WEBVTT - Binding Financial Agreements Q&A 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:19.440 She's on the Money. She's on the Money. 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.759 Hello, and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:31.840 for millennials who want financial freedom, finding financial agreements? What 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:35.640 are they who needs one? And are they actually worth it? 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:38.520 My name is Jessica Riki and I'm not a copywriter, 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.120 but you should know me by now, and I am 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:43.919 joining as always Miss Victoria Divine. 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:45.720 Hello is Jessic Goddici? 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:47.240 How you going? 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:50.400 And you want a Wednesday episode? 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:53.120 I know, I know, I always feel like I have 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:56.800 big shoes to fill on a Wednesday, but today it's goologized. 0:00:57.000 --> 0:00:59.640 Georgia apparently has a lot to do, and you are 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.440 helping the team out to make sure this podcast gets 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.200 in their ears every single Wednesday, and it is very 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:06.200 much appreciated. 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:08.959 We love it. She's in demand, she's a busy woman. 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.640 But today you're actually not going to hear too much 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.440 from me because talking about binding financial agreements, I'm not 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:19.039 a copywriter. I'm also shockingly not a lawyer. 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:23.800 You don't know? Sorry, so you didn't lie on your 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.080 application to She's on the Money when you were trying 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:27.200 to get employed by us? 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:28.560 Absolutely not. 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.399 I did know that, and I'm not a lawyer either. Jess. 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.520 And while I talk about binding financial agreements all the 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:38.800 time as being really important, I always say speak to 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.960 a lawyer, because that's what you absolutely should do. So Jess, 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:43.160 what are we doing today? 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:44.880 We're gonna see to a lawyer. 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:49.160 Oh not me, a real lawyer. So we are lucky 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:52.920 enough that Lucy Percy from Head and Heart Estate Planning 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.200 has agreed to come on the podcast today and answer 0:01:56.360 --> 0:02:00.000 all of our perfect questions. Jess. I had a really 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:03.400 beautiful conversation with her earlier and I can't wait. 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:03.920 For you to hear it. 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:07.360 I'm so excited. Let's it jump straight in. 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:17.200 We're jumping straight into this, Lucy, straight into the deep. 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.919 And can you tell us what's a binding financial agreement 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:22.520 and why do we need one? 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.400 Okay, So, a binding financial agreement is, as the name suggests, 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.760 an agreement, a contract between two people. It's going to 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:32.400 operate in their lifetime. So the key thing there is 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.080 it's not going to cover you after death. And we 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:37.880 are contemplating people in a relationship and they want to 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.800 set out the guidelines and have some certainty about what 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:42.840 is going to happen to the assets that they create 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:45.000 together and what is going to happen to the assets 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:48.519 that they own or control or create separate from each. 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:51.520 Other, which I think is really important. And obviously, like 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.959 as a financial advisor, I talk about these all the time, 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:57.240 but at the end of the day, you're the authority 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.560 in this area. You are literally an estate plan lawyer. 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:03.680 So putting people's things in order is your bread and 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:07.160 butter that you work with every single day. But what 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:09.680 kind of assets are we talking about? Are we talking 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:12.840 about things that you've already done? Like what if I 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:15.480 went and bought a house before I met Steve? Like, 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:17.320 is that something we'd put in there? Is it only 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:18.720 the stuff that we do together? 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:19.640 No? 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:24.000 Absolutely, So it can be things that you have accumulated 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:26.440 before you were together, or things that you do while 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:29.840 you're together. I think there are most of the people 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:32.560 who I refer to get funding financial agreements are in 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.560 a situation where they have brought different assets to the relationship. 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:39.440 They're doing their estate planning, but quite often they're living 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.520 in one of the properties that the other has accumulated 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.640 prior to the relationship. And it's not as simple as 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.160 saying you get out what you take in, because someone 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:52.320 might have often contributed to the mortgage repayments or capital 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:56.520 improvement and so or you know, if there's been a 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.280 really great capital growth, do you want that reflected in 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:02.880 some way. There's also tax benefits to living in the 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.680 property that say you might own as opposed to your partner, 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:08.760 and so, you know, it's a little bit tricky then 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:10.840 saying let's just walk away with what we bought in. 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.760 Yeah, and I think that that's a really important conversation 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:16.040 to have as well. And I know in now she's 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:19.640 on the money community, this is a bit left field, sorry, Lucy. 