Family Law and Financial Agreements

What is a Binding Financial Agreement?

A Binding Financial Agreement or BFA is an agreement between 2 parties, who are either in an existing relationship or a relationship which has come to an end, where the parties record how they would like to arrange for the splitting of Financial Assets in the event of a breakdown of the relationship.

The BFA may include provisions relating to spousal maintenance, the splitting of superannuation, and other assets that the parties may own either in their own right or in joint names.

The main reason parties enter into a BFA are the following:

1) They feel capable of coming to common ground on how they both wish to address the split of assets in the event of a separation;
2) They want to stay in control of the process of splitting assets;
3) They wish to avoid the high cost of legal proceedings in using 3rd parties advocate on how to split assets;
4) They are in agreement and want to transfer property without incurring stamp duties;
5) They want to ensure finalisation of any ongoing financial obligation in relation to another party after separation;
6) They feel fully educated and secure that the agreed split is fair and equitable;

A BFA will not and should not be used, where:

1) There is no agreement on the split of assets;
2) You are unsure of your legal rights in relation to a split of assets;
3) There is an unequal bargaining power in negotiating a split of assets
4) The BFA is being used to transfer assets to avoid possible creditors;
5) You do not have clarity of the total assets held by the parties.

I have been acting as a lawyer in the area of advising parties on BFA’s for over 7 years, having advised and supported hundreds of clients in ensuring a smooth and equitable agreement in what is often an extremely stressful period of their lives.

Should you have any initial questions, please contact us direct for a no obligation consultation.