Short-Term Marriage? Know Your Rights
The courts have a specific way of dealing with property and assets when a marriage breaks down. A marriage breakdown can be devastating for everyone involved, no matter how long it lasted. But when it comes to short-term marriages, the courts take a particular view. Know your rights and what factors may be on your side when negotiating out of a short-term marriage.
Considerations courts take into account
Firstly, the courts want to make sure that you are certain about your decision to dissolve the marriage, and have tried everything possible during the relationship to make it work.
Secondly, courts are conscious of the fact that contributions made by the parties in a short-term marriage might be vastly different to contributions made in a long-term marriage.
In fact, an Australian study in 2000 found that length of marriage directly impacted asset wealth after divorce. In 2000, the median value of assets in marriages that were less than five-years-old was $55,980, compared to $182,474 for assets in marriages that lasted over 15 years.
For this reason, courts have a more conservative – albeit rebuttable – view when it comes to property and asset distribution after a relationship has broken down.
What is a short-term marriage?
A short-term marriage is one that is less than two-years-old. The length of time is calculated from the date of the marriage to the date of applying to the court for a divorce. It includes the 12-month separation period that is generally required for all couples seeking to divorce.
Getting out of a short-term marriage
If you’re ending a short-term marriage, both you and your spouse will need to attend counselling before you can apply for a divorce.
The purpose of this counselling process is to investigate the prospects of reconciliation. Perhaps you have a conflict that can be reasonably resolved with third party unbiased intervention – or perhaps it’s something more complex.
Counselling also affords you and your partner the chance to evaluate the relationship and find out why you made the decision to get married in the first place. Sometimes a bit of communication and perspective can go a long way towards healing wounded emotions.
If however your marriage is well and truly over, you’ll get a document known as a counselling certificate, which will be signed by a family counsellor. As it’s a short-term marriage, you’ll need to attach this document to your application for divorce.
You can pick up copy of the counselling certificate from any family court registry office or download it online. Essentially, the certificate states that the spouse has considered reconciliation with the assistance of a specified person, being a family counsellor or other nominee.
What if joint counselling isn’t feasible?
There are times, however, when joint counselling is not practical. Or perhaps it’s too dangerous to be advisable.
For example, an existing AVO, a history of domestic violence, an estranged spouse who cannot be located, or an uncooperative spouse, are all situations that may give rise to applying for divorce without a counselling certificate.
While it’s a legal requirement that short-term marriage partners seek counselling before divorce, there’s no specific list of exceptions to the rule.
That’s where we can help. We can advise you of the best way to present your application and what supporting documents you should include, to ensure your application is dealt with as swiftly as possible, with as little stress as possible.
Who will get what?
With longer length marriages, there’s a general rule that property gets divided equally. This rule can then be rebutted by the parties to determine the final percentage of who gets what.
With short-term marriages, however, it’s a different ball game. Basically, the court applies special rules based on the contributions that the parties made to the marriage.
What does this mean? In simple terms, don’t expect you’re automatically entitled to get half of everything.
Effectively, your legal rights will be determined by the ordinary rules of property ownership – unless special circumstances can prove otherwise.
If you helped pay the mortgage, co-purchased the home, raised children, and paid bills and living costs for example – then your position might be a little stronger.
This is where a family lawyer can really help you to maximise your contributions to ensure that you achieve a satisfactory outcome, so you can move on with your life.
Contact us today to find out more.