Spousal Caveats
On 10 October 2017 the Attorney General for the State of Western Australia the Hon. John Quigley MLA tabled in the Parliament of Western Australia a Report from the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia.
The Report arises from a referral that the previous Attorney General made to the Commission in August 2016. In the period since the referral the Commission has been working on the project and the Report tabled in October 2017 represents the culmination of that work.’
In the Report the Commission has put forward a series of recommendations to reform the Caveat system in Western Australia where that system intersects with relationship breakdown. Central to the recommendations is a recommendation that a new “Spousal Caveat” be created.
In the Report the Commission said:
“…the inability for people contemplating the termination of their relationships to simply, efficiently and cost effectively protect property interests arising out of those relationships is a material issue for those … affected by Family Law in Western Australia.”
The Commission went on to say:
“…this new category of Caveat will assist in protecting vulnerable partners in de facto and marital breakdowns, including those who hold legal interest in the relevant property or who has not managed and is not familiar with the assets of the relationship”.
The Report is published on the Commission’s website. Click here to view the Report.