We specialise in financial settlement for separated couples. Focusing primarily on this area allows us to deliver a highly specialised and experienced service. We have a deep understanding of the processes involved in dividing assets and liabilities after separation, from the most straightforward to the most complex property pools.
We don't generally take on parenting matters, and we don't take on matters where there have been allegations of family violence.
We work alongside some amazing mediators who help separated couples to agree on how they will divide their property after separation, and to work out the details of their agreement before its formalised.
As part of this collaborative process, we ensure people have access to the expert legal guidance needed to make informed decisions and settle disputes amicably. We focus on practical outcomes and putting people in the best position to avoid court and focus on achieving fair, practical, and legally binding settlements.
We hold our meetings online via videoconference. You'll receive a link to the meeting when your appointment is booked, and our written legal advice will be sent securely to you by email. We'll also send you a link to electronically sign your documents.
A: In Australia, you can have a written or unwritten informal agreement about how you will divide your property after you separate from your de facto partner or spouse.
However, to make an agreement legally binding (enforceable), you can choose to either have it made in to Consent Orders by a court, or you can make a financial agreement (a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA)) following certain rules.
In Australia, legal settlements are documented either as a financial agreement or court orders, depending on what suits your circumstances.
These financial agreements are usually referred to as 'Binding Financial Agreements' (BFAs), and can be made before, during or at the end of a relationship. They apply equally to married or de facto couples. If these agreements are made before the relationship or marriage they're commonly called 'pre-nuptial' agreements; if they're made after you're married or after you separate from your partner, they get called 'post- nuptial' agreements. All of these terms refer to the same type of agreement.
At Legatics, we specialise in financial agreements and consent orders made after you separate, to give you clarity and peace of mind that your financial arrangements have been legally finalised with your ex-partner.
A: Most lawyers still perform their services in the traditional way: one-to-one, charged at an hourly rate rather than at an agreed or value-based price, with little standardisation or use of technology to increase efficiency.
We don't believe in charging by the hour in 6 minute increments, for every phone call, every email, every time a lawyer reads something (this can mean $66 each time a lawyer reads an email from you!).
We unbundle our services and provide them as stand alone advice or documentation, allowing us to fix what we charge at a flat rate. We are also primarily virtual and use technology to keep our overheads low, reducing what we need to charge compared to other family law firms.
Absolutely not. At the centre of our service is providing an alternative that seeks to avoid court and conflict, but still reach a legally binding agreement.
You need to have a clear understanding of each of your financial positions before you can finalise your financial settlement. 'Financial disclosure' just refers to a duty the law imposes to provide all information and documents to each other that might help the other person understand your financial position.
It's so important to be transparent in this process and disclose all property, sources of earnings, interest, and other financial resources. There are a couple of very good reasons for this.
Firstly, from an entirely practical standpoint, it's simply not possible to create your agreement to legally finalise things until we have all of this information.
Secondly, if you've entered into a legal financial settlement by way of Consent Orders, or a Binding Financial Agreement without this disclosure, then those agreements may be at risk of later being set aside by a court - undoing all the hard work you've done to finalise things!