Property settlement:
protecting what you've built.

How is property actually divided?

Through a four-step process: identify the pool, assess contributions, weigh future needs, and check the result is just and equitable. The pool includes everything — the house, savings, superannuation, businesses, vehicles, and debts — regardless of whose name they're in. Contributions cover both financial (income, deposits, inheritances) and non-financial (homemaking, parenting, renovations you did yourself). Future needs adjust for income capacity, health, age, and who cares for the children. Each step is argued. That's exactly why representation matters.

I earned most of the money. Doesn't that count?

It counts — alongside everything else. The law treats homemaking and parenting as real contributions, so a father who was the sole earner won't simply receive everything he paid for. Financial contributions are weighed seriously — particularly assets you brought into the relationship, inheritances, and post-separation earnings. Fathers lose cases unnecessarily when contributions were never properly documented. We document your contributions thoroughly — including the non-financial ones fathers routinely undersell: the renovation, the school runs, the years of weekend parenting.

What about my superannuation and my business?

Both are part of the pool — and both reward careful handling. Super can be split without being cashed out. That opens up trades: many fathers keep the family home or business by conceding more super, or vice versa, depending on age and goals. A business needs a sensible valuation — overstated valuations are one of the most common ways fathers get squeezed, and we know how to challenge them. The right structure here is the difference between a settlement you recover from and one you don't.

How long do I have?

Twelve months from a divorce becoming final, or two years from the end of a de facto relationship. Miss the deadline and you need the court's permission to apply at all — which isn't guaranteed. Just as dangerous is informal drift. "She kept the house, I kept my super" arrangements that were never formalised can be reopened years later — often when the other party re-partners or asset values shift. A settlement isn't finished until it's in consent orders or a binding financial agreement — until then, you're exposed.