De Facto Help!!

My wife charges me for staying over and I pay BIG time .

 

I thought it was more that they couldn't claim defacto?

For example, if John Smith accumulated a portfolio valued at $1m and he met a nice girl at a bar and they hit it off, if they were simply boyfriend + girlfriend, each had their own separate residence and he may sleep over at hers / she sleep over at his from time to time, they couldn't be deemed as "defacto", therefore his assets were still his assets.

 

They could still be defacto even if not living together. I think I linked to the definition under the family law act above somewhere, but here it is just in case:
FAMILY LAW ACT 1975 - SECT 4AA De facto relationships

see particulary ss 2
Working out if persons have a relationship as a couple

(2) Those circumstances may include any or all of the following:

(a) the duration of the relationship;

(b) the nature and extent of their common residence;

(c) whether a sexual relationship exists;

(d) the degree of financial dependence or interdependence, and any arrangements for financial support, between them;

(e) the ownership, use and acquisition of their property;

(f) the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life;

(g) whether the relationship is or was registered under a prescribed law of a State or Territory as a prescribed kind of relationship;

(h) the care and support of children;

(i) the reputation and public aspects of the relationship.

 

Harsh! Looks like my girlfriend (now wife) could have taken half my property if we broke up.

Lucky i married her then (and I've put an investment her name - not for the reasons you stated in this thread, but for land tax reasons (a reason you stated in another thread) )

 

Its not automatic - she could have possibly made a claim. She may or may not have received half, or anything.

 

I always wondered why so many young lawyers visited brothels. Now I think I know ...

 

Reminds me of a case involving a wealthy man and a mistress who was on the payroll.

 

Did he had to deal with two property division applications at the same time?

I've got a 'mistress' property matter right now actually.

 

Quoting Charlie Sheen
"I don't pay them for sex, I pay them to leave.

http://freakonomics.com/2009/02/06/i-pay-them-to-leave/

 

That's the sort of advice you need from a lawyer!

 

Please elaborate (without identifying details).

I know QLD rules were changed so a 'mistress' could have the same, or similar claims to the loot.

We all know ex's get 50%. So with two mistresses does that mean the guy ends up with negative 50%?

 

I thought it was because they lacked the social skills to pull at the pub

 

I am going to try that line of defence on the wife next time I am caught ... .

 

Family law changed in around 2008 so you could be in a de facto relationship at the same time as another de facto relationship or marriage. So colloquially named the "mistress" laws at the time.

Ex's don't get 50% at all - silly urban myth that needs to be quashed. Short version is that the normal property factors get taken into account, with just an extra party having their own equitable interest in the property as well.

 

This one was a deceased estate - family provision application.

 

I've got to sort out my BFA at the moment asap, had it on my must do list before I bought my house a couple of weeks back then ran out of time with all the other must dos. Fortunately my defacto and I had a big email trail back and forth in the lead up negotiating everything that would go in so should be really straight forward. Not very romantic I know, but that's what you get for shacking up with a banker.

We've been defacto about 18 months but every cent of the deposit is mine, property in my name, he pays 1/3 of the median suburbs rent (irrelevant in the scheme of the mortgage but fair on his low income, since my house was rented for well over median) and a 1/3 share of the bills excluding things like council rates that a landlord would pay.

As much as any relationship feels like forever I've seen what vindictive pricks people can turn into in a break up, it feels good to have it all spelled out clear as day in writing with their pre-agreement that it is fair and equitable so they cant turn around and argue they thought they were paying mortgage and the deposit was a gift bla bla. My friends were horrified you'd ask your partner to do that but hey, that's what you get for shacking up with a banker.

Worst case I've seen is a close friend just got screwed over by his own mother who decided the share of the deposit she gifted him 10 years ago was actually an investment and he just had to sell his house and give her 75% of the proceeds, after he spent years renovating it at his own expense to increase value.

If anyone can suggest any cost effective family lawyers in Sydney to do my side I'd be keen to know, the cost was putting me off due to lots of home repairs and things but seeing this thread was a reminder I really need to do it.

 

ive heard of diputes about money by siblings, aunties, uncles, cousins etc,

but not by your own mother,

I wouldnt know what to do if my mother did that to us!

 

How did a 'share of the deposit' (and from the sounds of it, no help with mortgage payments) translate to 75 % of the proceeds?

Even if it was an investment, that sounds odd....

It may be helpful for other PCers to learn from this situation.

 

Yes its been going through court for over 5 years and I never thought she'd ever win but lo and behold she did. Still gobsmacked as he's appealed multiple times and now the judgement is final so his house just went on the market.
Never had the misfortune to meet her but heard all the stories and sounds like she has a serious mental disorder/straight out psychopath. She's fleeced all her children in similarly bizarre ways, none of who speak to her anymore, took both ex husbands to the cleaners literally burying all her money and shifting assets to friends around crying poor. I know my friend had security cameras set up because he was worried about her burning down the house in the middle of the night, his own mother.. its pretty nuts. I'm pretty sure ATO will do her in soon.

In short she gave him 75% of the deposit saying it was a gift when he was young to help him buy into a nicer area than he was planning. He's paid mortgage for around 10 years and done all the renovations which look amazing. Being Sydney metro it's increased in value dramatically.

From what I gather judge ruled that she had invested 75% in the property and was entitled to 75% of the gain, as for him paying the mortgage it roughly equated to interest only as he did a redraw to fund living expenses after a near fatal accident. Being interest only it was viewed that he had the benefit of living there for that time. Nil consideration to the improvements.

It's an odd situation because 50% of him wants a really good auction result so he's got enough deposit to start again, but the other half doesn't want it because then his mum will benefit.

I don't think there's much to learn here for other people as far as family contracts are involved (since there can't be more than one hateful mum in the country) but definitely i'd be getting anything non family in a proper written agreement. Eg maybe if partners parents donated some of the deposit etc, that could get ugly in a divorce.