Independent Legal Advice – FAQ – Binding Financial Agreement
Why is this a requirement?
Per sections 90G (Marriage) and 90UJ (Defacto) of the Family Law Act (Cth) 1975, for a Binding Financial Agreement to be valid, each party must receive independent legal advice as to;
(a) The effect of this agreement on their rights; and
(b) The advantages and disadvantages, at the time that the advice was provided, of making the agreement
This must be from a registered legal practitioner (solicitor), who signs a certificate within the agreement to confirm the advice has been given
https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90g.html
https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s90uj.html
Can the same solicitor or firm provide each party's advice?
As referenced above, the solicitors must be independent and therefore from different law firms
What is the Independent Legal Advice/Certificate?
Within all Binding Financial Agreements, there will be two solicitor certificates
One will be for your solicitor and the other will be for your partner/spouse’s solicitor
Once the requisite advice is provided, each solicitor signs their certificate to verify that they have provided their client with the said advice and this, in effect, ‘binds’ the agreement
How can CAC Legal help?
As one of Melbourne’s leading providers of Independent Legal Advice/Binding Financial Agreements, we offer an efficient pain-free service at a fixed fee
We will review the prepared agreement and then;
Have an initial telephone discussion with you in order to confirm what it is that you need the agreement to do
Re-review the agreement in light of the above
Advise if any issues are flagged and obtain your instructions
Obtain the final agreement from the preparing solicitor
Provide you with detailed written advice
Meet to sign the agreement with you in our office, online OR sign and post our certificate to you
How long does it take?
As we have reviewed and prepared 100s of Binding Financial Agreements, we know where to look
Usually, we can discuss the agreement the same day it is received and if the other parties (your partner/spouse, their solicitor) are organised, complete our advice/certificate within a few days
Can this be done remotely? I am not in Victoria or Melbourne
Absolutely and a majority of our clients are not Melbourne based
Binding Financial Agreements are, as described, agreements and can be signed/witnessed electronically (eg video call/electronic signatures). Any solicitor who advises otherwise, doesn’t fully understand the requirements of the Family Law Act (Cth) 1975, relating caselaw or relevant state electronic witnessing provisions. A majority of our agreements (and court documents/filings) are now signed in this manner
However, we can also express post/email our certificate to you, depending on the requirements of the preparing solicitor
The certificate is merely an annexure and the agreement itself can be signed with any adult witness
How do we proceed?
Feel free to call on (03) 9039 6567 or simply email admin@caclegal.com.au with your agreement and phone number
For pricing, please see here
