How do you know if you are in a de facto relationship?

Why the label matters

The point at which a relationship becomes a de facto relationship is the trigger for a set of rights and obligations. The most significant is that a former de facto partner may be able to apply for a property settlement or for spousal maintenance, which means asking you, or a court, to hand over a share of your assets or income.

Generally, an application for property orders requires the de facto relationship to have lasted at least two years, although there are exceptions including where there is a child of the relationship or where one party made substantial contributions. There is also a time limit: an application must ordinarily be brought within two years of the relationship breaking down.

If any of that comes as a surprise after a separation, it is usually because nobody ever stopped to think about when the line was crossed.

The factors a court weighs

These are not a checklist to tick off. You might satisfy several and still not be in a de facto relationship, because the overall question is whether you were a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis.

• Duration. A longer relationship carries more weight.
• Nature and extent of common residence. Staying over occasionally is very different from moving your belongings in.
• Whether a sexual relationship exists.
• Financial arrangements. Shared accounts, one partner supporting the other, or any understanding about pooling or providing money.
• Ownership, use and acquisition of property. Are things held jointly, kept strictly separate, or somewhere in between?
• Degree of mutual commitment to a shared life. Do both people appear equally invested in a life together?
• Whether the relationship is or was registered.
• Care and support of children.
• Reputation and public aspects of the relationship. Are you treated as a couple by family, friends and employers, invited together, described together?

How the factors get applied

Every relationship is different, so some of these will not apply to you at all. What they are collectively trying to answer is how closely tied together two people were, and how committed they were to living life jointly.

Relationships tend to be fluid. There is often no single moment where a couple crosses the line. There are, however, obvious markers that are worth noticing at the time: moving in together, having a child together, and running joint finances are all strong indicators of commitment.

If a relationship ends and there is a dispute, a court will weigh evidence. Each person will put on material to establish that there was, or was not, a de facto relationship. The court can consider anything on the list above and anything else it considers relevant, then answer the single question the Act asks.

The most useful thing most couples can do is have an honest conversation and check that both of them see the relationship the same way.

Common questions

Can you be in more than one de facto relationship at once?

Yes. The Act contemplates it. You can also be married to one person and in a de facto relationship with another at the same time.

Can we register the relationship?

Yes. Queensland allows registration of a civil partnership, and other states have equivalent schemes. Registration is a relevant factor but it is not conclusive, and a registered relationship is not automatically a de facto relationship for every purpose.

How does a de facto relationship end?

By one person telling or clearly indicating to the other that it is over. That is the tidiest way to fix a separation date, which matters because the two year limitation period for property applications runs from breakdown. Depending on your circumstances there may be further steps to take.

What if my de facto partner dies?

Get advice promptly. A surviving de facto partner may be entitled to provision from the estate, and there are strict time limits on family provision applications in Queensland.