There are innumerable facets of a relationship, including marriage, long-distance, live-in, de facto, etc., and each one comes with its unique set of goals and ideals. They all start as a serious commitment full of love and bonding. Nevertheless, these relationships are not just about hearts and flowers and, in reality, often turn sour. The rules and boundaries for settlement in a marriage breakup are pretty tricky but have been in place for years. What's new is the up-and-coming de facto property settlement which is becoming more and more common in Adelaide and is perceived as complex as marriage breakup settlements.

What Does De Facto Property Settlement Mean?

In laymen's terms, a de facto property settlement is the equal and just distribution of assets and properties after a de facto relationship breakup. It takes into consideration the financial as well as non-financial contributions of the de facto spouses. Here the primary requirement is that the couple should have lived together for at least two years and may or may not have children.

Following are some of the central stepping stones in this area that Adelaide family lawyers follow:

●      Duration of the Relationship

The first pointer that needs to be noted is the time limitation period of the settlement. In the case of a marriage, the law allows a total of 12 months to finalize property settlements from the divorce order date. On the other hand, according to Section 44 of the Family Law Act in de facto separations, the stipulated time frame is 24 months from the formal separation date.

●       Creation of Asset Pool

In the case of a de facto settlement, an asset pool is created of items the partners jointly own. It may include the family home, vehicles, household and property items, business investments, home, and personal loans, etc. All these comprise the property pool and are evaluated minus the liabilities for equal division.

●       Assessing One's Contributions

Another significant parameter to make any relationship work is the contributions to the household needs. It certainly includes financial inputs like income, gifts, and inheritance. However, non-financial contributions like hours spent setting up or renovating the household and the level of effort devoted to raising children. These are things that are not quantifiable and are therefore separately assessed during the settlement negotiations.

●       Evaluation of Future Needs

The next step taken by Adelaide family lawyers in the settlement is analyzing the future needs of the parties involved. It comprises chalking out the parties' future earning capabilities based on their current economic standing. It also considers each individual's physical and mental health condition and ability to support themselves and the child (if any) in the future. All this also helps figure out who gets the primary responsibility of the child after the separation.

Conclusion

Whether a de facto property settlement is more or less complicated than a marriage breakup is reasonably arguable. Nevertheless, it is always best to take expert guidance while mediating such deals to avoid all unforeseen complications and reach a mutually acceptable agreement.