QLD property settlement defacto inheritance remainderman

[meandthekids2019]

hi i just wanted some advice. i have lived in a defacto relationship for 10 years. 1 child together. i brought 250k from my property settlement to the relationship, he had no assests but 35k debt. i finacially supported him throughout times where he was unemployed and paid most of the bills etc. he inherited a property 1 year into the relationship that has a life tenant in it and my ex is the beneficiary remainderman. the life tenant can live in the property til they die. how do i go about asking for a share of that house. i have put all my money into the relationship and have nothing left now and ny ex got a compensation payout of 40k and left me and left me rent outstanding, bills to pay and didnt give me a cent. he won't pay any child support for our daughter and i been left raising her and supporting her on my own.

 

[Atticus]

i have lived in a defacto relationship for 10 years. 1 child together. i brought 250k from my property settlement to the relationship, he had no assests but 35k debt.

1) How long have you been separated?
2) Have you attempted mediation to reach some settlement?
3) Do you have real any real estate?

he won't pay any child support for our daughter and i been left raising her and supporting her on my own.

1) Do you have a child support assessment in place with CSA?
2) If yes above. Does he have an outstanding debt to CSA?

 

[meandthekids2019]

seperated for 10 months

csa assessment $0 due to him not declaring income

no debt with csa

i don't have any realestate
i sold my house when we met and all my proceeds of my house went into the relationship supporting the family and all the time he was unable to work due to his mental health.

we attempted mediation but relationships australia deemed it inappropriate due to his his mental health. he has bpd.

 

[Atticus]

No good news for you sorry....

Going to be very difficult given your circumstances....No real property to divide.... The $40K he has is from a comp payout so would be difficult to have included in an asset pool at the best of times ..... The property he will inherit when the life tenant dies will not be included in an asset pool because he will receive it post separation..... just going on the info you have provided here, I just can't see how anything could be gained by initiating a property settlement..

Only avenue you may have had is if he was accumulating a child support debt.... there is a legal mechanism that would allow you to chase that debt via a civil claim (as it's a debt owed to the commonwealth) then with a debt notice you *may* have been able to have a third party debt notice issued to for example, a real estate agent or broker holding money from the sale of the house if he did sell it, but that's a long shot, & he doesn't have a CS debt anyway...

Why is he assessed at $0 .... Doe's he have no paid employment? self employed? Cash in hand work only?

 

[meandthekids2019]

he has had 7 jobs this financial year and keeps loosing them so child support doesnt know about them as he never gets off centrelink.

i spoke to a lawyer trough the free legal advice service who said i would definatly be entitled to some of the house as he has been on the title of the house since 2014 and we seperated in 2019 and because i financially contributed so much into the relationship and to ask the courts for a order that i want a percentage or figure when the life tenant does within 3 months he has to pay me $xxx amount. i just didn't know how to word it all in the affidavit or how much to ask for as they can't give you advice on the amount i should seek.

 

[Atticus]

i spoke to a lawyer trough the free legal advice service who said i would definatly be entitled to some of the house as he has been on the title of the house since 2014

Bit of a grey area in your case though.....

Has he been receiving any rent from this place?
What is it's approximate value?
Does he intend to sell the property when the life tenant is gone do you know?

The problem you may well face is that although he may be named on the title, in affect he isn't nor has been receiving a benefit (maybe rent?) from that asset & has no control over it until such time as the life tenant passes away... Being an inheritance, these are often quarantined from division anyway.... Not many cases of an inheritance received post separation that is included in the pool for division

In the normal course of a property settlement, it would be considered a future asset/financial resource that he has that you do not, & as such an adjustment made in your favour to meet the just & equitable test, but in your case there doesn't seem to be any real property in the pool to divide & adjust...

 

[meandthekids2019]

its worth over a million and he will sell when the father dies and the dad is very old and wouldn't last longer than a 1 or 2 years. i do get what you mean...yeah he is on the title and doesnt get any benefit until his dad dies.

no there is no real property to divide as all my assest got used in the years we are living together.

it just sucks that i had so much when we met and its all gone and now i am left to be a single mum and support our child on my own financially as well as take care of her full time which makes it hard to earn a income too.

is it worth even trying to apply to court or do you think it will be a waste of time?

i have to apply for parenting orders anyway and was going to just do the application for both at the same time.

 

[meandthekids2019]

he hasnt been receiving rent

 

[Atticus]

its worth over a million and he will sell when the father dies and the dad is very old and wouldn't last longer than a 1 or 2 years.

Thanks... yes that is a substantial amount

is it worth even trying to apply to court or do you think it will be a waste of time?

i have to apply for parenting orders anyway and was going to just do the application for both at the same time.

Is it worth it? .... I think it is if you can do the application yourself... It would need to be an initiating application for property (separate from your parenting orders app, so another filing fee).. These are all downloadable from the courts website. You should be able to get some assistance from a community legal centre with the affidavit etc... The link below contains a booklet (click link on page) from legal aid that may help with procedural matters, some wording of orders sought etc (see appendixes at back)

How to run a family law case | Victoria Legal Aid

Filing an initiating application will at the least compell him to participate in mediation, case assessment conferences etc... As mediation services have not accepted you that may be a good way to get the conversation going, have court registrar input as well.... You would have the added case that he has not (& given his history) will not be financially supporting the kid/s via child support.... The filing fee in itself is only a few hundred dollars so not much to lose, & who knows, he may get an attack of morality & negotiate a figure (or do so to avoid it going further legally)

 

[meandthekids2019]

thanks so much for all your advice.

do you have any ideas what i orders i should ask for from the court. how ti word it?