Asset Protection Strategies

Asset Protection Strategies

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In our increasingly modern and globalised society, we now have more de facto relationships and blended families than ever before. However, if you’re in one of these relationships, you may have concerns about how you can protect your assets and inheritances if the relationship breaks down.

Here, we’ve put together all the information you need to know about how to protect your assets in Australia, in case the worst should happen.

Asset protection strategies

If you’re thinking about asset protection in Australia, then it’s important that you speak to a lawyer about the various asset protection strategies and how they apply to you.

This is because each asset protection strategy suits a different purpose, and you’ll need to speak to an expert about your situation to know which is best suited to your needs. Depending on your scenario, your lawyer may suggest something like a:

  • Family trust;
  • A superannuation fund;
  • A will; and/or
  • A (Binding) Financial Agreement.

After examining your situation carefully, your lawyer will talk you through the pros and cons of each structure and will advise which suits your situation the best.

How to protect yourself financially in a separation or a divorce in Australia

If you and your partner are taking a significant financial step together, then you may have questions about what happens to your property or assets if the relationship subsequently breaks down.

If you’re concerned about how you can transfer your wealth to the next generation without losing it to someone outside of the family group, then you also need to be aware of the ever growing ‘reach’ of the Family Court and its potential to interfere with your family wealth and businesses succession planning.

Many people opt for a family trust structure to protect or hold their family wealth. However, the assets held within a trust are not necessarily beyond the reach of the courts if a marriage breaks down.

Due to this, if you and your partner are planning on moving in together or are making a significant financial commitment, you should obtain legal advice about protecting yours and your partner’s interests in these assets via a Binding Financial Agreement.

A Binding Financial Agreement is particularly useful for parties who wish to achieve asset protection in the event of a relationship breakdown by quarantining the assets they are bringing into a relationship, protecting existing or growing family assets, quarantining an inheritance or gifts made to them prior to or during the relationship, and protecting any assets they acquire via their own income or exertion during the relationship.

Read more about Binding Financial Agreements.

Contact us today to learn more about asset protection

At Damien Greer Lawyers, we have a great deal of experience in providing asset protection advice to clients by way of Binding Financial Agreements. We also work with estate lawyers and commercial lawyers to provide a holistic approach to asset protection.

Whether you’re looking for a prenuptial agreement (before you marry), a cohabitation agreement (while you’re married) or a separation agreement (before or after a divorce), we can help you achieve an agreement that suits your needs.

Wendy Miller

We are strategic and results based and understand our client’s needs during challenging times.

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