The Impact Of Overseas Divorce On Australian Property Settlements

As per Section 44 (3) of the Family Law Act 1975, matrimonial property proceedings will not be instituted. The only exception is by leave of the court or consent of the parties a year after the divorce.

Before you hire top family lawyers Perth, you must know that Section 44 (5) of the Family Act states that all de facto property proceedings will not be instituted except by leave of the court. This is ideally two afters after the de facto relationship ends. In this blog, you will learn the impact of divorce outside of Australia on Australian property settlements.

The Australian Divorce Law

For people who have assets outside of the country or might have any interest in an international asset due to a de facto relationship, these are two important questions regarding seeking legal advice. One of them is what happens to the overseas assets in a separation or divorce, and the other is how these assets will be dealt with in Australia.

Though both of these are simple questions, there are no simple answers to these questions. There are several contingencies that have to be taken into consideration when giving advice regarding overseas assets in case of a property settlement.

Some of the things that have to be included but are not limited to are as follows:

• Nature and location of the asset, financial resource or liability
• The structure around the asset or the ownership, liability or financial resource
• The preservation and ownership of the asset, financial or liability resource before or during the relationship, or even after separation
• You have to see if the Australian courts have the jurisdiction to deal with the specific asset, financial or liability resource.
• If the international country where the item is located has the jurisdiction to deal with the liability, asset or financial resource?
• Is it in your best interests to look for a property settlement in Australia or another country where the liability, asset or financial resource is located?
• If you are able to reach a settlement in Australia or in a foreign country, is it going to be enforceable in a specific jurisdiction or in international jurisdiction?

What is the Duty of Australia’s Disclosure Family Law?

Before you look to hire divorce lawyers Perth WA, you must know that the Family Law Act 1975 and Family Law Rules 2004 need people who are subjected to property settlement to make proper and frank disclosures of all liabilities, assets and financial resources wherever located.

This is to ensure that the other individual is aware of all assets in your name or in any joint names/value of those assets. Despite the location of the asset, it is important that both individuals have to disclose to the other items in which they have any kind of financial interest.

There will be consequences for being unable to disclose the needed information. Though this is a complex area of Australia’s family law, there have been cases that have helped set the foundation for the Family court to deal with international assets. It is seen that Australian courts have been known to have the power to create property settlement orders to manage assets located internationally in other countries.

Example of International Assets in Divorce Property Settlements

This is one of the unique concepts that lawyers have dealt with on behalf of their clients with property in another country. Before you hire Property Settlement Lawyers in Perth, You can consider the foreign country as C and the parties as A and B. A and B are said to be married in international country C and also divorced in that country.

But they soon moved to Australia at the end of their relationship and bought the property. They also established superannuation interests, and this is even after most of their wealth was in country C. In such a case, both parties settled their matters in country C and looked to seek an enforceable agreement in Australia in the exact terms as the agreement reached in country C.

The reason is only to ensure that both parties had a legally enforceable agreement in both the jurisdictions to ensure that both parties followed all the terms of the agreement. This is one of the ideal examples of international assets that you can find in case of divorce property settlements.

Property Settlement

Before you hire property settlement lawyers, know that if you have assets in Australia and other countries, you have to get advice in both jurisdictions. In Australia, you will be able to deal with international assets, and it is often recommended that clients seek advice from the best lawyers in the country where those assets are held.

The best law firms can also help source lawyers from other jurisdictions to help clients and work with other international lawyers. This will ensure that the client is confident that all orders are enforceable in both countries. If you have assets in Australia and other countries too, there are some considerations that you must make:

• Is there any foreign jurisdiction that can help determine the case?
• If the Family court or Federal court of Australia has any jurisdiction to decide the case
• Are there any benefits or drawbacks for the case to be heard in a jurisdiction outside of Australia?
• If you begin with sorting out your property settlement in Australia, can an Australian court order or Judgment be enforced in the other nation where the assets are being held?

Before you hire Perth family lawyers, it is important to know that there is a difference between superannuation in Australia and other countries. The best lawyers can help you know more about this.

Associate with Family Lawyers Perth WA

You can read the guide above to learn more about how overseas divorce affects Australian property settlements. Hire the best divorce lawyers Perth from Family Lawyers Perth WA to understand more about the process of applying for a divorce and also how overseas divorce can affect property settlements in Australia.