A financial agreement signed without independent legal advice is not worth the paper it is printed on. That is the single most important thing to understand before we go any further.
Most people walk in with a plan: keep things in their own name, open a separate bank account, put the house in a trust. Some of those ideas help. Others create a false sense of security that costs far more to unwind than a properly drafted agreement would have cost at the start.
The truth is that asset protection in relationships is less about clever structures and more about documentation, transparency and timing. There is no arrangement that places an asset permanently beyond the reach of the family law system. But there are steps that genuinely make a difference when a relationship breaks down, and steps that courts see through immediately.
Where you are right now changes what you can do. Someone thinking about moving in together has different options from someone already married, and both of those are different from someone who separated last week. This article works through each position in turn, so you can work out where you stand and what to do next.
By the end, you will know what actually protects assets, what creates the illusion of protection, and what to do today if you are already worried.
Key Takeaways
- A Binding Financial Agreement is the most reliable legal tool available for protecting assets before, during or after a relationship, but only if it is properly made with independent legal advice on both sides.
- Keeping assets in your sole name does not exclude them from a property settlement. The court looks at contributions and future needs, not just who holds the title.
- Inheritances and pre-relationship assets can be protected, but consistent treatment and good records matter far more than good intentions.
- Hiding money or transferring assets to a family member does not work and can result in the court drawing adverse inferences, including setting aside transactions.
- De facto couples have essentially the same property rights as married couples under federal family law. Choosing not to marry is not a strategy for avoiding property claims.
- If you are already separated, act now. Preserve records, avoid major transactions and get advice before you sign anything or transfer any asset.
What genuinely protects assets before or during a relationship?
Genuine protection comes from clarity, not concealment.
The two things that hold up when a relationship breaks down are a properly made Binding Financial Agreement and a clear, contemporaneous record of your financial position at the start of the relationship. Everything else, separate accounts, sole ownership, informal understandings, clever structures, is either helpful context or irrelevant on its own.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia looks at the whole picture when deciding a property settlement. That includes what each person brought in, what each person contributed during the relationship, what each person needs going forward, and whether any pre-existing arrangements should affect the outcome. No single factor locks in a result by itself.
What this means practically is that asset protection is not a one-off task. It is an ongoing discipline: documenting what you own, what you owe, what came from where, and keeping that picture clear and honest throughout the relationship.
The most common mistake is treating it as a problem to solve once and then forget. An agreement made before marriage still needs to be revisited if circumstances change dramatically. Records of initial contributions still need to show that an asset was kept genuinely separate, not just labelled that way.
Key Point: There is no arrangement in Australian family law that places an asset permanently and unconditionally beyond the property pool. What you can do is give the court a clear, honest picture that accurately reflects your contributions and intentions, and back it up with documents and, where appropriate, a properly made agreement.
What is a Binding Financial Agreement and when can I make one?
A Binding Financial Agreement, often called a BFA, is the formal legal mechanism under the Family Law Act 1975 that allows couples to set out how their property and financial resources will be divided if the relationship ends.
You can make one before a marriage or de facto relationship begins, during the relationship, or after it ends. The stage at which you make the agreement changes nothing about the formal requirements. What changes is the practical leverage each party has at the table.
For an agreement to be binding, each party must receive independent legal advice from a separate lawyer before signing. The lawyer must advise on the effect of the agreement and whether it is in that person’s interest. Both lawyers must then sign a certificate confirming that advice was given. Without those certificates, the agreement is not enforceable.
The content can cover property each person owned before the relationship, property acquired during it, superannuation interests and financial maintenance. It cannot determine parenting arrangements or remove children’s entitlements. Those are governed separately, regardless of what any financial agreement says.
An agreement can be challenged in certain circumstances, including where a party was under duress when signing, where there was a failure to disclose significant assets, where the advice given by a lawyer was defective, or where circumstances have changed so drastically that enforcing the agreement would be unconscionable. This is why the process matters as much as the document.