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:23.000 But we've had people say, oh, I just tell my 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:25.880 partner to transfer money that I use to pay my 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:28.200 mortgage off just named as rent, so that they can 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:31.800 never claim anything towards my house or if we break up, 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.160 they can't say that they paid half the mortgage. 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:37.120 Is that true? No, not at all. 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:40.960 And I'm really smart and I was like, let's actually 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:42.200 ask a lawyer this question. 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:46.400 No, there is no one size fits all approach to 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:49.560 what's going to protect your asset. And quite often it 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:54.320 might be a BFA in conjunction with if you're owning 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:58.960 property together, you can have property agreements, joint venture agreements. 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.360 Will you need a blanket approach, and a BFA is 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.120 a piece in the puzzle. Most areas of the law 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:09.600 can cut through what you are purporting to do and 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:11.719 they're actually going to look at the facts of what 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:15.080 was happening. And I think the other point to make 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:19.719 with family law, when a relationship deteriorates, it is not 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:22.160 so much about what was yours what was mine. It's 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.720 about what sort of dependency has been created. 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.839 Between the two people. So even if we could put 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:29.200 a line in the sand about. 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:30.960 This is yours, that's mine, and there's no difficulty in 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.440 you know, saying that was rent only it is about 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:37.160 that dependency. And that's the way it is with a 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.080 state law as well. So you know, you can say 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.800 what you want, but the law is complex and dependency 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.000 is a huge part of it, not just what was yours. 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.799 Yeah, And that's exactly why we need people like you 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.440 were easy, because it is different for everybody and it 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:56.520 is one of those things where we don't actually know. 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:59.520 And I think a good example of that is if 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.920 we feele or my male took all their time off 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:05.320 to raise kids and then they went through a divorce 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.760 twenty years later, it's not actually who earned what is it. 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.160 It's very much based on who put what in and 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:15.760 who put what in and what the dependency is, right, Like, 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.200 that's what you mean when you say dependency right. 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:20.039 Correct and missed opportunities. 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:22.919 So you know, if we had someone who was entrepreneurial 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.320 or built this incredible business and the other person was 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:29.160 the stay at home or the primary carers, so exactly 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:31.440 the case for my husband and I right now, that 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:36.440 needs to be reflected. So yeah, definitely it is nuanced. 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:39.600 And so you know, to add to that, you know 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:42.440 when you said you know, it does make lawyers important, 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:45.919 and so I would caution people against hearing the word BFA, 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.320 typing it into Google, finding a bot and filling it 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:51.360 out because this is an area of law where you 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:53.640 need legal advice attached to the documents. 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:58.160 Okay, important because at the same time, I am very 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:01.360 lucky Steve and I have a blinding financial agreement. It's 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:04.240 no secret, and we did go through a lawyer to 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:06.800 set it up, but it was kind of a prerequisite 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:08.880 of me saying you want to live with me, here's 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:12.240 the deal, and thankfully he was like, yeah, okay, no problems, 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:14.520 Like that's about you protecting your business and she's on 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:17.480 the money, and you protecting Zella and everything that you've 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.120 worked for. But in the same way, it was about 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:22.720 protecting his income because he has a nice job, and 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:24.760 I would never want to turn around and you know, 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:28.280 bite him in the bottom. I guess you could say. 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:32.480 But that was an easy conversation, I mean not super easy, 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:34.720 but an easy conversation for me to have because I'm 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:37.960 a financial advisor. Talking about money, talking about wills, doing 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.160 all of that kind of stuff is just second nature 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:44.200 to me. But at what stage does everybody need that? 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.680 And how do we go about that conversation? 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:47.680 Yeah? 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:52.400 Absolutely, I think when we're talking about binding financial agreements, 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:54.320 there are suppose three things that I want you to 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:58.120 think about. If you your cell phone property and you 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:00.800 are not sure if you were in it what we 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.560 used to call de facto, but it's actually domestic, unregistered 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:09.640 domestic relationship, go and get advice. If you are expecting 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.760 an inheritance, or if you've had a business take off 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:16.360 or an asset that has really increased, then that might 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.480 be a certain time to do it. When there's a 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:22.560 change in your earnings or your asset position. And the 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:24.560 other trigger that I want you to think about is 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:28.200 if your parents are separated, or maybe one of your 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:32.320 parents's widows and they're talking about entering into a new relationship, 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:34.280 you can share this knowledge with them and say, hey, 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:38.040 I'd feel so much more comfortable if you asked about 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.640 and did abiding financial agreements. So I always try and 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.680 tell people absorb the information for yourself and then keep 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.400 your ears peeled for your sister, your mum, your dad, 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:47.559 your aunt, like share. