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Property Settlement

Since the commencement of the Family Law Act in 1975 we have offered advice and representation in all areas of Family Law and De Facto Relationships Law. By maintaining a commercial focus with all Property matters we can offer you sound and comprehensive advice on how to achieve your entitlements to a division of property.

When conducting a property settlement the Family Law Act sets out what matters are to be taken into account. The
following things are among those relevant to a determination of your entitlement:
• The value of your assets and liabilities
• The contributions by or on behalf of each party, financially (such as assets owned at the outset, income earned and monies gifted or loaned or inherited from one party’s family) and non-financially (such as the care of children, home-maker, maintenance or renovations of property)
• Each party’s needs for the future such as age, health, financial resources, care of children and ability to earn.

Your property settlement will depend on your individual circumstances and will likely be different from others you may have heard about. We can assist you to tailor your property settlement to suit your needs, whether it involves remaining in the family home for the children, selling up assets to obtain money to start over, or accessing a share of your partner’s superannuation to provide for you in retirement.

We have expertise in asset tracing and unravelling complex financial arrangements involving trusts and companies. We can give you an early accurate opinion of your entitlements and set out your options for how to obtain what you are entitled to with a minimum of stress and expense.
We understand that principles are important to our clients. We also know that all things come at a cost and we make sure you remain aware of the costs involved in finalising your property settlement through negotiation or court proceedings to make sure the outcome is the best possible financial one for you and your family.

Often there is an imbalance of power between parties, whether because of one party having a greater share of financial resources, one party having greater time with the children, or because of a history of violence or intimidation in the relationship. Legal representation can assist to remove that inequality and prevent the baggage from a broken relationship from impacting on a resolution of property matters.

We can assist you to finalise your property matter through a binding financial agreement which we can prepare and negotiate on your behalf, or through court orders, either by consent or after litigation. Most importantly we can advise you on the best method for your circumstances, whether that is to keep costs to a minimum, to avoid the need for other lawyers to get involved, or to protect your settlement from being overturned down the track. We have a proud record of settling family law matters early where ever possible, but where that cannot be achieved we know you want litigation conducted with strength and vigour to achieve the best possible outcome.

Our advice is intended not only to achieve finality of property matters, but to take steps to protect your estate or your beneficiaries from claims by your former partner, recover the investment made to your assets by your parents, protect the assets you have from future relationships, or obtain an exemption from stamp duty for the transfer of property between you and your former partner, all of which can save you potentially tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Our Family Law team comprises both male and female Accredited Specialists in Family Law. Our size enables us to match the perfect lawyer to your case both in terms of experience and cost. We draw upon our strong commercial and estate planning expertise and a specialist property group to support all aspects of your Family Law matter. We will work with you to achieve the best possible outcome in your case. We regularly appear in the Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court as well as the Supreme Court, District Court and Local Courts throughout NSW to represent our clients in all areas of Family Law.