Expert Tip: The difference between a BFA that holds and one that falls apart is almost always process, not content. Independent advice properly given, full disclosure on both sides, genuine time to consider the agreement before signing, and no pressure. If any of those elements are missing, the agreement is vulnerable regardless of what it says.
Can a financial agreement protect assets I owned before the relationship?
Yes, and this is one of the most practical uses of a BFA.
If you owned property before you moved in with a partner or before you married, a properly made agreement can clearly identify that asset, record its value at the time the relationship began, and specify that it is excluded from any future property settlement. That gives you far more certainty than simply keeping the property in your name.
Without an agreement, a pre-relationship asset does not automatically stay yours. The court will consider it as part of the asset pool if it formed part of the financial foundation of the relationship, if your partner made contributions to it (financial or otherwise), or if the overall picture of the relationship suggests that both parties should share in it.
A house you owned before the relationship that your partner later helped pay down, renovated or maintained over ten years looks very different from a property that was rented out, managed entirely by you and kept financially separate throughout. The same asset, two very different outcomes.
Key Point: Identifying your pre-relationship assets in a properly made agreement is significantly stronger than relying on title alone. The court is not bound by whose name is on the property. It is bound by the evidence of how the relationship actually worked.
How can I protect an inheritance or gift from my partner?
The starting point is how the inheritance was treated when you received it and what happened to it afterwards.
An inheritance that arrives during a relationship and is immediately deposited into a joint account, used to pay down a joint mortgage or spent on shared expenses becomes very difficult to trace and argue as separate property. An inheritance that is kept in an account in your sole name, invested separately and never commingled with joint funds is in a much stronger position, though it is still not automatically protected.
The practical steps that help are keeping the inheritance in a separate account in your name only, not using it to pay joint expenses or joint debts, keeping a record of what was inherited and when, and ideally having the agreement of both partners, documented in a BFA, that the inheritance is treated as your separate property.
A gift from a family member works similarly. Whether it was a loan or a gift also matters. A loan that was documented in writing at the time, with repayments made and recorded, is treated very differently from a sum of money transferred informally and never discussed again.
Expert Tip: If your parents have ever given you a significant sum of money and it was always intended as a loan, document it now, even if the relationship is still strong. A written loan agreement with a clear repayment schedule is worth far more than a family understanding that nobody wrote down.
Keeping an inheritance separate helps, but it is not an absolute guarantee
This is the point most people miss.
You can keep an inheritance in a separate account, avoid mixing it with joint funds, and maintain meticulous records throughout a twenty-year relationship. And a court can still decide that some or all of it should be shared, if the overall asset pool is modest, if one partner has significant future financial needs, or if the inheritance effectively funded the relationship in a way that benefited both parties.
The court’s job is not to enforce the labels people put on money. Its job is to arrive at a just and equitable outcome based on the full picture of the relationship.
What keeping an inheritance separate does is give you a strong argument. It is evidence that the asset was not treated as joint property, that your intentions were clear, and that the other party benefited from it in limited ways. That evidence matters. It shifts the conversation. But it does not guarantee an outcome.
The only arrangement that gives you something closer to certainty is a properly made Binding Financial Agreement in which both parties agree, with independent legal advice, to the treatment of the inheritance.
Key Point: Records and consistent treatment are your evidence. A BFA is your protection. You ideally want both.
What records should I keep to prove my initial financial contributions?
The records that make the biggest practical difference are often the simplest ones, and almost nobody keeps them at the start of a relationship.
Before you move in together or marry, take a clear snapshot of your financial position. This means:
- Bank statements showing account balances at the start of the relationship.
- Evidence of ownership and value of any property you held, including mortgage statements, rates notices or a formal valuation.
- Documentation of any debts you held in your own name.
- Records of any shares, superannuation balances, vehicles or business interests.
- Any loan agreements from family members, with evidence of repayments.
- Correspondence, wills or letters relating to any inheritance you had already received or expected.
