Disclosure of property in separation agreements – why is it important?

When parties go through a separation, one of the things they should do is disclose to the other party (and their lawyer) all of their property (including assets and debts).  Disclosure should include all property in the parties’ joint names, sole names, or that either of them have an interest in (such as Trust property). 

This is an important part of the property division process as it confirms that each party is aware of exactly what they are agreeing to, and also allows the parties’ respective lawyers to understand potential rights that they may be waiving. 

While there is no specific legal requirement in the Property (Relationships) Act for disclosure to take place or valuations to be included in a Separation and Property Division Agreement, there have been agreements of this nature set aside by the Courts for lack of disclosure that amounted to serious injustice.

To make your Agreement as watertight as possible, we suggest going through a full disclosure process and including values in the Agreement.