Financial Agreements (including Pre Nuptial agreements) for Couples who are married (or intend to marry)

Publish Date 03 September 2004

The Family Law Act was amended in 2000, to enable willing parties to make a binding legal agreement about financial arrangements in case of marriage breakdown. These agreements are sometimes referred to as Pre Nuptial Agreements but the proper legal term is financial agreements.

You can make a financial agreement before, during or after a marriage. These agreements can cover:

• financial settlement (including superannuation entitlements) after the marriage
• financial support (maintenance) of one spouse by the other after the marriage
• any incidental issues

For a financial agreement to be legally binding, you must both have

• signed the agreement, and
• received independent legal advice before signing.

The Court can declare the agreement invalid if these conditions are not met or if fraud is involved.

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