Keep those records somewhere you can access them independently of your partner. A cloud account in your name only, or a folder with a trusted family member, is fine.
During the relationship, keep records that show how any pre-relationship asset was managed. Did you make mortgage repayments from your own income? Did you pay rates, maintenance and insurance without drawing on joint funds? Did you keep an inheritance in a separate account and avoid using it for joint expenses? Those records matter when you need to demonstrate consistent treatment.
Expert Tip: The records you wish you had kept are always the ones from the first year. Set a calendar reminder now to save a financial snapshot, bank balance, superannuation statement, property value, debts in your name, and put it somewhere safe. Do it annually. If the relationship ends ten years from now, you will have a clear picture of where you started.
Does keeping an asset in my sole name protect it from my partner?
No, and this is the most common misconception we see.
Sole ownership of an asset does not exclude it from a property settlement. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is not bound by whose name appears on a title, a bank account or a share certificate. It looks at the financial reality of the relationship: what each person brought in, what each person contributed, what each person needs going forward.
A house in your name only, purchased before the relationship but lived in jointly for twelve years, is part of the property pool. A superannuation fund in your name only is part of the property pool. A business in your name only, if its growth was supported by your partner’s labour or domestic contributions, is part of the property pool.
This surprises people. It should not. The law is designed to recognise contributions of all kinds, including non-financial ones like raising children, running a household or supporting a partner’s career.
Sole ownership is relevant evidence. It helps establish that an asset was not intended to be shared. But it is not determinative, and treating it as protection in its own right is a mistake that creates genuine risk.
Key Point: Title is evidence of legal ownership, not evidence of the outcome in a property settlement. The court will go behind the name on the title to understand the reality of the relationship.
Can I put assets in a family member’s name to protect them?
No. This is the DIY move that creates the most serious problems.
Transferring an asset to a parent, sibling or friend to keep it out of a property settlement is not a legitimate strategy. It is a disposition of property that the court can scrutinise, and in some circumstances, set aside. The court has broad powers to look at transactions made with the intention of defeating a partner’s potential claim, and transfer to a family member shortly before or during separation is exactly the kind of transaction that attracts attention.
Beyond the legal risk, there are practical problems. Once you transfer an asset to another person, you lose legal control of it. If the relationship with that family member deteriorates, or if that person has financial difficulties, the asset is at risk from an entirely different direction.
There are also potential stamp duty and tax consequences from transferring property, which vary depending on the asset and the circumstances.
If you are genuinely concerned about your assets during a separation, the right approach is to preserve what you have, obtain legal advice, and avoid major transactions until you understand your position. Moving assets around is not protection. It is exposure.
Expert Tip: If you are worried a former partner will dispose of assets during separation, there are court orders available to freeze transactions and preserve the asset pool. That is the legitimate tool. Get advice quickly, because applications for urgent orders require prompt action.
What happens if I hide money or fail to disclose an asset?
The consequences are serious and frequently outweigh whatever the person was trying to protect.
Both parties to a property settlement have a duty of full and frank financial disclosure. That means disclosing every asset, every liability, every financial interest and every financial resource, whether it is in your sole name or jointly held. The obligation does not have exceptions for assets you would prefer your former partner not to know about.
If you fail to disclose an asset, the court can take that non-disclosure into account when deciding the outcome. In some circumstances, it can set aside an order that was obtained on the basis of incomplete information, even years later. It can also award a greater share to the other party as a consequence of the concealment.
Non-disclosure in the context of a Binding Financial Agreement can render the agreement voidable. If a party concealed an asset when the agreement was made, the other party may be able to have it set aside.
The practical reality is that financial information is harder to hide than people assume. Bank records, tax returns, business accounts, superannuation statements, title searches and real property searches are all available, and lawyers know where to look.
Key Point: Non-disclosure tends to be discovered. When it is, the cost to your credibility, your outcome and potentially your costs order is almost always greater than whatever you were trying to protect.
Do trusts and companies protect assets in a separation?
