Are you contributing more money towards the purchase of a home than your partner? Do you want your income and Kiwisaver funds to be protected as your own and not subject to equal sharing with your partner? Then it sounds like a contracting out agreement or a pre-nuptial agreement might be right for you.
If you have been living together as a couple in a “qualifying” de facto relationship for more than three years, you are married or in a civil union then the Property Relationship Act 1976 creates a presumption of 50/50 equal sharing. This means that if separation were to occur, the rules of equal division could apply, meaning each party could be entitled to half of the other’s property including but not limited to the family home, chattels, Kiwisaver and each other’s income. Although discussing the idea of a pre-nup isn’t the easiest of conversations to have with your partner, the agreement entitles you to “opt out” of the equal sharing rules and allow you to decide the status, ownership, and division of property on your own terms.
Therefore, at Godfreys Law we recommend couples consider drafting a contracting out agreement. We understand every relationship is unique and has differing circumstances, which is why we tailor our advice and agreements to suit each particular relationship. What may be a tough conversation with your partner now, could potentially avoid complications in relation to property division down the track.
Prev Article