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.240 Yeah, And I think that one thing I've said on 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:53.319 this podcast before, and I'm sure you're probably going to 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.840 subscribe to this as well, Lucy, I don't mind being 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:00.000 the bad guy. You want to bring me up and say, oh, Victoria, 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:02.840 listen to this podcast. Victoria and Lucy were saying, we 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:05.760 need a binding financial agreement. Blame it on us, Say 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.600 we told you that you needed it to break the 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.080 ice and have that conversation with your partner, because it 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.720 is really hard if you're sitting down one night having 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.760 some stir thriving like, oh, hey, Lucy, I was wondering, 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:19.000 have you thought about a binding financial agreement. It's a 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:23.640 very different conversation than maybe using Victoria and Lucy as 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.480 an icebreaker, which I think can be you know, a 0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:29.560 little bit of a good stepping stone, So feel free 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:32.800 to abuse that and use that however you like my friends. 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.280 But we said before what you can use them for 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:39.800 and how that works, whether it's a business or whether 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:43.120 it is you know, inheritance. But can it be used 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:45.199 for other stuff as well? So for example, if you 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:47.640 planned on having a kid and it was agreed before 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:49.839 time that you would take time out to look after 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:52.800 that child, could you agree that your partner ends up 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:54.720 paying you a sum of their income or puts it 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:56.840 into super for you or something. Can that be in 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:58.360 a binding financial agreement. 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.680 Look, it's fantastic stick the people are having these conversations 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.079 with their partner, whether or not that has a place 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:09.000 in the actual agreement might not be appropriate. So when 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:12.240 we write documents and agreements, we want them to be 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.079 able to be really easily. 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:16.960 Interpreted and applied. 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:21.120 And you know, we don't want too many contingencies in 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:23.360 the future that might not be able to be enforced. 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:24.199 So it might not be in. 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:26.880 Your best interest to have this really broad document that's 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:28.200 trying to control everything. 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:30.680 And there are some things that you're just going to 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:31.800 have to approach as a couple. 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.600 As life comes at you and what's appropriate at the time, 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.680 But we really just want to take care of the 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.760 nuts and bolts of your assets and things like agreements 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:43.920 about what would happen if you had debts those Really, 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:46.160 you know, it's like putting the rocks in the jar 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:48.679 and then the sand might be all those things that 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:50.920 you talk about and that flows through, but it might 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:52.480 not all go in the agreement itself. 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:54.520 But as long as you're talking about it, it's a 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:55.880 complete plan, all. 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:59.160 Right, Lucy. So maybe that one isn't something we can 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:02.000 add to a BEE, But what are some other things 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.600 we could add to bfas that we need to be 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:05.040 aware of? 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:05.960 Great question. 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:08.600 The main thing that I would like to see your 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:13.240 listeners protect themselves against in a BFA is sexually transmitted debt. 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:16.800 So maybe you have a partner gree it's yeah, a business. 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:19.199 Maybe they've got you know, I don't think we talk 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:23.120 enough about gambling addiction, ye, addiction common. 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:25.880 Yeah. On my first day of work as a lawyer, 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:26.600 my boss. 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:28.600 Said to me, if there's ever money missing and you 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.480 don't know where it is, it'll be gambling. 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:33.480 And that has really held true for me. 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:37.520 So disappointing. That's such a good like a helpful piece 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:40.360 of information to be given on your first day. We're 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:44.040 also like heartbreaking in a way because it's so common. 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.280 It is so common, and I think that people are 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.360 not aware of it, so you know, just be aware 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:51.280 that that is sexually transmitted. 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.960 Debt by nature is often something that will be hidden. 