Do you and your partner have significantly different levels of wealth?
Are you wanting to protect your financial future and those you love?
Are you considering marriage, civil union or already in a defacto relationship?
Looking for separation advice instead?

Why Legal Advice Is Crucial

Model templates may seem simple but often miss key legal details. Poorly drafted agreements can lead to costly disputes. Legal advice ensures clarity, compliance, and protection.

Still on the fence

Here are some FAQs

: People can flat together without their relationship being deemed de facto in terms of this legislation.

However, if people who live together and share costs develop a sexual relationship, they may be classified as de facto.

Both their assets and their debts (possibly including student loans) would be shared equally if their relationship lasts three years or more. The only way to avoid that is for them to make a contracting-out agreement.
: Possibly.....but regardless anyone who is in a relationship now or who enters a new relationship should give the PRA careful thought. Particularly when there is a significant disparity in wealth or external financial factors. It may in fact be a relief to your partner to address the "elephant in the room", and make them feel more comfortable. Also it does not need to last forever - as your circumstances change you may wish to review the agreement in the future.
: The rules for dividing property when a relationship is of short duration (usually less than three years) are different for married and civil union couples from those for de facto couples. When a marriage or civil union of short duration ends through separation, property is generally divided on the basis of contributions to the marriage or civil union rather than shared equally where one spouse’s contribution has been clearly greater than the other’s.

If a marriage or civil union of short duration (even if very brief) is ended by death, it will be treated as a marriage or civil union of long duration. The surviving partner will have the same rights to an equal share of the relationship property, unless the court considers that would be unjust.

An order dividing property under the PRA cannot usually be made if a de facto relationship was of short duration. However, the relationship may be treated as one of three years or more and covered by the PRA where there is a child of the relationship or the applicant has made a substantial contribution to the relationship and the court is satisfied that failure to make the order would result in serious injustice.

In that case, the share would be determined according to the contribution each party had made to the relationship rather than equally.

For other de facto relationships of short duration – whether ended through separation or death – property is usually shared according to the equitable principles applying before the PRA came into force rather than 50/50. These principles take into account who has legal title to the property, each partner’s contributions to the property and the couple’s expectations as to how they should share their property.
: Property transferred to a trust during the relationship can be taken into account if it is considered that the transfer has the effect of defeating the sharing of relationship property (even if it was not intended to have that effect).

The property cannot be transferred back out of the trust but the court can order compensation by adjusting the share of relationship property, by payment from the other partner’s separate property or, if neither of those is sufficient, from trust income, if any.

Where a trust owes a debt to a partner that is an asset that may be classified as relationship property. So may any beneficial interest a partner has in a trust.

Compensation from relationship or separate property may also be ordered where relationship property was transferred during the relationship to a company in which one partner has a controlling interest and that transfer has the effect of defeating the other partner’s property rights.