1.
Do not act in haste or in rage - you may regret it later - payback actions such as damage to property or waste of funds using credit cards and other vindictive acts may cost you money -coming out of your share of settlement - there may be penalties involved in if you commit a fraud or destroy or hide documents or assets - if the matter goes to court the procedure of using subpoenas against third parties including your employer and bank, may uncover your actions anyway - hiding assets under another person's name can in a lot of cases be uncovered and will heavily penalise the spouse who has deliberately not made disclosure of all assets 2.
Make sure you get proper advice from an experienced family law solicitor before you start making plans and also consider alternative dispute resolution - this is essential for getting the proper advice about your entitlement and what action to take - check their website and other places for information about the law firm you are going to make an appointment with - check with the Law Institute to ensure that your lawyer is qualified and sufficiently experienced - in most cases you will need to try to mediate or negotiate in some form regarding any disputes over children, before you are permitted to take the matter to court (there are exceptions however where there is urgency or violence) 3.
Collect your papers - record keeping is must for property settlements, including your spouse's bank accounts in case you need to check what has been spent by him or her over the last year or more - tax returns - evidence of loans - superannuation statements - contracts to purchase property - emails and letters and other written evidence of gifts and agreements to repay 4.
Get assets valued - with motor vehicles you can get an appraisal online by visiting any of the sites such as Red Book or Glasses Guide - with real estate, most agents are happy to prepare a market appraisal regarding the value of your home, without charge or obligation.
5.
Get payout figures on debts - current mortgage statement - payout on hire purchase or lease on a car usually involves a call to the finance company 6.
Write out a history of contributions you have made to support the basis for your entitlement - these should include your income history from employment and any gifts from family - home maker and parenting contributions count as well towards entitlement 7.
Do not assume that your entitlement is the same as your separated friend whose case "sounds the same" as yours, and be careful about preparing your own legal documents - the worst thing you can do is act on advice from a friend (even with good intentions) who has "been through the same thing" and later find out there were critical things you had to do to ensure the assets were preserved or that you got your full entitlement but did not do them because your friend didn't have to or if they did, they didn't mention what their lawyer did for them.
- a lot of variation on property entitlements between seemingly similar cases exists, due to the difference of section 75(2) factors, including number and age of dependent children, health, age, income, financial resources and receipt of Centrelink.
- do not get others to complete legal documents for you if not legally qualified- it's not worth it.
(c) Copyright Maria Angela Rigoli.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.