How Splitting Finances Works

Dividing Everything

When you separate, it’s important that you divide all your finances. This means, you can’t continue owning assets and debts jointly with your partner in the long term.

This is not just a suggestion, it’s a requirement by the court.

If you continue owning assets and debts with your former partner, there is a higher chance of a dispute happening in the future. The whole purpose of the property division is to finalise your split for good, now, and avoid future disputes. You need to have a clean break.

Owning debts with your former partner is risky. With joint debts, you’re both ‘jointly and severally liable’. This means you’re both 100% responsible for the debt. So if your partner doesn’t pay their share, the lender can go after you for the whole amount.

You should separate your assets, so you can continue building your own wealth independently of your partner. That way you get to keep the increase in asset value. If you own an asset with your former partner, you don’t want to get in arguments about who gets to keep the gains in asset value and who did the work for it etc.

This is why you need a complete division of your finances. This may include things such as:

• Real estate
• Money
• Bank accounts
• Shares/Investments
• Superannuation
• Motor vehicles
• Business interests
• Furniture
• Other valuable assets
• Mortgages
• Credit cards; and
• Personal loans

How The Split Works

In Australia, it is not automatically 50/50. The way that the assets of the relationship are divided depends on a number of different factors including:

• How much each person contributed financially at the start of the relationship,
• How much each person contributed during the relationship,
• Contributions to the finances after the relationship ended,
• Who took care of any children,
• Any non-monetary work conducted by each person (eg. gardening, renovations, contributions to any family businesses),
• Contributions from inheritance, parents,
• Age (e.g time left in the workforce),
• Future income earning potential,
• Health conditions and;
• A variety of different factors.

Find Out What You’re Entitled To

It is important to find out what you're entitled to to make sure that you don’t sell yourself short in the negotiations.

We can help you understand what is a fair split of the assets. This is usually a range, where solely owned and jointly owned assets and debts are considered.