At LAC Lawyers we practice extensively in the area of Family law and have vast experience advising on and drafting Binding Financial Agreements (BFA). We hope you find this article interesting and informative. Should you have any questions or wish us to assist you with your BFA contact us today.

In 2000, the Family Law Act was amended to introduce a new type of agreement called the Binding Financial Agreement.

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) requires that all financial agreements which seek to bind the parties and oust the jurisdiction of the courts comply with the following matters:

• the BFA must be signed by both parties;

• the BFA must contain, in relation to each party, a statement to the effect that the party to whom the statement relates has been provided, before the BFA was signed by him or her as certified in an annexure to the BFA, with independent legal advice from a legal practitioner as to the following matters:

• the effect of the BFA on the rights of both parties; and,

• the advantages and disadvantages of entering the BFA,

• the annexure to the BFA contains a certificate signed by the person providing the independent legal advice stating that the advice was provided; and

• the BFA has not been set aside by a court; and

• after the BFA is signed the original BFA is given to one of the parties and a copy is given to the other.

While the BFA alerts the courts to the intentions of the parties at the relevant time, if the circumstances have changed since entering into the Binding Financial Agreement, the parties would need to seek the assistance of a solicitor immediately as the BFA may no longer provide the legal protection the parties seek.

A change of circumstances will include marriage, the birth of children, either party entering an insolvency arrangement or bankruptcy, the acquisition of a vast income, inheritance or property which could not reasonably have been contemplated at the time the parties both enter the BFA and a change in circumstances of a third party related to the parties signing the BFA.