Financial agreements are most commonly used to decide how divorcing or separating couples will split up their assets. Upon first glance at Australian Financial Agreement legislation, you may come to the conclusion that it is fairly straightforward.

But upon closer inspection, you’ll see that financial agreements are actually quite complex and may not be the ideal solution for all situations. As financial agreement lawyers in Sydney, we’ll shed some light on the advantages and disadvantages of financial agreements.

The Pros Of Financial Agreements

• No explicit fairness requirement – While many lawyers aim for fairness, there is no requirement that the agreement should be just or reasonable, and there is potential for this to work in your favour.
• Versatility – A financial agreement can contain information about spousal maintenance, assets and property matters in one document.
• Protect your assets – One of the most popular uses of financial agreements is where assets are protected, especially those that were acquired before the relationship began.
• Privacy- Financial agreements certainly value privacy and this is evident as there is no public record of financial agreements. Thus your financials remain private.
• Avoid court – Financial agreements can be settled outside of court, thus saving time, money and stress for all parties involved.

The Potential Cons Of Financial Agreements

You should be aware that there is always the potential for the Court to set aside the agreement, even if the financial agreement was drafted by a financial agreement lawyer and meets all necessary requirements.

• No fairness requirement – Just like this could work in your favour, it could just as easily work against you, and you may end up with a financial agreement that does not work in your favour.
• Lack of enforcement – A lot of uncertainty comes with the fact that this agreement may not necessarily be enforced, and the Court could set it aside should they want to; they have broad grounds on which to do so.
• Interpretation – When the agreement is challenged or set aside, the Court now gets to interpret the circumstances and the agreement becomes subject to their discretion. This again ups the levels of uncertainty surrounding the agreement.

Are you looking for a financial agreement lawyer to assist you with creating binding financial agreements? Here at Lapointe Family Law, we have experienced financial agreement lawyers that can offer you expert services. Please feel free to get in touch with us today and speak to one of our experts.