Sometimes, but far less reliably than people expect.
A trust or company is a legitimate structure for managing wealth, running a business or managing tax obligations. It is not, by itself, a mechanism for placing assets beyond the reach of the family law system.
The court looks at control and benefit, not just legal ownership. If you are the trustee or a director and you control how the assets of a structure are used, the court is likely to treat the value of those assets as a financial resource available to you, even if you do not legally own them.
Assets held in a discretionary family trust may or may not be included in the property pool, depending on who controls the trust, how it has been used during the relationship, and whether the other party can demonstrate a reasonable expectation of benefiting from it. There is no simple answer, and advice specific to your structure is essential.
Superannuation is a separate consideration and has its own legislative framework. It can be split between parties on separation, and a family law superannuation split does not require the fund to be cashed out.
The lesson on trusts and companies is the same as the lesson on everything else: they are useful tools when they reflect genuine business or financial planning, and they become problematic when they are used, or appear to have been used, to defeat a partner’s claims.
Expert Tip: If you have a business interest, a family trust or a company that forms part of your financial picture, get specific advice on how those structures interact with your family law position. A general understanding of the structure is not enough. The answer depends on how it has actually operated during the relationship.
What should I do with joint bank accounts and debts after separation?
Act promptly and carefully, but do not act unilaterally without getting advice first.
On separation, joint accounts and joint debts remain joint. You cannot simply close a joint account or pay off a joint debt without the other party’s knowledge and then treat the matter as resolved. Both parties remain liable for joint debts regardless of any private agreement about who is “responsible” for them.
The immediate practical steps are:
- Make sure you have access to your own funds. If your income is paid into a joint account, open an account in your sole name and redirect your income immediately.
- Take copies of statements for all joint accounts, joint loans and joint credit cards. You need a picture of the financial position at the date of separation.
- Avoid withdrawing large sums from joint accounts. Withdrawing funds to deplete a joint account before a settlement is the kind of conduct the court takes seriously.
- Notify your bank that the relationship has ended and ask what protections are available, for example, requiring two signatures for transactions on a joint account.
- Keep records of any ongoing payments you make toward joint debts after separation. Those contributions may be relevant to your property settlement.
Expert Tip: The period immediately after separation is when the financial picture can change quickly. Preserve the evidence of what existed at separation, and take steps to protect your access to funds, but not at the expense of creating a conduct issue that follows you into negotiations.
How does asset protection affect the children and the family home?
These are two separate questions, and conflating them causes genuine confusion.
A Binding Financial Agreement deals with property and financial resources. It does not determine parenting arrangements. Parenting arrangements are made separately, either by agreement between the parties or through a parenting plan or parenting orders made by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. No financial agreement can override the court’s obligation to put the best interests of the children first.
Child support is similarly separate. It is calculated by Services Australia under a formula based on income and care arrangements. A financial agreement cannot contract out of a parent’s obligation to support their children.
On the family home specifically, the question of who stays, who leaves, and what happens to the property is part of the property settlement. The presence of children is a relevant consideration. A parent who is the primary carer may have a stronger argument for remaining in the home, particularly where the children are settled in the area, at local schools or in a familiar community. But this is not automatic, and the outcome depends on the whole financial picture.
Key Point: Protecting your assets and parenting your children are governed by completely separate parts of the law. An agreement that resolves one does not resolve the other.
What changes if we are de facto rather than married?
Less than most people think.
De facto couples in Australia are dealt with under the same federal property framework as married couples. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has jurisdiction over de facto property disputes, and the factors the court considers are essentially the same as for married couples: contributions, future needs, the length of the relationship, the care of children and the overall justice of the outcome.
This is not a Queensland-specific rule. It applies nationally.
The practical differences are in timing. For a de facto property claim to proceed, the couple generally needs to have lived together for at least two years, unless there is a child of the relationship or one party made significant contributions and it would be unjust not to allow the claim. There is also a two-year time limit from the date of separation to commence proceedings, so acting promptly matters.
