A Binding Financial Agreement. (B.F.A.)
Jan 24, 2019 0:13:40 GMT -5
elynne and mirrororchid like this
Post by baza on Jan 24, 2019 0:13:40 GMT -5
This is prompted by a post from Sister isthisit on another thread.
In my deal , things went like this ...
I had taken legal advice about divorcing in 2005. There were a few options about how that might be achieved.
I actually left in 2009.
We started negotiating the split of assets in about mid 2011.
It took a while (like another 6 months) as we negotiated to and fro.
One of my legal options was to handle the split of assets under what is (in my jurisdiction) called a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) a mechanism to split the assets on an agreed basis thus dissolving the Financial Partnership and ending any mutual financial interests.
That was what we did ... under our individual legal advice.
Once we had negotiated an acceptable B.F.A. (under the guidance of our respective lawyers) we had a big day out in town effecting the necessary transfers of titles etc etc etc.
Then we went out for dinner and many many drinks.
There was no compelling reason to divorce at that time.
The partnership was to all intents and purposes "done" and we were living totally independently and had been for some time. We were no longer a partnership. That was the fact, divorce or no divorce.
My missus was reviewing her postion in 2013 in respect to her financial position as she neared retirement and realised that I was still nominated as her executor and beneficiary in her will. So under her own legal advice she revised her will (cutting me out) and figured "might as well finalise the divorce too". The court rubber stamped it, charged us about $200 for so doing.
Foot Note #1 - just as well too as my ex wife died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2015. Could have been a big mess had she not revised her will and all as obviously her intent would have been to leave her estate to the kids, not me.
Foot Note #2 - Ms enna (my partner of 9 years now and the love of my life) is nominally still married. There are a couple of very sound legal and financial reasons for this.
The point.
The B.F.A. is a mechanism by which joint assets can be split to the individual spouses whilst they are - nominally - still married. Thus you can get on with the rest of your life in a relatively straight forward manner.
Later on, if you want, you can petition the family court for a divorce.
The judge reads the B.F.A. in the context of the request for a divorce and signs it off.
But, I took legal advice at every step of this process.
It would be very easy to shoot yourself in the foot if you relied on 'what you thought was right', and/or relied on your spouse to 'do the right thing'.
My legal costs were a bit under $3 grand, and I don't begrudge a cent of it.
It could be worth your while to consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction to establish how a divorce would shake out for you, and to see if a product like a B.F.A. exists in your part of the world, and if so, if it might be applicable in your circumstances.
In my deal , things went like this ...
I had taken legal advice about divorcing in 2005. There were a few options about how that might be achieved.
I actually left in 2009.
We started negotiating the split of assets in about mid 2011.
It took a while (like another 6 months) as we negotiated to and fro.
One of my legal options was to handle the split of assets under what is (in my jurisdiction) called a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) a mechanism to split the assets on an agreed basis thus dissolving the Financial Partnership and ending any mutual financial interests.
That was what we did ... under our individual legal advice.
Once we had negotiated an acceptable B.F.A. (under the guidance of our respective lawyers) we had a big day out in town effecting the necessary transfers of titles etc etc etc.
Then we went out for dinner and many many drinks.
There was no compelling reason to divorce at that time.
The partnership was to all intents and purposes "done" and we were living totally independently and had been for some time. We were no longer a partnership. That was the fact, divorce or no divorce.
My missus was reviewing her postion in 2013 in respect to her financial position as she neared retirement and realised that I was still nominated as her executor and beneficiary in her will. So under her own legal advice she revised her will (cutting me out) and figured "might as well finalise the divorce too". The court rubber stamped it, charged us about $200 for so doing.
Foot Note #1 - just as well too as my ex wife died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2015. Could have been a big mess had she not revised her will and all as obviously her intent would have been to leave her estate to the kids, not me.
Foot Note #2 - Ms enna (my partner of 9 years now and the love of my life) is nominally still married. There are a couple of very sound legal and financial reasons for this.
The point.
The B.F.A. is a mechanism by which joint assets can be split to the individual spouses whilst they are - nominally - still married. Thus you can get on with the rest of your life in a relatively straight forward manner.
Later on, if you want, you can petition the family court for a divorce.
The judge reads the B.F.A. in the context of the request for a divorce and signs it off.
But, I took legal advice at every step of this process.
It would be very easy to shoot yourself in the foot if you relied on 'what you thought was right', and/or relied on your spouse to 'do the right thing'.
My legal costs were a bit under $3 grand, and I don't begrudge a cent of it.
It could be worth your while to consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction to establish how a divorce would shake out for you, and to see if a product like a B.F.A. exists in your part of the world, and if so, if it might be applicable in your circumstances.
