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Property Settlement After Divorce Australia

Property Settlement After Divorce

When you separate, you’ll want to know how much you’ll receive from your divorce property settlement.

Under the Family Law Act 1975, Courts can change property ownership if they think it’s fair.

In making such decisions, Courts must weigh various factors, including each party’s contributions to the property and their future needs.

How Long Does a Divorce Settlement Take?

The timeframe for finalising a divorce settlement in Australia depends on factors like the complexity of assets, the level of agreement between parties, and whether court proceedings are required. An amicable settlement may take a few months, while disputes requiring court intervention can extend the process to 12–24 months or more.

Married couples must apply for property settlements within 12 months of divorce finalisation, and de facto couples within two years of separation. Early legal advice and mediation can help resolve matters more efficiently.

Contribution Types:

The Courts are required to look at the financial and non-financial contributions made by each party to the property.

Financial contributions: Checking the financial contributions that each party has made can be tedious and time-consuming, however, if there is a clean money trail, it is easy to calculate the dollar value of the contributions.
Non-financial contributions: With non-financial contributions, there are many difficulties involved in placing a monetary value on the contributions made.

In valuing a non-financial contribution, the court will place the cost of the work as if another person had done it.

For example, if you fixed the fence of the matrimonial home, then you should get a quote to estimate how much money was saved, and also how much the new fence increased the value of the property.

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Divorce Property Settlement FAQ

What is a divorce settlement?

A divorce settlement is an agreement that is reached between a married couple as to how they will separate their finances after their divorce. It is the final legal statement between the married couple for documenting the terms of their divorce.

How long does a financial settlement take?

A financial settlement can be finalised in as little as two weeks if the parties are agreeable to the terms of the divorce settlement. In the event that there are disagreements, the process of mediation may take a couple of months.

If the matter goes to court, a financial settlement may take up to 3 years.

Learn what steps you can take next

Speak to our legal team now

Divorce Settlement Examples Australia

Jane and John have a total of $1,000,000 in their asset pool.

This includes all bank accounts, property, and debts.

Here is their balance sheet:

Assets

Matrimonial home worth $1.5 million
1 Toyota worth $30,000
1 Hyundai worth $20,000
Cash in bank $50,000

Total: $1.6m

Liabilities

Mortgage on house $800,000
Credit card debt $30,000

Total: $830,000

Superannuation

Jane’s superannuation $90,000
John’s superannuation $140,000

Total: $230k

Net Total of Asset Pool = Assets – Liabilities + Superannuation = 1,600,000 – 830,000 + 230,000

In this divorce property settlement example, the Net asset pool is $1,000,000

They are now going through a financial separation and want to know how an Australian property settlement works.

Facts of the example case

John and Jane have been married for 7 years.

Before they met each other, John owned a property in Sydney with $1 million dollars and had a mortgage of $600,000 on it.

John and Jane both had superannuation and kept their accounts largely separate.

They are both working and earning similar amounts.

They have one child together, Emma, who is 3 years old.

PART A – Identify the asset pool

$1,000,000

Part B – Identify the contributions of the parties

John and Jane have negotiated and have calculated what their contributions were to the relationship.

As the parties were in a ‘medium-length’ marriage (7 years), they will have to look at their financial and non financial contributions, and see if there are any special adjustments warranted.

As John entered the relationship with an asset worth $400,000, he is significantly higher on financial contributions.

John and Jane have calculated that their contributions would be 75% to John and 25% to Jane, however, due to the length of the marriage, they have agreed that Jane will receive a 5% adjustment for her contributions to their matrimonial property.

Part C – What are the future needs of the parties?

As there is one child, there will need to be an adjustment to the parent who is looking primarily after the child.

A general rule is that for each child, you should allow for an adjustment of between 2-5% per child.

Please note that if there were no children, there will be no adjustment to either parent.

Part D – Is this just and equitable?

The settlement appears just and equitable as both parties are walking away with a significant proportion of the pool.

You can check our guide on how are assets divided in a divorce.

Outcome

The divorce property settlement split has decided to divide the property 65/35, meaning John will receive $650,000 and Jane will receive $350,000

As for who keeps the family home after separation, that is another consideration entirely.

This is just one of many divorce property settlement examples that we could potentially discuss with you based on your circumstances.

Ultimately it is up to the parties to make decisions as to how they would like to receive the funds and what they would be happy with.

If the parties cannot make a decision, the court will make it for them.

Our Divorce Financial Settlement Lawyers can Assist

Our experienced property settlement lawyers practice exclusively in the area of family law.

We aim to provide the service that is right for you, however, we always try and mediate matters with the other party before taking the matter to court.

If you have reached an agreement and want to formalise it so that it is legally binding and enforceable, we can help you do that to ensure that there are no further financial claims.

We can negotiate agreements with your previous partner or their lawyers and can represent you in family court proceedings whether you are a respondent, or whether you want to commence the proceedings yourself.

We are also able to assist with the transfer of property, as we have conveyancers in NSW and conveyancers in QLD who can assist.

Property Settlement After Divorce Australia