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:58.199 And yeah, exactly, And it's so hidden and people say like, oh, well, 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:00.400 it must be a certain type of person, or it 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.560 must be you know, somebody else that wouldn't happen to 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.760 you know, people we know, but there's no profile. And 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:12.040 I actually have girlfriends, numerous girlfriends whose partners have essentially 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:15.880 fretted away thousands and thousands of dollars. It's not uncommon. 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.280 It's really like it's heartbreaking. But they'll say, you know, 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:22.200 my partner lost ten thousand dollars or my partner, you know, 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:25.200 actually spent eighty thousand dollars over three years. Like I 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.160 have heard these conversations not from our community, from my 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:30.320 friendship groups. 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:32.439 Yeah, absolutely, me too. 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:34.920 In my work, it's actually a question that I ask 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:38.720 every single client, is there a history problematic gambling? I 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.080 don't make the mask. I say, if there was, this 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:44.080 is what we would do. And I think that having 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.000 your debt a dealt withinner bare fey means that you 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:49.480 can walk away. You know, ending a relationship is hard 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:51.480 enough as it is. And we also know that for 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.120 women who take on that debt, there's so much shame 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.360 that they should have known better, done better, being smarter. 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:00.600 Oh, it's not on your because you weren't educated. Not 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:03.760 everybody has an army of lawyers when they get into 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:06.559 a new relationship, Like you don't swipe right on Tinder 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:09.760 see their profile and also their debt levels, like that's 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:13.480 not how the world works. But Lucy, we've even had 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.320 money diarists more recently who have said, oh, my partner 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:19.040 had a gambling debt or a debt that they know 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:23.520 even just illegal style debts where they have taken out 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:26.360 credit cards in their names or personal debts and they've 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:28.520 been left in lurch with that and had to pay 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.760 it off. Like this is the kind of thing that 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:34.520 you could be protected from. That's really important, Like these 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.000 aren't little things. 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:36.840 That's right. 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:40.440 And I think also in this current economic climate where 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.760 businesses are really suffering, you know, setting aside gambling debts, 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.000 this is a reality there's going to face many small 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.040 business owners, especially people with leases that are secured or 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:51.400 we just really want to make sure that all of 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:53.880 that is dealt within your BFA. 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.679 You know that there's certainty that when you want to leave, 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:57.320 you can leave. 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:01.120 Yeah, and that is so important because we're not just 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:04.640 talking about oh, okay, protect the asset you already have. 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:08.040 You might not have any assets and still really think 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.520 that a BFA is something that is right for you. 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:11.760 Correct. 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:16.840 Yeah, So obviously, given you're on this episode, Lucy, we 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.200 as she's on the money, think it's really important to 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:23.120 get proper advice around these things. And not every single 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:27.280 person in a relationship needs to get a binding financial agreement. 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:28.360 Right, that's correct. 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:32.240 So if we do feel like we need one, where 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:33.920 do we go? How do we set one up? You 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:36.360 said before, we shouldn't just go on Google and get 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:38.760 a bot to do it. So Lucy, what do we do? 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:43.240 Absolutely? So, I have a stable of lawyers who I 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:47.840 refer to. Not all family lawyers do binding financial agreements, 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:52.720 not all of them believe that they are enforceable in 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:56.440 majority of situations, and not all of them are able 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:59.320 to deliver it in a cost effective manner. So a 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:03.920 binding financi agreement is only the output is only as 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.240 good as the input, and so it's not a matter 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:09.680 of simply filling out an online questionnaire and your lawyer 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.960 will draft it. And so some lawyers really don't offer 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:17.080 them because the time that it takes with a lawyer 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:20.400 one on one to discuss the strategy what's appropriate, your 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.880 partner will need a lawyer. So my recommendations to find 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:28.360 a lawyer are Facebook groups. Your local Facebook group. I 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.200 always think word of mouth referrals are the best. 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:35.840 Couldn't agree more. I'm partial to a good Facebook group louse. 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:41.040 True, Well, she's on the money is local to everyone. 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:45.040 So I might share my list of there's a dozen 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:47.440 family lawyers who you know comes up in a state 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:49.680 planning all the time. And I'm like, this covers you 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.160 in your death, this does not cover you in your lifetime. 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:53.960 You need to do this as well, And so I 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:55.480 have a list of names of firmsuit I. 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:58.720 Oh my god, yes, we would adore that. I'll put 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:01.240 it on a social media post and we'll also add 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:04.080 it to our website so that people can always access them. 