QLD Registered Relationship - Will I be liable for his debts?

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ShelleyBean

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22 January 2019
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I would like some advice regarding my Civil Partnership, please. This was registered in 2015, in QLD, as a Registered Relationship. I now want to end the Registered Relationship, and have contacted the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in QLD. They advised me that I need to send my application form to them, with certified documents, as well as send a copy of the application to my ex-partner.

However, I am currently in the UK, caring for a sick relative and we don't have a free Justice of the Peace service here. It will cost a small fortune to have the required documents certified in the UK. I will be returning to Australia late this year and could apply to have the relationship dissolved then. But I worry about the legal implications of a Registered Relationship. If my ex-partner were to (for example) commit a crime, get into debt, be blacklisted by a company etc. - how would this impact on me? Would I be liable for unpaid debts, or have my name blacklisted, too? Would it affect me in any way?

In short, is it more advisable to pay the extortionate fees of a UK Notary, or wait until I return to Australia? Thanks for any advice with this.
 

Rod

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Does the ex have access to any of your accounts?
 

ShelleyBean

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22 January 2019
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Does the ex have access to any of your accounts?
No. We have a joint bank account (with no money in), which I am requesting to close today. We also both have everyday accounts with that same bank. I don't suppose there's any way my ex can get to my everyday/savings accounts, but if he owes debts to the Gov't, I wonder if THEY could take it from my accounts, due to me being his Civil Partner?
 

Rod

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Sexually transmitted debt generally only happens when you go guarantor or have joint credit cards.

If you are not guarantor and have no joint credit facilities you will normally be OK.
 
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ShelleyBean

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22 January 2019
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Sexually transmitted debt generally only happens when you go guarantor or have joint credit cards.

If you are not guarantor and have no joint credit facilities you will normally be OK.
No, I was never that trusting :D
 

Tim W

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Maybe contact NSW House in London.
Ask if they have NSW JPs (and/or comparable people) who can certify the documents for Australian purposes.
 
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ShelleyBean

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22 January 2019
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Maybe contact NSW House in London.
Ask if they have NSW JPs (and/or comparable people) who can certify the documents for Australian purposes.
Thanks Tim. But a trip to London (even to have the papers signed for free) would cost more than having them signed locally by a Notary.
 

Tim W

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It will cost a small fortune...
Thanks Tim. But a trip to London (even to have the papers signed for free) would cost more than having them signed locally by a Notary.
Before putting any money down, it may be prudent to be sure that an overseas Notary is acceptable to the Queensland BDM.
 
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Rob Legat - SBPL

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According to the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, acceptable witnesses for certification of documents outside Australia are:
- A Notary Public
- Australian Embassy officer
- Australian Consulate officer
 
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ShelleyBean

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22 January 2019
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Before putting any money down, it may be prudent to be sure that an overseas Notary is acceptable to the Queensland BDM.
Thanks Tim. It was the paperwork that the AU Government sent to me that stipulated the need of a Notary Public. Exactly as Rob Legat has confirmed.