It can be stressful dealing with a financial settlement after divorce, which is why our divorce settlement calculator is designed to help you understand your potential entitlements before entering negotiations. “Am I going to get my fair share?” “What am I entitled to anyway?” The last thing you want to do is walk into a settlement negotiation without any understanding of where you stand. That’s what this calculator is for. It doesn’t guarantee what your division will be, but it’ll give you a sense of what to expect.
Divorce settlement calculator
Quick estimate only. This does not replace legal advice or the Court’s process.
Key takeaways
The calculator uses defined factors for its estimates.
Provide the most accurate information possible.
It’s important to understand the implications of your result.
How Our Calculator For Divorce Settlement Works
The calculator uses the Family Law Act’s four-step process to give your answer. The four-step process works like this:
Full disclosure and valuation of the marital pool.
Consider each partner’s contributions to the marriage.
Account for each party’s future needs.
Evaluate whether the proposed asset division is fair.
There’s a lot of nuance that goes into these decisions. Our divorce settlement calculator takes multiple factors into account, like the relationship’s length.
The length of your marriage
How long your marriage lasted may be relevant. Let’s look at contributions. Let’s say we’re dealing with a marriage of less than 2 years. Initial contributions are likely to count for more. If one spouse owned a house before the marriage, they may come away with most of the value of that asset.
Initial contributions typically become less important as the marriage goes on. More and more of the property pool may be made up of jointly-owned assets. Both partners also have more time to make contributions. If the marriage from the previous example lasted for over ten years, the other partner would likely have made non-financial contributions to the house. The Court may look at that situation and even out the division.
What are your future needs?
The law considers a party’s financial resources. These are usually distinct from contributions because they haven’t manifested yet. One of the classic examples is an inheritance. While you may be expecting an inheritance in the future, it doesn’t technically form part of the marital pool. However, it will likely affect your future needs.
Child support payments and other financial assistance may be relevant as well. It’s best to give a comprehensive picture of your circumstances.
What information do you need before using the calculator?
Provide the most accurate information that you can. Calculations are only as good as the inputs they’re based on. Here’s what to include:
Your marriage’s length. (If you don’t want to work out the length to the day, just put in the number of years. For longer marriages, it won’t matter as much.)
Your and your former partner’s annual income during the marriage.
An estimate of the asset pool’s value. This can be tricky, especially if you’ve got unusual assets like collectibles or artwork. Just do the best you can.
Financial contributions
The family home.
Investment properties.
Superannuation interests.
Business interests.
Bank accounts.
Total debts.
Non-financial contributions
Care of any children.
Homemaking responsibilities.
Home renovations.
We just want to clarify some things before moving on.
Non-financial labour is a significant contribution.
Partners in de facto relationships have the same rights to property as married couples.
Assets and liabilities are equally important. You want to identify the net asset pool when dividing property.
The legal owner of a house or other assets may not be as important as you think. Settlements focus on contributions and future needs.
Understanding your divorce settlement calculator results
A divorce settlement calculator can’t give you a precise answer about your property division. That’s why we give you a range of possible scenarios based on all the evidence you provide. Will the outcome of your settlement definitely fall inside our predicted range? That can’t be guaranteed. But it can serve important functions.
If you’re looking to form an agreement, a lot can come down to how effectively you negotiate. A lawyer with knowledge of your own circumstances can be a major help. If you’re making an informal agreement, the calculated estimate can give you an idea of what you may or may not want to settle for.
Let go of any assumption that divisions are usually 50/50. When you’ve been handling divorce settlements as long as we have, you know how wrong that is. If your estimate is closer to a 60/40 split, that’s closer to the result many couples end up with. It’s all about individual circumstances.
Property Settlement in Australian Divorce
Property settlement is messy. You’ve got to put everything on the table. The house, investments, superannuation, debts, the lot. Your ex does the same. Then the court looks at what you both put in. Money, sure. But also the stuff nobody talks about. Raising kids, fixing up the house, managing finances. How long you were together matters too. Short marriage? Your stuff going in counts for more. Long marriage? It gets murkier. And don’t assume whoever’s name is on the deed keeps it. That’s not how it works.
The Family Court’s got a process.
- Step one: list everything you own and owe.
- Step two: figure out what each of you contributed.
- Step three: think about what you’ll need going forward. Child support, that kind of thing.
- Step four: is it fair? A judge decides if the split makes sense.
You might get a court order. You might work out a financial agreement with your ex. You might get consent orders. Time limits exist.
You’ve got 12 months from divorce if you’re married. De facto? Two years. So get legal advice sooner rather than later. Especially if you’re in Western Australia or things are complicated.
Here’s the reality: it’s rarely 50/50. Most people end up with something like 60/40 or 70/30. Depends on your situation. Your contributions. Your future needs. How long the relationship lasted. Whether you’ve got kids. What assets are you dealing with? If you’re trying to sort this out yourself, you need to know roughly what you’re entitled to. That’s the whole point. You walk in knowing what’s fair. Not guessing. Not hoping. Knowing.
From our clients
Peter and Lisa are outstanding. They helped me navigate an extremely difficult personal and legal situation. They treated me with kindness and respect. Peter provided practical, no nonsense legal advice to achieve outcomes that are in the best interests of my kids. I am so grateful to them for their assistance.
- Jennifer Eden
I highly recommend Peter, he's been very understanding and very informative of my legal position.
I've never needed a lawyer before, Peter was able to help reduce the stress of the unknown to me, listening and having the patience to answer every question I had. Having been in a long separation with the consent orders stalled several times, he advised me with clear information and guidance to ensure everything was completed correctly, fairly and promptly while still protecting my interests.
- Darryl Hayman
Conclusion
How can you handle a property division? You can enter a financial agreement. If your ex-partner is being uncooperative, you can ask the Family Court to settle matters. But why would you want to enter a property settlement case without knowing what to expect? Our divorce settlement calculator only gives you an estimate. But the peace of mind this can provide may be worth 15 minutes of your time.
Seek legal advice
Speak to a professional to get the most accurate information. Our family lawyers may advise you on a fair division based on your financial situation.