The date on which a de facto relationship began, and the date on which it ended, can both be contested. Relationships that were intermittent, long-distance or ambiguous in their nature require a factual analysis of how the parties actually lived.
Choosing not to marry does not avoid the property framework. If you live with a partner, share finances and present as a couple, the law is likely to treat you as de facto, regardless of labels.
Key Point: If you are in a de facto relationship and considering how to protect your assets, the same options and the same limits apply as for a married couple. A Binding Financial Agreement is available to de facto couples, and the same requirements apply.
I am already separated. Can I still protect my position?
Yes, and this is the moment where early advice makes the biggest practical difference.
After separation and before a property settlement is finalised, both parties have an interest in preserving the asset pool. There are steps you can take now that protect your position without crossing into conduct the court would view negatively.
Start by gathering a complete picture of the financial position as it stood at separation. Collect bank statements, superannuation statements, mortgage statements, business financials, tax returns and any other records of assets or liabilities. Do this now, before time passes and records become harder to obtain.
Avoid making major financial decisions unilaterally. Do not sell property, transfer assets, draw down substantially on lines of credit or enter into major new financial commitments without getting advice first. These decisions may need to be disclosed and explained.
If you are worried that your former partner intends to dispose of assets, dissipate funds or take other action that would reduce what is available for a property settlement, seek advice about urgent court orders. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia can make orders to preserve assets while proceedings are on foot.
Do not sign a release, a deed of settlement or any other document that purports to resolve your property rights without independent legal advice. Signing something you do not fully understand, or signing under pressure, can have consequences that are very difficult to reverse.
Expert Tip: Separation is not the moment to act quickly and decisively on your own. It is the moment to act carefully with good advice. The decisions made in the first weeks after separation often set the trajectory of everything that follows.
If you are on the Gold Coast and separation has just happened, speaking with a family lawyer this week rather than next month is worth it. Book a confidential, no-obligation initial chat with the C + K Family Lawyers team about your circumstances.
How long do I have to sort out property after separation?
For married couples, there is no strict deadline on property settlement while you are separated but not yet divorced. Once a divorce order is made, you have twelve months from the date of that order to commence property proceedings. After that point, you need the court’s leave to file out of time, which is not guaranteed.
For de facto couples, the time limit is two years from the date of separation. The same leave requirement applies if you miss that window.
These deadlines are among the most consequential in family law. Missing them does not just slow things down. It can mean losing the right to bring a claim altogether.
Divorce itself is a separate process from property settlement. You can finalise your property settlement without being divorced. You can also be divorced without having resolved your property. The two processes run independently, but the divorce order triggers the twelve-month clock, so the sequence matters.
Key Point: If your divorce order is approaching its first anniversary and you have not commenced property proceedings, get advice this week. The deadline does not extend because negotiations are ongoing.
What does a property settlement actually decide?
A property settlement resolves how the total pool of assets, liabilities and superannuation interests is divided between the parties. It covers everything from the family home and investment properties to bank accounts, vehicles, superannuation balances, business interests, personal loans, credit card debts and any other financial interests or obligations.
The court follows a structured process: identify the property pool, assess each party’s contributions to it (financial, non-financial and as a homemaker and parent), then adjust for each party’s future needs, including income capacity, health, the care of children and the effect of the relationship on each person’s earning ability. The result is an outcome the court considers just and equitable given all of those factors.
There is no formula and no presumption of a 50/50 split. Two relationships of the same length with the same asset pool can produce materially different outcomes depending on contributions and future needs.
A property settlement can be formalised either by consent orders filed with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, or by a Binding Financial Agreement signed by both parties. A verbal agreement, a text message exchange or a handshake understanding is not binding and cannot be enforced.
Key Point: Until orders are made or a valid agreement is signed, nothing is finalised. An informal agreement made between separating parties without legal effect gives neither party security.
What will a financial agreement cost and how long does it take?
