Property Settlement: When do you Qualify for the PPP (Priority Property Pool) List?

Property Settlement: When do you Qualify for the (Priority Property Pool) List?

*Property Pool under $550,000

When separated parties are working out a property settlement, it is always ideal to reach an agreement about how assets in the ‘property pool’ are divided.

When this is not possible, litigation may be the only option.

Litigation requires an application to the court for a judge to determine how property should be divided. This is very costly. It costs money, and time, energy and stress.

A real issue arises when parties with a modest property ‘pool’ can’t reach agreement.

The financial cost of going to court where the total property pool has a relatively low value can be prohibitive as the costs of litigation would eat into the property pool substantially.

The court wishes to manage cases like these so that legal costs are kept to a minimum and the parties assets are preserved.

Keeping Litigation Costs Low

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia have responded to this situation by establishing case management strategies that seek to keep litigation costs as low as possible.

If the court can see the property pool is modest and meets certain criteria, it will seek to deal with the application as a priority and deal with it in a streamlined manner. This reduces costs for the parties so that property is not ‘eaten up’ with legal/court fees.

This pathway is referred to ‘the PPP list’.

PPP refers to a ‘Priority Property Pool’.

When does a matter qualify to be on the PPP list?

A case qualifies as a PPP case where:

• The proceedings relate only to property settlement matters and/or spousal maintenance (there are no parenting orders sought in the application).

AND EITHER

• The net value of the property (excluding super) is or appears to be under $550,000

OR

• The net value of the property of the parties (excluding super) is not significantly greater than $550,000 and the Court considers it appropriate due to the parties (or one of the parties) having a particular vulnerability due to:
  • their location, demographic features, allegations of family violence including coercive control, or the Court considers it appropriate to include the matter as a PPP Case.

Cases that won’t be included on the PPP List:

If the property pool includes an entity or entities such as a company, partnership or family trust that will require a valuation, that case will not be allocated to the PPP list.

If the proceedings include anything to do with parenting or children, they cannot be on the PPP list.

How does a PPP case proceed?

The PPP list and the Court aim to resolve matters efficiently by:

• Intensively monitoring compliance with orders,
• PPP cases being allocated to dispute resolution quickly, and
• where possible, reducing the number of Court appearances required.

If a matter is on the PPP list:

• Specific documents will need to be filed,
• Orders may be made by the Court before the first Court date.
• These Orders may require steps be taken before the first Court date and the PPP list will monitor compliance with those Orders intensively.
• Evidence must be prepared carefully, and all relevant information must be included to achieve the best outcome possible.

Summary

If you have a modest property pool, it is still important to seek advice from an experienced family lawyer. Don’t think ‘I can’t afford a lawyer’ when in fact ‘you can’t afford not to see a lawyer’.

An experienced family lawyer can advise and guide you to your best possible outcome.