Property Dispute & Settlement
The Family Court (The Court) has jurisdiction relating to the property dispute between spouses.
The Court generally adopts a three stage process in which:
Firstly: Needs to identify and value the matrimonial assets and all matrimonial liabilities.
Secondly: Needs to assess the parties contributions to the acquisition conservation and improvement of the matrimonial assets.
Thirdly: The court has power that in order to ensure that justice is done as between the parties the court can make a further adjustment to take into account the needs of the parties after separation. Accordingly the following matters are taken into account:
- Each parties health
- Income
- Earning capacity
- Financial resources
- Superannuation
- Care of children under the age of 18
- Amount of child support.
The Family Rules require prospective parties to genuinely try to resolve their dispute before starting a case and we always strongly suggest to clients that they attempt to negotiate and sort out their differences instead of going to court.
