Time limits in Family Law
The Family Court is for families whether it be separated couples or parents who have children together. In the Family Court, there is no time limit to commence parenting proceedings so long as your child is under the age of 18 years. This is not quite the same for property settlement proceedings.
When you have come out of a de facto relationship, the time limit to commence Family Court proceedings for property settlement after separation is 2 years from the date of separation. The property settlement after separation time limit for de facto couples is therefore 2 years.
When you have come out of a marriage, the time limit to commence Family Court proceedings for property settlement after separation is 1 year from the date your divorce order becomes final. The property settlement after separation time limit for married couples is therefore 1 year from divorce order.
It might seem like the de facto time limit is longer than for marriages but it’s not. This is because to get a divorce order in Australia, you need to be separated for at least 12 months.
Am I too late to apply for property settlement after separation?
If you and your ex have reached an agreement after separating about who gets what, it is possible that you are out of time to apply to the Family Court. This is particularly so if you have separated for more than 2 years since the end of your de facto relationship or if your divorce order was granted more than a year ago.
If you believe that you are too late to apply for orders for property settlement after separation time limit, you should seek legal advice.
The help of a specialised family lawyer will clarify whether or not you fall within a few limited exceptions to be able to apply for property settlement after time limit expires.
The process to obtain property settlement after separation time limit
The first step is to get specialised legal advice from a lawyer who practices in family law. Lawyers will be able to gather sufficient information from you to work out whether or not you will be able to apply to the Family Court for property settlement out of time.
Separated couples who are not out of time can apply to the Family Court for property settlement orders using the do-it-yourself application for consent orders. Legal Aspirations has provided consent order templates to help you out and our website offers an online guide on how to properly complete the application for consent orders. Consent order samples and consent order examples can all be purchased from our Cart.
Separated couples who are or may be out of time to apply to the Family Court for property settlement orders will require a separate order from the Family Court to proceed “out of time”. This is not an order that is made by consent but is an order that the Family Court will make if appropriate in the circumstances and on request of one or both parties.
It is important to understand that the Family Court is not a “rubber stamp” to agreements. Therefore, even if separated couples agree to make an application for consent orders out of time or once the property settlement after separation time limit has expired, this does not mean that the Family Court is obliged to approve the agreement. The Family Court will determine whether or not to approve an application made out of time based on the information it receives.
An early self-assessment as to whether or not you are out of time to apply to the Family Court for property settlement is crucial to understand what your options are moving forward.
The consent order templates provided by Legal Aspirations via our DIY Minute of Consent Orders is:
- useful for couples who have separated and reached agreement about the division of their assets.
- also useful for people in the Family Court who want to know what orders look like and to help them define the type of orders they are wanting to ask the court to make.
- intended for separated couple who have reached agreement about property settlement but can also be used to help anyone in the Family Court or who is contemplating applying to the Family Court to frame the orders they want.
Family Law is largely uniform across Australia and the time limitations for both de facto couples and married couples is the same. If you are faced with a situation where property settlement after time limit has lapsed, it is important that you get legal advise as soon as possible. Legal Aspirations provides guidance on how to complete a do-it-yourself consent order application in family law. We do not provide legal advice. Specialist family lawyers are best placed to guide you on your rights and the way forward when property settlement after separation time limit is a live factor.
For people who are not faced with property settlement after separation time limit issues, many options are available to them to finalise their agreement. The option that attracts transfer duty concessions and the enforceability of a court order is the Family Court application for consent orders. Consent order templates, consent order samples and consent order examples are terms used interchangeably to mean the same thing. Legal Aspirations provides various examples of consent orders which have been used and approved in multiple Family Courts across Australia. Our family law templates and consent orders examples were created by Australian lawyers specialising in family law.
It is not necessarily “too late” to apply to the Family Court if you believe you are out of time because the property settlement after separation time limit has passed. Legal Aspirations can recommend you to a specialist family lawyer in your State or Territory.
For more information, we welcome you to contact us at support@legalaspirations.com.au