News Laws  make common sense when dealing with de facto couples.

For years de facto couples who separated were treated very differently   married couples when dealing with property issues: entitlements differed to that of  their married counterparts e.g superannuation benefits could not be divided and women were usually far worse off than had they been married, as a partner who was primarily a parent and homemaker will now get a real consideration of future needs and responsibilities when the appropriate asset division is assessed.

 In addition de facto's were required to split their case by conducting sperate proceedings in different courts and under different jurisdictions when it came to property issues and childrens issues.

As from 1^st March 2009, in most states ( except in South Australia and Western Australia) the Family Law Court can now deal withy  with both parenting and financial matters arising from a relationship breakdown, whether the relationship was a marriage or de facto, and whether the relationship was same sex or heterosexual, provided the parties separated before March 1st , 2009. For prior separations , unless both parties agree, the State courts will still deal with the financial matters.

The law specifically provides that someone may be both married and in a de facto relationship, and also may be in more than one de facto relationship. If a court is trying to deal with the proper outcome in such a case, the other partner's rights and entitlements will have to be assessed, and so a case could involve several partners, not just two.

De facto claims must normally be made within two years of the end of the relationship, although a court can extend this if seen appropriate. To qualify to make a claim, the law requires either:-

• A total two year relationship, although that time does not have to be continuous,
• A child of the relationship,
• Where the claimant has made substantial contributions, and serious injustice would result if a claim was not allowed, or
• The relationship was registered where a local law provides for registration.

Prevention better than cure

Just as in a marriage, de facto couples can enter into binding financial agreements, before, during or after a relationship. There are formalities to be complied with, and there are some circumstances where an agreement can be set aside by a court, so expert advice is recommended.