QLD Property Settlement Affidavit

[Tamsin]

Hi Everyone
Im in the process of writing an affidavit for property settlement with my ex husband. We owned a house together and he has recently sold it without telling me, and claims he used the money to pay off a personal loan his parents had given him.

I have evidence that this loan is fraudulent and so have presented all that evidence in my affidavit and explained why I do not think it should be considered part of the matrimonial asset pool.

My question is, how much detail should I go into with his other debts? He has huge legal fee debts which he says are to be taken from the asset pool. I read online that these should be his sole responsibility. He also apparently borrowed $20k from his parents purely for living costs while he had a few weeks off work sick.

To me that is extravagance and I think it should be his responsibility and not shared with me. Should I put in my affidavit that I do not think these debts should be taken from the asset pool or just list them all and let the judge make up his own mind without giving my opinion?

Thanks!

 

[Tracy B]

Hi Tamsin,

Have a read of "property settlement after separation" to understand what counts toward the asset pool and what doesn't. The basic rule of thumb is that it goes into the asset pool except in limited cases. Your husband's legal debts can go in the asset pool, but if you are applying for a property order, the judge will look at the nature of each expense and determine whether it contributes to the pool or not.

An affidavit is a place to list out your facts, and refer to what evidence supports your facts. An affidavit is not the place to make any arguments or ask the court to rule one way or another. This is left for oral or verbal submissions. Another way to think of it is, affidavits form the evidence, but do no draw conclusions from the evidence. It should not contain your personal opinion on the matter, but even if you do give your personal opinion, the judge will likely disregard this as this judge will make a decision based on the facts before it (and the law) rather than based on the views of the parties.

If you have evidence that a loan is fraudulent, you can assert this in your submissions. You need to include comprehensive evidence of this in your affidavit. Basically, any argument you make in court will need to be supported by evidence from your affidavit (and supporting documentation).