Both the cost and the time depend on the complexity of the assets involved and whether both parties approach the process cooperatively.
A straightforward Binding Financial Agreement for a couple with modest, clear-cut assets, where both parties are willing and able to obtain independent advice promptly, may be completed within a few weeks. A complex agreement involving business interests, trusts, significant superannuation balances or contested valuations takes longer.
On cost, the firm can give you a realistic range once it understands your circumstances. What is consistently true is that a properly made agreement costs significantly less than contested property proceedings, and the gap between those two figures grows substantially when the matter becomes adversarial.
We do not publish fee ranges here because they depend on the facts, and quoting a number that does not reflect your situation does not help you plan. Contact C + K Family Lawyers for a clear and honest picture of what your matter is likely to involve.
Expert Tip: The cheapest time to sort out a financial agreement is before a disagreement arises. The second cheapest time is now. Waiting to see if you need one is almost always the most expensive approach.
What makes a Binding Financial Agreement enforceable?
Four things matter most.
First, independent legal advice. Each party must have their own lawyer, and that lawyer must advise them on the effect of the agreement and whether it is in their interests before they sign. The lawyer must sign a certificate confirming that advice was given. No certificate, no binding agreement.
Second, disclosure. Both parties must disclose their financial positions honestly and completely. An agreement made on the basis of incomplete or misleading financial information can be set aside by the court.
Third, process. The agreement must not have been signed under duress, signed in circumstances where a party was not given adequate time to consider it, or signed after a lawyer gave negligent advice. Courts have set aside agreements where one party was presented with documents immediately before a wedding and pressured to sign without time to think.
Fourth, drafting. The agreement must be prepared by a lawyer and must meet the requirements of the Family Law Act. A template downloaded from the internet and signed by both parties is not a Binding Financial Agreement and does not have the protections one would provide.
Key Point: A BFA is only as strong as the process behind it. The document is evidence of the agreement, but the enforceability comes from how it was made.
How can I raise a financial agreement without making the relationship hostile?
Raise it early, frame it honestly and give your partner genuine time to think.
The worst version of this conversation is the one that happens days before a wedding, under pressure, with no time for either party to get independent advice. That version is bad for the relationship and bad for the enforceability of the agreement.
The better version is a calm, honest conversation, ideally early in the relationship or before you move in together, where you explain what you are trying to protect and why, acknowledge that you want the agreement to reflect both parties’ interests, and make clear that you are not assuming the relationship will fail.
Many people frame a BFA as a practical tool, in the same way that you take out home insurance not because you expect the house to burn down but because it is prudent. That framing works for some couples.
What does not work is springing it on a partner, presenting a draft that has already been prepared without their knowledge, or suggesting they sign without getting their own advice. Those approaches are red flags not just for the relationship but for the enforceability of the agreement.
If the conversation is genuinely difficult, a family lawyer can help you think through how to approach it. Some couples find that involving lawyers early, as a neutral professional framework rather than an adversarial one, makes the conversation easier.
Expert Tip: If your partner reacts to the idea of a financial agreement with strong resistance, that is information worth having before the relationship deepens or major assets are acquired jointly. A measured response to a reasonable financial conversation is one thing. A complete refusal to discuss financial planning is another.
What should I do tonight if I am worried about my assets during separation?
Do these things, in this order.
Gather documents. Print or download statements for every bank account, every loan, every superannuation fund and every asset you know about. Include accounts in your name only, accounts in your partner’s name only, and joint accounts. Take photographs of any property, vehicles or valuables. Save these somewhere your partner cannot access.
Write down your financial position at separation. Note the balances, the property values as best you know them, any debts and any assets you believe your partner holds that have not been disclosed. This does not need to be formal. It needs to be honest and dated.
Do not make large transactions. Do not withdraw large sums, transfer assets, close accounts or take out new debt. These actions attract scrutiny and can create a costs problem for you later.
