What is a caveat?
How can you make sure that real estate registered in the other spouse’s name is not sold, transferred or put up as security without your knowledge? Protection may be found in a caveat.
A caveat is a document that can be lodged with the Titles Office. Once a caveat is lodged, the owner of the property is not able to deal with the property in any way including selling, transferring or further encumbering the property until the caveat is removed.
Are you able to Register a Caveat?
In order to register a caveat, a person must first establish a caveatable interest. In many family law matters, a former partner is usually able to demonstrate an interest in the property as a result of their ‘financial and non-financial contributions’ to the ‘acquisition, maintenance and improvement’ of the property during the course of the marriage or relationship.
Risk in Registering a Caveat
There are risks of registering a caveat. If the person who lodges the caveat is found to have no caveatable interest, and the owner of the land suffers some kind of financial loss as a consequence of the caveat, the owner of the land can recover those losses from the person who lodged the caveat.
We recommend that anyone who has concerns about property being disposed of without their knowledge or who is thinking of lodging a caveat should contact us for specialist Family Law advice. Phone (07) 3221 4300 for a fixed-fee no obligation initial consultation today.