Maintenance for De Facto Couples
De Facto Couples that Separate after 1 March 2009
As of 1 March 2009, maintenance matters for de facto couples in all states and territories, except South Australia and Western Australia, will be dealt with under the
Family Law Act 1975. This means that de facto couples now largely have the same maintenance rights and remedies enjoyed by married couples and that any disputes will be dealt with by the Family Law Courts.
If a party to a de facto relationship is unable to financially support himself or herself adequately after separation, that party may be entitled to receive maintenance.
In considering a maintenance application, the Court takes into account such matters as the age of the parties, their health, their obligation to support any other person and their standard of living before separation.
Normally maintenance claims are dealt with at the time of property settlement. A party can however make a maintenance application on an urgent, interim or final basis separately from a property settlement application.
Maintenance orders are usually made for a limited period, however the Court will take into account the age or disability of a party in considering the timeframe for the order.
De Facto Couples that Separated before 1 March 2009
De facto couples that separated before 1 March 2009 will not be able to deal with their matters under the
Family Law Act 1975 unless both parties agree that this should be the case. In the absence of agreement, the
Property (Relationships) Act 1984 will deal with financial matters. Under the
Property (Relationships) Act 1984, a party to a de facto relationship can apply for maintenance in limited circumstances and for limited periods where the person is unable to support themselves adequately by reason of:
- having the care and control of a child (under 12 years old) of the parties; and/or
- that person's earning capacity has been adversely affected by the circumstances of the relationship and the maintenance would increase the party's earning capacity and is otherwise reasonable.
Please contact us to obtain detailed advice regarding maintenance.
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