Do not sign anything. If your former partner, their lawyer or anyone else presents you with a document to sign, do not sign it until you have had independent legal advice. This includes deeds of settlement, consent orders, releases and informal agreements.
Get advice before the week is out. Not because the law requires it urgently in every case, but because the decisions made in the first days and weeks after separation tend to set the direction of everything that follows. Early advice is protective advice.
Key Point: The most expensive thing you can do tonight is nothing. The second most expensive is acting without advice. Gathering documents and getting counsel are the two things that actually help.
When should I speak with a Gold Coast family lawyer?
If any of the following apply, speak with a lawyer this week, not next month.
You are about to move in with a partner and one of you has significant assets, a business interest, an inheritance or an interest in a family trust. You are engaged and have not considered a financial agreement. You are in a de facto relationship and you are not sure what rights either of you have. You have separated and the property has not been resolved. You are concerned that your former partner is disposing of assets, hiding money or refusing to disclose financial information. You have been asked to sign an agreement and you are not sure what it means. Your divorce order has been made and more than a year has passed.
In any of these situations, you are at a point where the advice you receive now determines the range of outcomes available to you later.
The C + K Family Lawyers team works with people across the Gold Coast on exactly these questions. An initial conversation is confidential and carries no obligation. If you would like to speak with us about your situation, reach out and we can find a time that works.
Frequently asked questions
Can a de facto partner claim my assets if we only lived together for one year?
Generally, a de facto property claim requires the relationship to have lasted at least two years. Below that threshold, a claim may still be possible if there is a child of the relationship or if one party made significant contributions and would suffer serious injustice without a remedy. The precise duration of the relationship and how it is characterised can be contested, so specific advice is important if your relationship was short.
Does a financial agreement stop my partner from claiming spousal maintenance?
A BFA can address spousal maintenance and may limit or exclude a claim, provided both parties received independent legal advice and the agreement meets the requirements of the Family Law Act. This is one of the areas where the drafting and the advice given at the time of signing both matter significantly.
Can I make a financial agreement after we have already separated?
Yes. A Binding Financial Agreement can be made after separation and can resolve property and maintenance in the same way as one made before or during the relationship. The same requirements apply: independent legal advice, full disclosure and proper execution. A post-separation agreement, once formalised, can be an alternative to consent orders for some couples.
What if my partner refuses to sign a financial agreement?
You cannot compel a partner to sign a Binding Financial Agreement. If no agreement is reached, the property settlement is resolved either through negotiation, mediation or, as a last resort, proceedings in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. A refusal to engage is information about the relationship dynamic and about the kind of process you may be facing.
Does an inheritance from a deceased estate go through the property pool automatically?
Not automatically, but it is not automatically excluded either. The timing of the inheritance, how it was treated during the relationship and the overall asset pool all affect how the court approaches it. An inheritance received late in a long relationship may be treated differently from one received at the outset. The answer depends on the facts, and proper records are the foundation of any argument that it should be kept separate.
What to do next
Asset protection in relationships is not a problem to solve once. It is an ongoing discipline of clarity, documentation and proper legal advice at the moments that matter most.
If you are at any of the decision points described in this article, whether you are planning ahead, already in the middle of a relationship, or facing separation right now, the conversation with a lawyer is worth having. The earlier you have it, the more options you have.
The C + K Family Lawyers team is based on the Gold Coast and works with clients on these questions every day. Reach out to arrange a confidential, no-obligation initial discussion about your circumstances.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Family law outcomes depend on your individual circumstances. For advice about your situation, speak with a qualified family lawyer.
About the Author
Christopher (Chris) Jones is the Principal Lawyer and co-founder of CK Family Lawyers, a Queensland family law firm. Chris advises on divorce, property settlement, parenting arrangements, binding financial agreements, mediation and domestic violence matters. After working in legal environments where clients felt depersonalised and lost in jargon, he co-founded the firm with Krystina Jones on the belief that people deserve family lawyers who genuinely care, and he works directly with his clients throughout their matters.
