Hi there. Unfortunately your question was not answered sooner by a lawyer. The LawAdvisor Research Team has picked up your question and provided some general advice in relation to your situation. Remember, you still have the option of consulting a lawyer directly at any time by pressing the "Consult a Lawyer" button.

When people separate or divorce, they will need to sort out how to divide their assets (property) and debts. There are several ways this can be done:

(a) the two parties can reach a negotiated agreement about how to divide their property, without involving the court;

(b) the two parties can reach a negotiated agreement and apply to the court to have the agreement formalised under ‘consent orders’, so that it becomes legally binding on both parties; or

(c) if the parties cannot reach an agreement on dividing their property, the parties can apply to a court for ‘financial orders’ relating to the division of property.

There is no set formula used to divide a couple’s property, so it is difficult to predict what will happen in your brother’s situation. If the matter goes before a court, the court will hear evidence from both parties and make a just and equitable decision based on the particular circumstances of the case. Before making its decision, the court will consider a number of factors, such as:

(a) the total assets and debts of the couple;

(b) the direct financial contributions of each party to the marriage (e.g. wages, mortgage repayments) and indirect financial contributions (e.g. inheritance from relatives);

(c) the non-financial contributions of each party to the marriage (e.g. caring for children and homemaking); and

(d) the future requirements of each party based on health, age, caring for children and capacity to earn a wage (e.g. spousal maintenance).

The financial orders made by a court will be unique to your brother’s and former partner’s circumstances. It may be a very different outcome to other divorce settlements you have heard about.

As there a children involved in this divorce, a court will also need to be satisfied that parenting arrangements have been made that are in the best interests of the children. If your brother is unable to reach agreement with his former partner about parenting arrangements, a court can also make ‘parenting orders’ that specify how the children are to be cared for (e.g. financial support, custody, visitation rights, etc).