In an ideal world, parties who see their relationship/marriage ending would voluntarily exchange all the relevant financial information required under the law. This would facilitate the negotiation of both support and property division and an agreement could be quickly drafted. Sadly, this is not yet the norm in family law disputes.
Both the Family Law Rules and Judges have repeatedly stated that parties have an obligation to make full and fair disclosure, even if a particular item is not requested. Without disclosure, it becomes quite a challenge to even start talking about a resolution to financial matters arising from relationship/marriage breakdown.
The Courts are becoming increasingly annoyed by parties who refuse to provide the required relevant disclosure. So it is important to remember that more information is better. If you choose to make the tragic mistake of refusing to provide the information to your former spouse, the courts can force you to do so by way of court order. If you ignore a court order to do so, the courts could strike your pleadings and order costs against you. This means, that your ex can now proceed without you having any say whatsoever in the outcome.
Failing to provide financial disclosure is nothing but an exercise in wasting time and money (not just your ex’s but yours as well). While a non-lawyer may have difficulty in deciding what is and is not relevant to resolving the financial issues in a marriage/relationship breakdown, we at Galbraith Family Law are happy to help you.
Written by Anna Preston. Family law lawyer at Galbraith Family Law. To see Anna’s bio click here. If you wish to book a consultation with Anna please go to our website.