QLD Family Court - Not Declaring All Assets?

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nat 2015

Well-Known Member
8 February 2017
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5
419
Hi,

I have been offered $20k from my ex-partner.

Long story short:

We never married but we have been together for 22 yrs with 5 children. I worked for approx 10 of those years. My name isn't on the house we purchased back in 2000. I haven't paid anything to mortgage, but did provide for food, electricity and gas and bought furniture, etc, and the majority of things the children needed.

He has undervalued the house by $200k, undervalued 3 trucks by at least 90k and left of 6 cars, none of these bar one was in my name but they all have a lot of value to him. What I am annoyed at is the fact that he stated that I never had a job when I met him, and I never contributed financially and he did all the homemaking, etc.

I received this offer today via his lawyer requesting that I sign it, so they can lodge it as consent orders with the court. No orders for the children as yet have been finalised.

While in past posts I may have looked like I wasn't being reasonable with the children, I have just about done and agreed to almost 90% of what he has requested but he still refuses to sign anything when it comes to the kids.

I have applied for Legal Aid but got knocked back. I have a certificate for family court. I know from reading here that the process is long and draining. His lawyer also said that they previously asked me for my financials. I have gone back through my emails many many times and had family go back in case I missed something I never received anything about that. I am happy to but why do some people feel the need to BS...
 

SamanthaJay

Well-Known Member
4 July 2016
335
55
794
I'm pretty sure you know that it doesn't matter that your name is not on the title or vehicle registration.

I left the family home (sounds similar to yours - with many vehicles, trucks, collectible and farm vehicles/machinery/equipment, self employed with $1,000's of tools) with a car load of stuff that belonged to myself, my son and my mum. Very small mortgage, shares, lots of cash that I couldn't prove (he is in the building industry and is paid in cash a lot of the time).

I found a solicitor that would accept payment on settlement.

He started to sell assets as soon as he received the first solicitor letter. Some of it he received cash for but many things, especially with the higher values, were paid with direct deposit or bank cheque.

You need to get the ball rolling by instructing solicitors. I found mine through the Women's Legal Service here in Victoria. Look around for something similar in QLD. Or just start ringing around and ask them. I know other women that have also paid on settlement.

They will lodge a caveat on the property and request meaningful negotiations re a division of the property.
 

nat 2015

Well-Known Member
8 February 2017
162
5
419
I'm pretty sure you know that it doesn't matter that your name is not on the title or vehicle registration.

I left the family home (sounds similar to yours - with many vehicles, trucks, collectible and farm vehicles/machinery/equipment, self employed with $1,000's of tools) with a car load of stuff that belonged to myself, my son and my mum. Very small mortgage, shares, lots of cash that I couldn't prove (he is in the building industry and is paid in cash a lot of the time).

I found a solicitor that would accept payment on settlement.

He started to sell assets as soon as he received the first solicitor letter. Some of it he received cash for but many things, especially with the higher values, were paid with direct deposit or bank cheque.

You need to get the ball rolling by instructing solicitors. I found mine through the Women's Legal Service here in Victoria. Look around for something similar in QLD. OR just start ringing around and ask them. I know other women that have also paid on settlement.

They will lodge a caveat on the property and request meaningful negotiations re a division of the property.
Thank you for that. What about personal possessions that were given away to family members ? Is there anyway of getting those things back, it probably nothing to some but I had a massive box of sewing gear from my nan when she was young. It's sentimental to me.

I know when I left, all I left with was 6 bags for me, the kids and he has stated and keeps reminding me if I didn't leave I could have those things and he wouldn't have had to get rid of it. I feel like he's just dragging it out as next year after September the time is up for settlement.
 

AllForHer

Well-Known Member
23 July 2014
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A de facto relationship is going to be treated basically the same as a marriage when it was 22 years in length and you have five kids together, so the fact that your name isn't on any deeds of ownership and you didn't contribute as much financially isn't going to be terribly important in the overall scheme of of a property settlement.

As a guide, if you or your ex were to ask the Court to determine a property settlement, it would ask four questions:
1. What's the value of the shared asset pool?
2. What were the financial and non-financial contributions of each party?
3. What are the future needs of each party?
4. Is the settlement just and equitable?

It's common for parties in negotiations to start at 50/50 and work back from there by answering questions 2 to 4 above. As a matter of interest, the Court won't disadvantage a party who has stayed home to raise the kids and provide non-financial support to the family while the other party has worked to provide financial support to the family.

But in any case, no property settlement can be sealed by the Court unless both parties have received legal advice, so this is a very good time to speak to a lawyer and determine what your best course of action is.
 
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SamanthaJay

Well-Known Member
4 July 2016
335
55
794
Thank you for that what about personal possessions that were given away to family members ? Is there anyway of getting those things back, it probably nothing to some but I had a massive box of sewing gear from my nan when she was young, its sentimental to me.I know when I left all I left with was 6 bags for me the kids and he has stated and keeps reminding me if I didn't leave I could have those things and he wouldn't have had to get rid of it, I feel like his just dragging it out as next year after September the time is up for settlement.

Nat, with some personal belongings I had, I negotiated through the lawyer to get them back. He agreed then whereas he didn't before.

The other thing you can try is with the police. Is there a domestic violence unit at a local police station? They suggested to me that they would attend with me to pick up some things, and they called him first. He agreed. Problem is they negotiated this with him first, rather than asking me and at the time I was not in a sound frame of mind to be seeing him and being in his presence so I declined. The police tried to reason with me by saying he wasn't going to do anything while they were there but I lived with him for 30 years and I knew what he was like plus he had an unregistered gun on the property.

Good luck. I agree that it's important to hold on to some sentimental items. I've had to walk away from a huge part of my life (that money can never, ever replace) and getting those few things back made it that little bit easier.
 

AllForHer

Well-Known Member
23 July 2014
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684
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You don't have to reply to the lawyer at all, if you don't want, but it might be beneficial to do so since it may otherwise mean that you miss out on a property settlement all together since there is a time limit of two years after a de facto relationship ends for either party to file for property settlement with the Court. You could just reply and advise that you wish to seek legal advice before providing a proper response.

I think your other question was also about your entitlement even if your name isn't on the deed. Having been in a de facto relationship, you and he both have a legal interest in the property, which means it would be included in the shared asset pool, whether your name is on the deed or not.
 

Rod

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
27 May 2014
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www.hutchinsonlegal.com.au
A $200K difference in appraisal would be enough for me to engage a lawyer. Your ex has indicated he is not going to play fair so I'd get a lawyer who will drag him kicking and screaming to court and get a fair share.