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Getting married, whether it is your first time or a ‘try again’, is a special and serious commitment that gives rise to a number of legal issues and changes in your legal status. The law sees marriage as a legal relationship as well as
a personal one, and many things automatically change upon a marriage coming into effect. Some examples are:
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Any Will that you made before you got married is automatically revoked after your marriage, unless you made a Will specifically in contemplation of that marriage.
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The Family Law Court will deal with any property or other disputes in accordance with its rules and regulations (as opposed to a defacto relationship)
You will need to take a another look at your affairs (such as your Will, Power of Attorney, and how you hold pre-marriage assets such as property). It is best to look at these matters
BEFORE you get married, although you can also sort out these matters after marriage. There may be other things that you also need to consider, like whether you will change your name or not (and therefore whether you should change your name on any property you own), as well as what happens to any joint assets you currently hold with family or friends. For example, if you hold an investment house with your brother as
joint
tenants, then upon your marriage, you may like to change the way you own the property with him to
tenants in
common.
What do I need?
You both need:
The Will will specify what you want to happen if you were to pass away, for instance, who would look after your affairs (the Executor) and who would get your assets (the beneficiaries). No doubt your
spouse will feature in your Will, at least to some extent.
Your Enduring Power of Attorney will select one or more persons (called donees) to look after your affairs in the event that you become permanently or temporarily incapacitated (but do not die).
A pre-marriage agreement is designed to set out in writing what assets both of you have brought into the relationship and how you want to deal with them, as well as assets that you subsequently acquire during the course of the marriage. It helps you both to sit down and agree on who owns what, so that there is no misunderstanding later on. This type of agreement is particularly helpful where one party has brought in some fairly significant assets into the relationship, and wants to protect them. Of course the Family Court can make its own determination, in the event of a later dispute, as to who should get what, which it decides based upon the monetary and non-monetary contributions of both parties during the course of the marriage. However it will have regard to the agreement, particularly if the marriage is a short one.
(For more info, go to the Family Law Channel).
What happens if I don’t do anything?
If you don’t look after your affairs by getting the above
documents done, then you may not feel any different when you wake up tomorrow! Remember: legal services are like insurance, if nothing ever goes wrong, you don’t need to lean on it.
But having your legal affairs in order will pay for itself many times over in cost savings and in time, if something should go wrong. This is particularly the case if you have children during the marriage, or have dependants from a previous relationship – you owe it to them to have your affairs in order, and those dependants properly looked after.
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Many married couples decide to select
each other to be the Executor of their respective Wills, and often do ‘mirror image’ Wills – often leaving everything to
each other. This may not suit you if you have other dependants, such as children from a previous relationship. Often married couples also choose
each other to act as their donee in the event that they become incapacitated (in their Power of Attorney).
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Ultimately, who you want to select in what combination is up to you. If your affairs are pretty standard, for instance if you want to
leave everything to your spouse, and then if they die to your children of that marriage, then you should consider our online legal Will service. This service is appropriate for straightforward affairs. However if you have a more complex set of circumstances, then please consider our full service option.
NOTE: To make a free enquiry to a qualified Lawyer who specializes in this area, regarding which service is suitable for your needs,
go to our Online Consult Service in the right hand margin.
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