If you don’t think this applies to you – think again. What if you’re wrong? The cost could be enormous.
You might believe you’re going to be single forever. But plenty of people who thought that are now in relationship. You may be happily married, in a de facto or civil union relationship that will last forever. But it might not be your relationship you have to worry about. It might be your children’s relationships that put your assets at risk.
This is something everyone needs eyes wide open about, even more so for a business owner. If ignored, you run the risk of losing a fair chunk of your assets. Assets you’ve spent many years (not to mention lots of hard work) building up. You need to be very clear on the repercussions of doing nothing.
From The Day A Relationship Gets Serious, The Clock Is Ticking
What‘s “serious”? This doesn’t seem to be particularly “black and white” as far as the law goes. But if you’re living together, it’s fair to assume it will be the date you started co-habitating. It may even be earlier than that.
So let’s go back to that clock … the one that starting ticking after your relationship got serious. This clock will tick away for 3 years and then stop. After that it’s too late. You will have lost your chance to secure your wealth and your assets. You will never get that chance back.
Tackling A Tough Subject
It’s not an easy subject to tackle. It’s uncomfortable and emotive. Generally people avoid it like the plague. Who wants to sort out a legal agreement on how to deal with the break-up of a relationship that’s just starting? (Either their own or their children’s).
But the numbers don’t lie – one third of relationships don’t last forever. Let’s say for a minute, that your relationship ends up in that one third. Without a property relationship agreement the parting of the ways could be very messy and very costly. Do you want to add financial ruin to the emotional pain of a break-up?
How are you going to broach the subject of a property relationship agreement? It can be daunting. The longer you wait the harder it will become. But if your relationship can’t survive this, how will it cope with the more difficult tests in the years ahead? And let’s face it, life has a habit of throwing curve balls at us from time to time.
You can of course choose not to tackle this issue. But you’d better be clear on all the possible ramifications further down the track. But whatever you decide, make it a conscious decision. Not one that’s made for you by default 3 years down the track.
What If It’s Your Son’s Or Daughter’s Relationship?
Maybe it’s your son’s or daughter’s relationship you’re worrying about. How many of your hard-earned assets could walk out the door with their ex-partner? You want to avoid this at all costs. Now’s the time to get things sorted so this doesn’t happen to you or your business.
One Way To Handle It
No one relishes the thought of dealing with this touchy subject. It’s emotionally charged, disruptive and often fraught with hidden challenges.
Having an unbiased third party can take the heat out of it. You can, in effect, reach agreement by mediation well before you need to involve a solicitor. This can be a smart move – and one that might save your emotional well-being. It might also save your financial well-being.