ave custody of the children post-divorce, though this is mostly in the hands of the divorce courts. (www.pre-nuptialagreements.com.au) All of these factors can only help the social and economic impact of divorce, as it is making it easier for everyone involved. Before December 2000, pre-nuptial agreements were not held legally binding by legal courts - couples could form their own agreement before marriage but the courts did not have to stick by them. This created a problem within the marriage where certain circumstances called for the division of property to be different from that as stated by the Family Law Act. Some of these special circumstances might include if you want to keep premarital assets seperate, if you are blending families (both partners already have children), you want to ensure that the family wealth stays within the family, or if you simply just want certainty as to property rights and maintenance payments upon a potential divorce. (www.pre-nuptialagreements.com.au) A newspaper article written on the day that prenuptial agreements became financially binding writes:Pre-Nuptial agreements became legally enforcable today in an effort to reduce the amount of time taken resolving disputes in the Family Court.... Sydney family law specialist Bill Karras said the legislation was definately overdue. (M.Denny, B.Crawford, The Australian p.3)It goes on to explain the benefits of having pre-nuptial agreements as opposed to not having them legally binding, with a spokesperson from the federal government, Daryl Williams, claiming that the legislation was overdue and would cut down the costly Family Court process for couples who are splitting up. Considering that 46% of marriages fail and this costs the Australian taxpayer an estimated three billion dollars per year, this can only be of significant economical advantage to the greater public. It is particularly convenient if partners with very different financial situations ente...
