By Karina Hanson

If you are considering separating from your partner or spouse you will be wondering what the property settlement might look like. Having that information is vital to planning your future.

Newcastle Legal & Conveyancing has a new electronic tool available on its website that provides you with a personally tailored roadmap of what your property settlement might look like by answering a few easy questions.

Experienced family lawyers are generally able to estimate within about 5% of what a Court would likely find to be a “just and equitable” settlement if the matter proceeded to a trial. It is critical to have this information because if a settlement can be agreed between the parties, the legal costs of separation will be minimised.

A Court will take into account 4 primary factors in making its determination. First, it will require full disclosure of all assets and liabilities to establish what the asset pool actually is.

Second, it will consider the financial contributions of the parties to the asset pool. The length of the relationship matters. For example, if a relationship has been shorter than 5 years and there are no children or other special considerations, a Court will lean towards the parties being placed in the position they were in when they entered into the relationship. If it is a long-term relationship of more than 12 years and there are children, a Court will discount the importance of contributions of the parties at the time the relationship commenced.

Third, a Court will consider non-financial contributions of each party. Fourth, any special circumstances (such as health issues and anticipated future earnings) will be considered along with whether the proposed split is “fair and equitable” overall.

Use our online roadmap tool to determine what you can expect.