Have a Lawyer Negotiate
On Your Behalf

After separation, it's crucial that you do your best to reach an agreement with your former partner about dividing your assets and debts. Reaching an agreement makes things a lot easier and avoids costly court litigation.

If discussions with your former partner have not been successful, our negotiation package may be suitable for your circumstances.

Our negotiation package involves a family lawyer writing to your former partner and negotiating on your behalf with the aim of reaching an agreement to split your finances.

There are several situations where our clients might find a negotiation package or service suitable.

• Can’t agree on whether to sell or keep the house

  • One of you might want to keep it, but you can’t refinance the mortgage on your own.
  • Your partner can’t decide on what to do with the house and is avoiding discussions.
  • One of you wants to sell and the other wants to keep the house.

• Can’t agree on a payout figure for the person giving up their interest in the house

  • For instance, there might be $300,000 of equity in the property, but one person is offering only $50,000, which might be an unsatisfactory amount.
  • There could also be difficulties agreeing on a sensible methodology to calculate the payout figure.

• Can’t agree on the value of the house

  • You may have different opinions on the house's worth and are unable to resolve how to accurately determine its value.
  • Agreeing on the value of the house is essential because it determines the equity in the house and impacts the payout figure from the person keeping the house to the person giving up their interest in the house.

• Superannuation becomes a sticking point

  • People think it’s 50/50 but that’s not always the case.
  • Your partner refuses to give up any superannuation.
  • You’re unsure how much super you’re entitled to.

• You get a letter from a lawyer

  • Your partner engaged a lawyer, and sent you a letter.
  • It can be overwhelming.
  • It might ask for disclosure, with an offer to settle.
  • Do you need to provide the documents the lawyer requested? What happens if you don’t comply?
  • Is it a fair request for documents?
  • You don’t want to engage with your partner’s lawyer yourself. You want legal representation as well.

• The other person is not engaged in meaningful discussions

  • You’ve tried having informal discussions but it has not worked.
  • Bad offers are being exchanged.
  • Can’t agree on what things are worth and what each party wants to do.
  • Not forthcoming with disclosure of financial information.
  • They don’t want to disclose what things are worth, or what assets they have.

• Reneging on Agreement

  • You reached an informal agreement and your partner changed their mind.
  • They believe they might be entitled to more.
  • They might start disputing agreed values.
  • Changed their mind about the assets they are keeping.

• Delay

  • It has been so long without any progress.
  • You need to get off the joint property/mortgage so you can move on to purchase other property.
  • No contact (or little contact) with your former partner.
  • Can’t get a new mortgage because you’re still on the mortgage with your former partner.
  • Getting to the point where you need to do something.
  • You don’t know what your former partner has.

Names have been changed to protect clients' identity.

Susan & Jeremy

We helped Susan negotiate with her partner Jeremy

Relationship

Overview

15 Years

MARRIAGE

August 2007

MARRIAGE COMMENCED

March 2022

MARRIAGE ENDED

Mid-40s

SUSAN’S AGE

Mid-40s

JEREMY’S AGE

No Children

CHILDREN

Financial

Income

Jeremy's Income

$150,000 per annum

Susan's Income

$60,000 per annum

COMMENTS

• Each paid for separate assets
• Susan looked after the house while Jeremy primarily worked
• Jeremy always earn double what Susan made

Property

• House 1

  In Jeremy's Name

  Value: $605,000

  Mortgage: $0

  Equity: $605,000

• House 2

  In Susan's Name

  Value: $595,000

  Mortgage: $0

  Equity: $595,000

• House 3

  Jointly Owned

  Value: $610,000

  Mortgage: $0

  Equity: $610,000

Superannuation

• Jeremy's Super

  $300,000

• Susan's Super

  $120,000

Total Net Assets:

$2,230,000

Problems Susan Had Before Seeing Us

• 1
  Susan received an initial offer from Jeremy of $200,000 plus keeping her house. Susan thought the offer was low. She was concerned because Jeremy was not transparent about his asset values, making it challenging for her to gauge the fairness of the offer.
• 2
  Jeremy was unwilling to disclose the value of his assets, especially properties.
• 3
  There was a difference in property valuations: Jeremy valued a disputed property at $450,000, whereas Susan estimated it to be around $750,000.

How We Helped Susan

• Requested full financial disclosure from Jeremy for a transparent view of his assets, including properties, superannuation, and smaller assets like cars and trailers.
• Created a comprehensive spreadsheet to analyse Jeremy's offer based on the newly disclosed asset values.
• Provided expert legal advice on whether Jeremy's offer was genuinely fair, considering the total asset pool.
• Communicated with Jeremy to negotiate a more equitable division of assets for Susan.
• Advised Susan on the possibility of formalising the agreement through cost-effective consent orders once both parties reached an agreement.

Jack & Sarah

We helped Jack negotiate with his partner Sarah to get a formal valuation of their shared home, clarified what he was entitled to, initiated negotiations with her legal counsel and explored offers to get a fair agreement.

Sophie & John

We helped Sophie negotiate with her partner John as he was non-compliant and not forthcoming with values of his assets. We contested John’s low estimations to get accurate valuations for Sophie.

Amanda & Kevin

We helped Amanda negotiate with her partner Kevin as she had limited knowledge about the asset pool and wanted to know her entitlements so she could move on and settle with her new partner.

Edward & Margaret

We helped Edward negotiate with his partner Margaret as he was faced with inconsistencies and was uncertain how to split up the assets. We assisted him with responding to Margaret, helped him divide up the assets as well as counter offered Margaret for a fair deal.