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De Facto Property
Traditionally the law applicable to de facto relationships has been very different to the law applicable to marital relationships. Much of that has changed in Victoria since the commencement of federal de facto legislation in March of 2009.
There are now effectively three different sets of laws applying to de facto relationships and accordingly this is a very complicated area in which experienced legal advice will almost always be required.
For couples who separated prior to 1st March 2009, their rights and obligations will by and large be governed by the Victorian Relationships Act. Under the Victorian legislation the Court must consider how the assets of the relationship were acquired and each party's contributions to those assets. Any dispute in relation to the break up of those assets will be determined in the Victorian County Court or Supreme Court.
Where couples separated after 1 March 2009, their rights and obligations will be governed by the new federal laws which similarly require the Court to consider the parties' financial and other contributions as well as the parties' current and future needs (and in particular any needs in caring for the children of the relationship). If the matter cannot be resolved by negotiations the Family Court now has jurisdiction to resolve any such disputes.
The precise definition of a de facto relationship is complicated but generally a de facto relationship exists when parties have lived together for no less then two years (unless there is a child of the relationship).
We reiterate that the law on de facto relationships is a complicated law and that you should seek at least initial advice before trying to resolve any de facto property dispute.