PROPERTY (RELATIONSHIPS) ACT 1976
It is a fact of modern life that relationships, whether marriage or de facto, may end and new ones begin. At the beginning of a relationship it is difficult to imagine that the relationship might end, but there can still be a desire to reach an agreement as to what will happen to assets owned individually or collectively in the event of a breakdown in the relationship, one party dies, particularly where assets have been acquired prior to the relationship.
Many couples face the reality of this situation and take the practical step of entering into an agreement under the Property (Relationships) Act “PRA”.
The PRA presumes that each party has contributed equally to the relationship, even though that may be in different ways, and when the relationship ends, the presumption is that all relationship property should be divided equally between the parties. The only way to avoid this result is to enter into a contracting out agreement in which the party’s make their own rules as to how their property should be divided between them should they separate or one of them dies.
We can advise you further about the implications of the PRA and assist you in the preparation of a contracting out agreement.