Couples with very high wealth (eg over $3 million).
47% to 50%
47% to 50%
Couples with moderate to high wealth where the wife will be the predominant carer of dependent children and the parents have similar incomes.
32% to 48%
42% to 55%
Young couples in very short marriages with no children, very similar incomes and similar initial contributions.
37% to 50%
37% to 50%
People with moderate wealth where the wife will be the predominant carer of dependent children and has a somewhat lower income than the husband.
27% to 45%
43% to 60%
Couples with dependent children who share care of their children equally, and who have similar incomes.
37% to 50%
37% to 50%
Couples with low to modest wealth, where the wife will be the predominant carer of the children and has a much lower income than the husband.
22% to 40%
48% to 65%
Couples with no children, low to modest wealth and where the wife earns substantially less income than the husband.
22% to 40%
48% to 65%
Older couples whose children are now adults, and who have very similar incomes or are both in retirement.
37% to 50%
37% to 50%
Couples where the male has significant health impediments that prevent or severely limit his ability to earn an income.
48% to 65%
22% to 40%
Couples where the female has significant health impediments that prevent or severely limit her ability to earn an income.
22% to 40%
48% to 65%
Scenarios and ranged outcomes
The first thing to know is that there are no rules about how wealth gets divided when you separate. Despite the absence of clear rules, it is possible to get a good idea of how your wealth should - and most likely will - be divided.
We take an intensive statistical approach to understanding financial settlements. We focus on averages - what proportion of your combined net wealth you are most likely to end up with.
Analysis shows there are very common scenarios that most separating couples fit into, and that those groups end up with predictable outcomes. In fact, over 98% of couples end up with deals in the ranges shown above.
So if your “fact pattern” is very similar to one of the scenarios above, the range shown is probably where you’re going to end up.
It may be that you don’t fit neatly into one of these scenarios. Some couples have some unique characteristics. There is a myriad of other factors that might mean you “could” or even “should” end up with a net result outside these ranges. So the table isn't legal advice specific to you and your exact circumstances.
If your former partner acknowledges that there are, factually, some other factors, you can start from the nearest scenario, then adjust a bit for those unusual factors. And if your matter is really complex, by all means, get some legal opinions.
But if your facts are pretty normal, then the ranges in the table are a pretty good guide. Of course, it's not legal advice and it would be silly to make it your only source of information.
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Top vs Bottom of the ranges
You’ll see that for each scenario, there is a range of outcomes for males and another range of outcomes for females.
That's because when people take their matters through the legal system, the legal fees can consume a substantial portion of the couple's original wealth - up to 25% of the average Australian family's wealth. That leaves much less for the couple to divide.
Generally, the TOP end of the range is achieved through direct negotiation or by using a neutral mediator.
Generally, the BOTTOM end of the range is the result of going through the legal system to court and getting a judge to impose a decision on the two of you.
So, if you both commit to staying out of the legal system, your most likely outcome skews well towards the top end of the range. And if you and your partner agree on which scenario best describes you, you'll have - at most - up to a 5% gap in your realistic expectations.
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So how can I get closer to the top end?
It’s simple: don’t burn up your money in the legal system.
Understand what happens: If you go to a lawyer, your former partner is not obliged to negotiate with your lawyer - or even listen to them.
That's why so many divorcing people get frustrated with spending money on legal fees and not seeing any progress, and why so many end up in court once they engage lawyers - their lawyers simply have no power to make their former partner do a thing. No wonder that it takes on average over a year to negotiate through lawyers and 3-4 years in court.
So if you choose to fight with your partner through the legal system and go to court, you’re statistically likely to lose a large portion of your wealth in legal fees, and almost certainly drive your result towards the bottom, not the top, of the range.
You want to be nearer the top of the range? Of course you do. Then approach your settlement discussion in a collaborative method – like direct conversation between you or using neutral mediators (like Divorce Partners). That will preserve so much more of your wealth that you almost always do better on a net financial basis.
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What I think is fair is different
To be frank, your opinion about what's fair isn't the only opinion that counts.
If your former partner's opinion is different, you'll both have to compromise if you want to get a deal done. You simply don't have any mechanism to force your former partner to agree with your view.
If you go to court, your view might be supported by the judge, but you lose so much in legal fees, your net financial position is likely to leave you worse off in real terms. That's financially self-destructive.
Now we don't mean you have to "suck it up" and simply give in to your former partner. There's one pretty good safeguard, which we'll explain next.
If we work out a deal, how do we make it legally binding?
If you and you former partner are sensible, you'll want a legally binding deal. Indeed, if your deal includes property sales, title transfers or superannuation splits, you're going to need formal approval anyway.
The cheapest and strongest way to protect yourself once you have a deal, is to obtain a "Consent Order" from the government.
But getting a Consent Order is only possible if the government believes your deal is fair. Trying to get approval for a deal outside of the “normal” ranges is extremely difficult.
So there's your safeguard: you're only going to get approval if your deal is assessed as "just and equitable" by the government, which is neutral and independent of either of you. It might not be a deal you like, but if it is approved then you can be satisfied that - objectively - it's fair.
Aim to reach a "normal" deal, quickly
This page helps you see – in broad terms – roughly what your financial split is likely to end up being.
Rather than waste time and money and emotion chasing your idea that you “should” get more, you’re better off doing a "normal" deal. Doing that without going to lawyers and court preserves more of your wealth, increasing your most likely net financial position.
And the quicker you can get a settlement, the better. Delaying tends to fuel more anger, more complications, worsening communication, poorer net financial outcomes and more damage to children.
So bring this to a head: get a result, get it documented, and move on with your life.
Here's how we can help
We can talk through your situation with you – including a deeper analysis of what the statistics show about outcomes for people in similar situations to you. Book a time with us if you'd like to do that.
Or if you have reached a deal, get it documented quickly. Experience shows that couples who don’t formalise their deals quickly usually end up with problems later. We can arrange alegally binding agreement for you.
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1300 975 994
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A footnote
Let's be clear here:
We are not lawyers and we do not come up with "theoretical best cases" that you could pursue (and possibly win) if you decided to spend a fortune by going through the courts.
We can't and don't give legal advice because financial logic shows that:
it costs so much in legal fees to pursue a court case that it's mathematically almost impossible for an average Australian to end up with a better net financial result, and
such theories have very low probabilities of success - they are rarely a good way to bet a large sum of your money.
We're financially-oriented divorce negotiation specialists. We get sensible results that are within the average ranges that most couples get via private settlement and court decisions, for typical fact patterns.
Our clients are not people who want to spend large amounts of their money pursuing every legal argument for a maximum theoretical gain, because our clients understand the costs and risks of doing so rarely make financial sense.
So our focus is getting couples to agree quickly on realistic deals that mean neither of them get screwed, that are likely to get approved and that let them sleep easy at night. That's why we run data-driven analysis to find out what "normal" deals are for clients in various scenarios.
If you want legal advice, go to a lawyer. If you want practical assistance based on highly probable scenarios and outcomes, we can help.
