Property Settlement

Consent Orders can finalise your financial agreement into a legally binding Court document.

You are here because:

Both parties have come to an agreement on your property Settlement.
You may have had previous legal advice but the cost of the agreement was to high. Your fees need to be fixed.
Your agreement is that you ate transferring real estate between you and don’t want to pay stamp duty.
You Bank has requested a financial agreement for a loan approval.
Now that you have an agreement you would like it completed quickly so that you can move on.

Your agreement may include any all of the following.

Real Estate will need to be sold transferred or retained by the existing owner.
Superannuation my need to be transferred between parties or you have agreed to keep your own.
Loans may need to be transferred between you.
Property may be allocated to children.
Agreements on the splitting percentage or timeframes for transferred property or payments need to documented.
Businesses Companies or Family Trusts need to be transferred closed or split.
You may have unique items that need to be specified such as art or jewelry.

We have completed literally 1000’s of financial agreements over the last 25 years.

Talk about there is nothing we can’t do.

Amended orders will now be enforceable by the Family Court
They will be prepared with 24 hours
we will not change your agreement
It will be completed at a fixed fee agreed before we start the matter.
We guarantee they will be accepted by the Family Court or we will refund your fees.

What is the process fort getting a financial agreement documented With Kate Austin Family Law.

Call us and discuss your agreement. (We do not charge for this service)
1. We will ensure that we think that your agreement is just and equitable. (Will The Family Court will accept it.)
2. We will explain how your orders will be structured.
3. If we see any problems with your agreement, we will advise you immediately.
4. Provide you will an estimated court timeframe for your matter to progress with the Family Court.
5. If relevant, we will discuss with you the requestion process. This what happens if the court has any questions.
6. Provide you with a fixed fee for our service.
Send you all the intake forms to be completed – they are online. We estimate it will take an average matter 17min to complete.
Draft your agreement within 24hrs.
Make any Changes with 24hrs.
Provide you with a final document that you will sign electronically.
Submit your Consent Orders to the Family Court on our Court Portal
advise you of the outcome.,

What We Do (and don’t do)

We do not negotiate between parties.
We do not try and change your agreement.
If we don’t think your agreement is fair in the eyes of the Family Couret we will tell you.
Your fees will remain fixed.
Our timelines are strict.
Lodge your agreement on our court portal
Liase with the courts on your behalf.

What do property Settlement Consent Orders cover?

Your financial agreement that you document in your Consent Orders can make allowances for just about anything. There are several requirements for all court orders that must be adhered to these include but not limited too.

Is the agreement just and equitable?
Can the court order be enforced?
Is the Court order practical?
Do the orders have adequate contingency provisions of one party fails to comply with the court orders.
Are the assets accurately described?

What needs to be disclosed in a Property Settlement?

All assets and all liabilities need to be disclosed at the time of drafting the agreement at their current value. The current value means at today’s date not at the date of separation.

All assets need to disclosed to ensure that the Family court can make an informed decision and the merits of the agreement being just and equitable. Each party needs to know the true nature and value of the assets so that they can make an informed decision on the financial agreement.

Tricky questions can surround parties that have been separated for a long period of time and assts have substantially changed in value or additional assts have been accumulated with other parties’ post separation.

If you have questions on this issue, please call us.

Do we need to disclose all assets even if we are keeping them?

Yes, so that all parties can make an informed decision of the fairness of the agreement and the Family Court can make a decision on the agreement being just and equitable.

Orders will need to be drafted for all items that each party will be retaining. By specifically identifying an assets that on party will be training you are removing the possibility of the other party making a claim on that item in the future. There is no confusion on the agreement. An example for be that each party retains their own superannuation.,

What values do we use in the agreement – when we separated or now?

All values submitted in the application are current at the time of drafting the financial agreement NOT at the time of the separation. We do have the opportunity to provide an explanation on the changes in asset values post separation. We do this by adding notations at the conclusion of the minute of order. As you could expect property settlements can become core complex if drafting your agreement many years after your separation. While we appreciate that amicable agreements do take time to negotiate. Once that agreement has been reached its probably better to fialise your financial agreement as soon as possible.

The best time to draft an agreement is when everyone agrees.

Once again, we are happy to discuss your situation and how we could progress your agreement.

Do we need to supply any support documentation for asset values?

The only supporting documents required is an outgoing member statement if you are doing a superannuation splitting order. If you have a defined benefit fund you may be required to include a valuation of the benefit from an actuary.

No supporting documents are required to be submitted to prove the value of any assets. So long as the parties agree then the court will accept. the valuations provided. Each party with sign a statement of trust at the conclusion of the application for consent orders saying that all information proved is the truth. We strongly recommend clients take that statement of trust seriously.

Can the Family Court change our agreement?

The Family Court cannot change your Consent Orders. Initially They only have two options. Approve the orders as submitted or respond with a requisition seeking justification for the orders or seeking amendments to due to errors in the drafting.

If you have received a requisition, please contact us to discuss your options.

Can we delay when the property is sold of transferred?

Absolutely – may of clients take this option and delay the sale or transfer of a property for many reasons. They may include.

Allow time to refinance a property.
Allow time for parties to relocate. or purchase another property.
Perhaps children are finishing school.
Time for the market to improve.
Renovations that need to be completed.

Clients can select the time frame that suits them best however the Family court would prefer the financial arrangements were finalised so currently we are suggesting a two-year maximum delay in the orders.

What are contingency orders in a property Settlement?

Contingency orders outline steps that will need to taken if the orders are not completed as agreed or if one party is unable to comply with the agreement.

Examples maybe

The house was to be transferred from party to another. If one party doesn’t make payment as required, the house may be sold to ensure that the other party receives payment.

You can agree a real estate agent. One can be nominated by the reall estate institute.

Is there a cooling off when signing Consent Orders?

Once the Consent Orders have been made there is no cooling off period and you cannot change your mind. You can however withdraw your Consent in the intervening period between the documents being signed and filed with the Family Court and the court actually making the Consent Orders.

Meet The Team

Our Promise

If your Consent Orders are rejected by the Family Court we will provide you a fixed fee to have a revised application completed within 24 Hrs. We guarantee that you Consent Orders rejected by the Family Court will be approved or we will refund your fees.

Our Philosophy

Kate Austin belives that people you can negotiate their own Family Law agreement should be able to have that agreement made legally enforceable in a cost effective manner.