Binding Financial Agreement is a financial agreement married or de facto couple can sign as a precautionary plan to safeguard their interests incase they separate and divorce.

1. Binding Financial Agreement in Family Law in Australia
Binding Financial Agreement is an agreement between already married or to-be married or de facto
couples; which is prepared either before, during or after the relationship / separation.
Binding financial agreements help in settling property disputes between the de facto or marriage
relationships. It can be made between same sex couple in de facto relationship too.
These below mentioned agreements fall under Binding Financial Agreement:
 Prenuptial Agreement
 Postnuptial Agreement
 Cohabitation Agreement
 Separation Agreement
 And Divorce Agreement
The BFA contains terms of division of assets and debts between the partners in case of separation and
divorce.
Both the partners must be advised by their family lawyers about the intention and implications of
entering a binding financial agreement. After thorough understanding and accepting, both the partners
should sign the agreement. Once it is agreed and signed, the couple cannot seek judicial help in property
settlement in future.
However, in some stray cases, the court does consider reviewing such binding financial agreements
made between the partners if it feels the agreement is not done on just and equitable grounds and in
cases wherein,
 a partner doubts being deceived
 the agreement overthrows the creditor’s welfare
 any one partner is in distressful situation because of the agreement

2.  there are drastic changes in life situations after entering agreement
 provision for superannuation split, made in the agreement, is unlawful
The financial agreement should be appended along with the statement of the legal advisors that their
advice was sought by the partners before entering agreement.
Spousal maintenance, child support amount and any foreseeable expenses also get mentioned in the
financial agreement.
The binding financial agreement can be terminated. This is what the couple should do if they wish to
terminate the financial agreement and draft a new one:
 Prepare a new financial agreement that has a provision of terminating the old one.
 Sign a document in writing that the existing financial agreement stands terminated.
Again, both the spouses or partners should get independent legal advice from their family lawyers
before terminating the old agreement and entering a new one.
Legal status of the agreement:
The financial agreement is overseen by Family Law Act 1975 which has set regulations as to how and
when a binding financial agreement can be entered. This agreement is not a court order. If consent
orders are obtained by the court for enforcing the financial agreement, it becomes legally enforceable.

3. The couple should take care of some pointers while entering a binding financial agreement before
marriage or a relationship because it’s not just a formality, as many consider it to be. It has legal
consequences in case of separation.
 Both should get independent advice from the legal advisors and clearly understand their rights
and liabilities in case of property sharing.
 Both the parties should give ample time and thought to the agreement.
 One must check the agreement carefully for any omissions or faults in mentioning facts and
figures.
Visit http://familylawyersinmelbourne.com/ to get more details on Australian family laws.