If negations fail (or never begin), and the value of property is high, it may be necessary tostart procedures at court, however, it may be possible at any time to recommencenegotiations and settle the matter by agreement.

The kind of property involved will dictate which court deals with the claim, for example:

Other than houses and land etc, property up to the value of $25,000 dollars may bebrought in the Local Court.

Where property (not including land) is valued between $25,000 and $250,000, the casemay be heard in the Supreme Court.

Renting Property

Whoever signs the lease agreement is the legal tenant. They are liable for paying the rent andkeeping the terms and conditions of the lease agreement.

If you both sign the lease, you are both equally liable for paying the rent and keeping to thelease. If either or both of you breach the lease, the property owner can sue any one or bothtenants.

Owing property

In both names

Many de facto couples buy a house, flat or land together. If you do this as joint tenants,each person owns the whole property and ownership passes to the surviving party when onedies.


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If you own property as tenants in common, each person owns only the portion described onthe title deed, i.e. equal shares. Each person may sell their share in the property or leave itto someone else in their will.

If your de facto relationship ends, try to agree about: If the property should be sold and how to divide the proceeds; If one person will keep the property (transfer into one name) and how much to pay the

other for their share; and

(For both the above) who will pay the stamp duty and other costs.

Disputes in de facto property

It may be difficult to get your share of the property if there is a disagreement. Generally, in ade facto relationship the person who paid for it is the owner. It is a good idea to keep goodfinancial records. Keep receipts and loan payment records, all bank card and credit cardstatements, and cheque book stubs.

Owning property in one persons name only

If the property is registered in one persons name only, that person is the sole legal owner ofthe property. Another person may have serious difficulty getting a share if the owner refusesto negotiate. It may be possible to apply to the Supreme Court. This procedure is expensive

and uncertain.

Always get legal advice before applying to the Supreme Court.

Caveats

A caveat is a notice, registered with DOLI (Department of Land Information), and placed onthe land title to stop dealings with that land. The owner is notified when a caveat is placedon their property. If the owner tries to mortgage or sell the property the person who lodgedthe caveat (the caveator) is notified.

The caveator may have to justify the caveat (prove their interest in the property) or else paythe legal costs of the owner in having the caveat removed and any associated costs or lostprofits.

The owner may object to the caveat and the caveator will then have to justify the caveat andapply to the Supreme Court for an order to extend the caveat.


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It is important to get legal advice because there may be legal costs associated with lodging acaveat where there are no grounds for doing so.

Cars, caravans and other vehicles

The legal owner is the person whose name is on the licensing papers.

Transfer ownership by completing the required transfer documents.

Stamp duty may be payable to take the above step.

If one party paid all or part of the vehicle and it was not a gift, the client needs legal advice.

Before getting legal advice, a client should:

Gather any evidence of contributions, (e.g. receipts, bank statements, cheque butts,documents, letters, diaries) and take it to the appointment;

Try and recall dates and times of relevant conversations and whether any witnesseswere present.

Shares and Businesses

A business is a company if it is registered as one for example, under the Corporations

(Western Australia) Act1990 (WA).

The person whose name is on the share certificate or the share book of a company is the legalowner of the company.

An interest in a company is set out in the company memorandum or in the partnership deed.

A partner or a shareholder may need to take PROMPT steps to reduce the risk of being heldresponsible for debts incurred by another partner or shareholder.

A client may need legal advice as soon as possible.

Household items

Furniture, electrical equipment and other household items normally belong to the person whobought them. Usually, it is not worth going to court for chattels and negotiation ormediation is preferable.


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Court proceedings are expensive and may be complicated, so it is important to get adviceabout legal costs and compare that to the value of the items in dispute.

Social security

If you get a Centrelink benefit or pension you must tell Centrelink when starting or ending ade facto relationship. It may affect how much money you get.

If you dont tell Centrelink about a change in your circumstances you may be overpaid. Thiscould mean being charged with a criminal office or having or benefit reduced.

To contact Centrelink go to http://www.centrelink.gov.au/

For help dealing with Centrelink contact the Welfare Rights and Advocacy Service at

http://www.wraswa.org.au/

Income tax

Australian income tax laws recognise de facto partners. In some cases you can claim thesame deductions as a married person.

For more information on income tax go to http://www.ato.gov.au/

Bank accounts and credit cards

Legal Owner

The person named on the account is the legal owner.

A person who is authorised to use an account or credit card MAY NOT be an owner of thefunds.

An authority to use may be cancelled at any time by the owner.

If the account is in joint names both people are owners and it is presumed money may bedivided equally unless the contributions were different and there is an agreement to dividethe funds in a different way.

If you have a joint account or credit card, or if you have given authority to your partner to useyour account, you should be aware of the risk of your partner incurring debt for which youmay be liable.


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You should consider cancellation of any authority to use their account by notifying the bankin writing or by fax.

Stopping funds being withdrawn from a bank account

You may be able to apply to Court for an injunction to prevent money being taken out of abank account. This may be difficult and expensive and legal advice is necessary.

It is unlikely that an injunction would be granted to prevent someone withdrawing fundsfrom an account in their name.

It may be worth explaining the circumstances to the bank accountant and requesting them tofreeze the account until an agreement is reached.

Joint accounts requiring both signatures

If you have reasonable grounds to be concerned about fraud, such as your signature beingforged, you should ask the bank to stop dealings on the account until the matter is resolved

It may be necessary to confirm a request to the bank in writing.

Legal advice may be necessary.

Joint account requiring one signature

This account may have to be frozen (stopped) until a dispute is resolved.

Another option is to ask the bank to issue a post no debts status on the account. The effectof this is that money can be deposited but not withdrawn.

Banks vary in their policies about the above, they may not be required to comply with therequest.

Debts

Generally, a person who incurs a debt is responsible for it.

In some cases where two people have incurred a debt jointly (e.g. on a rental lease, hirepurchase or credit card) the party recovering the debt may have the right to sue EITHERperson for the whole amount. If you are in this position you will need legal advice.


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Children

The Family Court deals with any dispute about children. Both parents have joint parentalresponsibility for their children. This can only change by an agreement filed with the

Family Court or by an Order of the Family Court.

Joint parental responsibility is a legal principle that applies to all parents. It doesnt matterif they are divorced, married, never married, or never lived together.

Parents who dont live together need to decide about:

Who the children live with; Who will have responsibility for the childrens day to day care, Who will have responsibility for the childrens long term care, and Contact the children will have with the parent they dont live with.These can be decided by agreement or by the Family Court if parents cannot agree.

Get legal advice about your rights and options before you start negotiating. Always seeklegal advice before you sign any agreement.

Deceased Estates When a de facto partner dies

The information in this section applies to all de facto couples.

When there is a Will

If a de facto partner dies leaving a will, the property should be distributed by the trusteeaccording to that will.

If a child of the deceased (or grandchild in certain circumstances) has not been provided forin the will they may make an application under the Inheritance (Family and DependantsProvision) Act 1972 (WA) for provision out of the estate.

A surviving de facto partner may make an application under the Inheritance (Family andDependants Provision) Act 1972 (WA) PROVIDING:

They can show that they were living with the deceased immediately before thedeceaseds death;

OR


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Documents

Legal requirements of a de facto relationship