Property Settlements for Medical Professionals
The most significant challenges facing medical professionals and their spouses during separation is the complex nature and structure of their asset pools. Such assets can include sole trader entities, service entities, companies, unit trusts, family trusts and self-managed superannuation funds. In some cases, medical professionals or their spouses are not even aware of the structure of their asset pools as it has been handled by a trusted accountant or financial advisor.
In addition to providing expert and tailored advice regarding the entitlements of a party to a property settlement, a specialist family lawyer is necessary to assist medical professionals and their spouses with the following practical issues that may arise as part of their property settlement:
- Identifying the assets, liabilities and superannuation interests, and the structure of the asset pool. This can be done through liaising with accountants, the exchange of financial disclosure documents, searches and issuing subpoenas where necessary.
- The valuation of assets, such as medical practices, services entities and trusts by engaging an expert forensic accountant to prepare a valuation report.
- The valuation of the assets and liabilities held within a self-managed superannuation fund and ensuring the fund is compliant prior to any settlement.
- Identifying potential tax implications of a settlement and ensuring parties receive appropriate financial advice.
Our aim is to assist our clients to negotiate a property settlement that accurately reflects the contributions of the medical professional throughout the relationship, whilst having regard for the future needs of the spouse of a medical professional, depending on their circumstances.
Spousal Maintenance
In the majority of matters involving medical professionals, the other party is financially dependent upon the party that is a medical professional. The other party may have a small income, be working casual or part-time hours, or they may be a stay-at-home parent or homemaker. In this situation, when the parties separate, the medical professional may be required to make regular spousal maintenance payments to the other party. These payments usually occur until the property settlement is finalised. Whether a medical professional will be required to make spousal maintenance payments depends on a number of factors, including the income and expenses of both parties.
Our team is able to provide advice on the likely entitlement of a party to ongoing spousal maintenance and how such payments are successfully claimed or defended. In addition to this, we are able to provide advice on and negotiate future protection from spousal maintenance claims where necessary.
This issue of spousal maintenance is further complicated where the spouse of a medical professional is, or has been, working in the medical practice or business prior to separation, either as a paid or unpaid employee. Our team is able to identify potential employment related issues and, if necessary, arrange a referral to a specialist Employment Lawyer for further advice.
Parenting Arrangements for Medical Professionals
Some of the challenges encountered by medical professionals and their spouses regarding parenting arrangements following a separation include the medical professional being required to work long hours, being on-call and work involving overseas travel.
Many medical professionals are required to work long hours or are required to be available at short notice, which can have an impact on parenting arrangements, and make it difficult for a separated family to have a regular and consistent parenting arrangement. It is important to ensure that any parenting arrangement is in the best interests of the children, having regard to the fact that children often thrive on having stability and certainty in their lives.
An experienced family lawyer is able to provide advice and guidance on appropriate parenting arrangements for children of medical professionals and their spouses and assist in documenting parenting arrangements that reflect the children’s best interests and provide stability for the children, with sufficient flexibility to accommodation the nature of the work of a medical professional.
Depending on the nature of their profession, medical professionals are often required to travel overseas for their work, which will impact upon parenting arrangements. In addition to this, due to their wealth and high incomes, medical professionals and their spouses are often able to afford to travel overseas on regular family holidays. It is no doubt in the best interests of children to be able to broaden their experience with overseas travel, provided it is safe to do so. In these circumstances, it is important to ensure that there is a Parenting Plan or Court Orders in place governing if and how the children are to travel overseas with their parents. Our firm is able to provide advice in relation to overseas travel arrangements, including the necessary permissions required, and assist with the drafting of comprehensive agreements or orders for overseas travel.
Child Support
For medical professionals with children, it is more likely than not that the medical professional will need to pay child support to the other party, even if the children are living in an equal time arrangement. This is due to the high income of medical professionals when compared to that of their spouse. In addition to regular child support payments, it is important for medical professionals and their spouses to consider the ongoing payment of other significant expenses such as private school fees, schooling related expenses such as uniforms and tutoring, and extra-curricular activities.
