Form 11 - Consent Orders & Parenting Plans
Form 11 – Consent Orders & how to finalise your Agreement
What is a Form 11 Consent Order? Whether you have reached a parenting and/or financial agreement at mediation, or by yourselves, the next step is to document it, and decide if you wish to make it into family court orders.
There are several ways to finalise your agreement, depending upon whether it is parenting or financial.
- For parenting, we can assist you in documenting a Parenting Plan.
- For either parenting or finances, or both, if you wish to obtain final family court orders, we can assist you to complete your Form 11 Consent paperwork, and help you to prepare all the necessary documentation to lodge at the Family Court to obtain final orders. This work is charged out at our hourly rate of $180 per hour.
- Alternatively, if you wish to finalise your financial arrangements with a Binding Financial Agreement (“BFA”), we can mediate your agreement, and document it for you to take to a solicitor for formalising. You do not need to go to the family court at all to get a BFA.
Things to know about Parenting Plans
- they can only be made if both parties are in agreement;
- the family law legislation recognises them as valid agreements if they are signed and dated. There is no requirement for registration of Parenting Plans, nor to obtain independent legal advice;
- a Parenting Plan can amend a previous Court Order;
- a Parenting Plan is not enforceable, however the Court will treat it as evidence of what the parents considered was in the child’s best interest at that time.
Stamp Duty Exemption on Transfer of Property
If you transfer a share of your property to a former spouse or de facto partner you are NOT liable to pay stamp duty. To obtain this exemption, you must ensure that the transfer of the property is done in accordance with either:
1. A Court Order made under the Family Law Act 1975 which can be obtained by applying for Consent Orders with a Form 11; OR
2. A binding financial agreement made under the Family Law Act.
This exemption applies to both married couples and those who are in a de facto or domestic relationship.