Family Law Property Matters

The parties are required to provide full and frank financial disclosure to each other and exchange various documents. This stage can take from several weeks to several months depending on the parties’ cooperation and compliance with their duty of disclosure.

It may be necessary to obtain independent joint valuations of various assets in the names of the parties, such as real properties or companies, if there is disagreement between the parties regarding the values of these assets. The parties usually equally share the costs of these valuations or in the alternative, the party who is in a significantly stronger financial position may agree to pay for the valuations in full and be reimbursed for half the costs at settlement.

Following the exchange of financial disclosure and obtaining the necessary valuations, it is essential to prepare a Joint Balance Sheet. We use efficient practice management systems to generate and share with all parties a detailed balance sheet within minutes of receiving all financial disclosure documents. This enables us to progress the matter quickly to settlement without wasting precious time on administrative tasks for which other firms charge significant fees based on their hourly rate.

After the Balance Sheet is completed, one of the parties usually submits an offer of settlement to the other party. Such offer usually entails a detailed explanation of the proposal and why such offer is fair and equatable pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975 bearing in mind the parties contributions and future needs factors. At Surge Legal we will assist you in preparing a suitable settlement proposal within the range of outcomes achievable at Court. If the Offer is Accepted - The agreement can then be formalised by way of obtaining Consent Orders or by executing a Binding Financial Agreement. If the Offer is Rejected - The other party usually submits a counter-offer. If no counter-proposal is made or the counter proposal is not accepted by the other party, the matter will usually proceed to the next stage.

The parties are required to take part in dispute resolution before taking the matter to Court. Mediation can be private (usually at a considerable fee) or organised through Legal Aid NSW or by contacting your local Family Relationship Centre. The parties also need to ensure full compliance with the Central Practice Direction and the Pre-Action Procedures set out in the Family Law Rules before any legal proceedings can be commenced.

If the matter is not resolved after the dispute reposition stage, one of the parties would normally commence legal proceedings and seek appropriate property orders. It is worth noting that the majority of matters at Court eventually settle by consent well before reaching the Final Hearing and only a small proportion of the matters require determination by Judge. Legal proceedings all the way to Final Hearing take usually take between 12 - 24 months, however, complex matters can remain in the Court for a number of years.