Pre-nuptial Agreement (Pre-nup) Lawyers Melbourne

Full and frank disclosure of all significant assets, liabilities, superannuation and financial obligations is required. Parties should exchange full details of their financial positions to ensure the agreement is enforceable and fair, and to avoid future disputes. If a party is found to have failed to disclose a material matter, the agreement may be set aside and be unenforceable.

Additionally, but importantly, full disclosure ensures that each party can obtain the level of independent legal advice required

Pre-nup agreements allow parties to decide in advance the financial arrangements and asset division which will apply in the event of relationship breakdown, including how inheritances and family businesses will be dealt with. By obtaining independent legal advice, couples can protect their assets during a relationship and ensure a fair and agreed-upon outcome if the relationship breaks down.

To be enforceable, a pre-nuptial agreement requires:

• Each party to obtain independent legal advice
• The lawyer for each party signs a Statement of Independent Legal Advice
• Each party to provide full and frank disclosure of their financial matters
• Neither party is subject to unfair pressure

The agreement is drafted carefully so as to envisage and provide for changes in circumstances, and so that the terms are clear and can be put into effect, perhaps many years into the future. This legal framework agreement is binding under the Family Law Act and not able to be set aside.

A pre-nuptial agreement can outline agreed financial arrangements between parties, including spousal maintenance. Many parties enter into financial agreements at the end of their relationship or marriage to ensure that neither party can claim spousal maintenance in the future. They want to ensure a clean break.

Financial agreements can cover child support arrangements but do not usually do so. If parents want an agreement to set out the child support arrangements, they usually rely upon a Limited Child Support Agreement or a Binding Child Support Agreement. It is better if arrangements for children are kept separate.

A pre-nup can explicitly outline financial arrangements for inheritances, property bought into the relationship and other significant assets. Our Melbourne family lawyers can advise you about what to include and how to manage assets that may grow over time, or future gifts or inheritances. In some cases, agreements will need to be updated if circumstances shift significantly, or significantly more assets or debt end up in the property pool or children are born when not anticipated by the agreement or there are other changes in circumstances.

Without independent legal advice, an agreement can be challenged in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, potentially leading to expensive court battles and legal fees. Ensuring each party has advice from their own lawyer and has a signed Statement of Independent Legal Advice from their lawyer helps to ensure it is binding and enforceable.

Mistakes often include inadequate disclosure, skipping independent legal advice or rushing the process so that the agreement is not property drafted or one or both parties do not have sufficient time to consider their positions, or the agreement does not properly reflect their intentions.

Using separate experienced family lawyers, and obtaining detailed legal advice helps avoid expensive court battles and family law disputes, and ensures arrangements regarding financial matters are properly protected.

Although a prenuptial agreement cannot be updated or altered, the original one can be terminated and a new financial agreement entered into.

If you need assistance with changing an existing prenuptial agreement, get in touch with our highly experienced pre-nuptial lawyers in Melbourne for a chat about how we can assist.