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:08.360 Awesome, Well, that's a really good starting shortcut. I have 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:11.200 prequalified them actually only last month I was like, Okay, 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:15.360 who does them? I am going to highly recommend working 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:16.000 with a lawyer. 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:19.240 And if you are at the stage where you have 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:21.960 an asset to protect, then I think that you're at 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.120 the stage where you just need to invest invest in 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:24.720 this advice. 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:27.360 I'm in a preventative area of law. 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:32.640 Estate planning prevents fights, bfas prevent fights, and I think that, 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:36.440 you know, I just can't stand by the value anymore 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:37.680 than that. 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.920 So talking about it being worth it, obviously, if you've 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:43.960 bought a property and had that for a number of 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.320 years before getting into a relationship, it's going to have 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:51.040 been a really significant financial investment. So in my mind 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.600 that means that you probably should be spending a couple 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.520 of thousand dollars to protect that asset. Like it's kind 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.640 of like an insurance policy that you're taking out in 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:03.320 a way on your relationship, which seems a little bit morbid, 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:05.760 but we know this. That's tell us, Lucy that fifty 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.960 percent of marriages actually end in divorce, And while that's 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.480 not a nice thing to comprehend, it kind of justifies 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:15.680 why we are actually doing these things. So how much 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.480 will a binding financial agreement set us back. 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.680 It is going to vary so much. 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:24.800 And I will say that when I created that list 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:27.200 of qualified lawyers saying they did do it, they all 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:31.800 said it is an expensive area of law because it 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.800 all depends on getting your actual facts, how you truly 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:37.280 live values of things. 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:42.520 So I would say between three thousand plus and. 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:46.879 Different firms will vary in price enormously, and so you 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.640 know it is worth taking that half a day off 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.240 and to ring around maybe the whole dozen on the list, 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:56.679 and you will find someone in your price range and 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:57.640 it will be worth it. 0:17:57.680 --> 0:17:59.800 And I don't know how you feel about this, Lucy, 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:02.640 but I feel like when it comes to having a lawyer, yeah, 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:05.960 you can absolutely do remotely, but it is actually quite 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:09.239 important to have one in your state just because there 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.600 are different rules and regulations. 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.520 Well, with family law, I do not have any concerns 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:17.400 referring people across the country. 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:19.720 So a lot of them take that back to my friends. 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.480 No, yeah, this area of Laura, I think has such 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:27.480 a national focus. Wills it definitely state by state, but 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:32.360 for finding financial agreements, the principles are national. 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:35.040 Well, that is why you are here. And I'm not 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:37.240 directing this conversation this time. 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:39.680 When a client comes to see me, I always say 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:41.680 that ninety percent of the work has already been done. 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:44.080 All we need you to do is do. 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:47.440 You research, talk to a family lawyer, have that first consult, 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:50.880 and they will coach you through how to introduce this 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:54.399 concept that you want a BFA to your partner. So 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:57.480 literally they'll be able to say, in your exact circumstances, 0:18:57.560 --> 0:19:00.480 these are the top three reasons why you're reallyship is 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.119 going to benefit from it. And so let the lawyer 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.440 coach you in what to say. I literally say to people, 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:07.520 do you want to practice talking about it? When I'm 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:09.440 trying to coach them through running a will or something 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:11.360 like that, I say, let's have that practice conversation. 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:14.240 And it really helps, It really really does. And I 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:17.520 think that helps in any circumstance when it comes to 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.440 a sticky conversation or one that you're not super confident. 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:23.320 Having role playing with a friend or a family member 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:27.520 or your lawyer can be really really effective. But talking 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:30.760 about all of this stuff makes it seem so much 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:34.520 more common than it actually is. And according to a 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.600 little bit of research I did before the podcast in Australia, 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:42.720 Canstar says that only six percent of couples actually have 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:46.080 bfas Lucy. Why is the percentage so low? 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:49.920 I think that this speaks so beautifully to one of 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:52.399 the things that I love about Australian culture so much, 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:54.679 and that is that we are optimistic and we have 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:56.120 a Shelby right attitude. 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:59.040 So I love that in one I think so too 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:02.080 because I also try to do some research into how 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:05.320 many Americans have prenups, because this is similar in a 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:09.080