So, you’ve worked out The Pie—what’s available to be split between you and your partner, as well as how much things are worth or what’s owing on debts.
The next step is to split The Pie.
If I can suggest, Step 1 is to start by going through The Pie to work out what’s agreed. For example:
- Will you each keep the car you drive?
- What of the household contents do you agree that you’ll each keep?
- Do you want to split your superannuation?
- Do you agree one of you will keep the house or you’ll sell it?
Try and get as many runs on the board about these things that are essentially, noise. ‘Noise’ is the distraction from the big ticket things like—who keeps the house? What’s the payout figure that will be paid to one person? If you sell the house, how will you split the net sale proceeds? Will you split super or not—and if not, will that be adjusted or offset?
Those couples who successfully end up reaching an agreement and have an amicable divorce or separation, think big picture. They try not to sweat the small stuff.
One of other things to do is identify your interests—your needs, priorities and goals. These are the ideal things that you feel you need as part of a final agreement outcome. You should consider the reason behind each interest; why is it important to you? Writing down your interests and your reasoning why will help you and your partner to communicate with one another to reach a final agreement.
