What can you put in a Binding Financial Agreement

What should you put in a Binding Financial Agreement 

When you engage a lawyer to act for you in drafting a Binding Financial Agreement, they will take full instructions from you and advise you on what should go into your Agreement.

Even if you are using a lawyer to prepare the Binding Financial Agreement for you, you may be able to save some costs, or be better prepared for your meeting with the lawyer, if you have already thought about or written down what you want to put into your Agreement.

List of Issues to Include in your Binding Financial Agreement

The sorts of issues that you and your partner can agree on and document in your Binding Financial Agreement include, amongst other things:

 

 

• Whether you will combine your wages and other income or whether you will keep your wages and other income separate;

• How you will divide money on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis

• What will happen with access to income, money, wages etc if one of you becomes a stay at home parent or works part time;

• How you will own any property and assets you acquire in the future (for example, jointly, in the name of one party only, in accordance with the percentage you contribute to it etc);

• What happens with any property and assets you already own;

• What happens with any debt either of you already have;

• What will happen with any liabilities you acquire jointly in the future;

• What will happen with any liabilities one of you acquire on your own in the future;

• Who owns money in any joint bank accounts (for example both of you equally, one of you, etc);

• Who pays the rent or mortgage or if both of you, in equal or unequal shares;

• What will happen if one of you become unable to pay your share of the rent or mortgage;

• What entitlements the other person has to Superannuation in the name of only one of you;

• How property, assets, liabilities and financial resources (such as Superannuation) will be divided if your relationship breaks down;

• Who will keep your Pets (Cat, Dog etc) if you separate (read the law about who gets the family pets here);

• How you will acquire any Pets in the future and who will be financially responsible for them;

• Whether any spousal maintenance will be payable if your relationship fails;

• Whether the length of your relationship has any effect on how you divide your property if your relationship fails;

• Whether if you have any children in the future, that has any effect on the provisions of the agreement, or on how you divide your property if your relationship breaks up;

• If you are not married or not intending to marry when you enter into the agreement, what will happen to the agreement if you do marry;

• A list of the property, assets, liabilities and financial resources (together with their value) each of you has at the start of your relationship.

Questions to discuss with your partner about a Binding Financial Agreement

Considering what you want included in your Binding Financial Agreement, will require you to have an open and honest discuss with your partner about all of the things listed above as well as looking at the following issues:

• Do you already have children together, with a former partner or intend to have children together;

• If you plan to have children, what will happen if you have a child with a disability or illness that requires a lot of care;

• Do you both intend to work during your relationship and if so, full time, part time, casually etc

• What will happen if one of you is no longer working either at all or to the same extent, due to illness, injury, dismissal, retrenchment, retirement etc;

• Will you have joint bank accounts or separate bank accounts;

• Will you have joint assets or separate assets.

• How will each of you contribute to your living expenses and savings;

• What will happen to any inheritance, financial gift, compensation payment or lottery win that either of you receive.

What else you need to know about Binding Financial Agreements

We explain the basics of a Binding Financial Agreement in the information sheet What is a Binding Financial Agreement.

Can you prepare your own Binding Financial Agreement without a lawyer. We explain the answer in the information sheet Can I prepare a Binding Financial Agreement myself.

You must be eligible to be able to lawfully enter into a Binding Financial Agreement. Read more in the information sheet Who can enter into a Binding Financial Agreement.

The timing of when you enter into a Binding Financial Agreement can be important. We explain in the information sheet When can you enter into a Binding Financial Agreement.

People often start living together, get engaged, have a baby or even get married and only then think about getting a Binding Financial Agreement. If this applies to you then you should read the information sheet Is it too late to enter into a Binding Financial Agreement.

There are various different types of Binding Financial Agreements. If you do not use the correct type of Binding Financial Agreement for your situation it may later be found to be invalid. We explain more in our information sheet Types of Binding Financial Agreements & What type of BFA do I need.

Will a Binding Financial Agreement actually work to protect your assets and income? Find out in the information sheet Are Binding Financial Agreements actually Binding.

If have entered into a new relationship or are about to and you are thinking about the provision of your Will or what might happen after you die you should know the information in our information sheet How having a Binding Financial Agreement might help your Estate & Succession Planning.

Read the benefits of having a BFA in the information sheet What are the Advantages of a Binding Financial Agreement.

There may be a downside to having a BFA. This is discussed in the information sheet What are the Disadvantages of a Binding Financial Agreement.

Questions such as can your Binding Financial Agreement be changed or updated, what circumstances might have a court declare it invalid and set it aside are answered in the information sheet Can a Binding Financial Agreement be set aside, updated or terminated.

The information sheet How to tell your Partner you want a Binding Financial Agreement might also be helpful to you.

If you have separated or divorced and want to document your property settlement agreement in a legally binding and enforceable way, then the information sheet Should I use a Binding Financial Agreement or a Consent Order will contain important information for you.

 

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