Pre-nups, more formally called Binding Financial Agreements (“BFAs”) or sometimes called FBAs, are legal documents in Australia made under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) which are designed to exclude the operation of some or all of the family law. That is, you and your partner can choose to enter into a contract that says that you will not apply the regular family law processes to particular assets in a separation.
What is maybe under-appreciated is that this means that pre-nups can be used not just as a blanket exclusion, but can be designed just to protect particular assets – so if there is an inheritance you want protected, or a house you worked hard to achieve at a young age, or you have a particular company or corporate structure you want to protect, that asset can be hived off from the rest of your assets. You can also enter into a more comprehensive type of document.
This means that pre-nups are not one-size-fits-all, and they should be tailored to your particular circumstances, whether as an indication of trust in the early stages of a relationship, or if they are protecting inherited or family wealth from claims. As part of a modern and pragmatic financial arrangement, they form part of the toolkit of protection you can use to lower risk of unfortunate disputes occurring in the future.
Contact our best family lawyers in Melbourne at Nevett Ford today on 03 9614 7111 or melbourne@nevettford.com.au to discuss what a pre-nup might look like for you or your partner, or to get some information from our prenup agreement lawyer about the process involved.