Separation is difficult enough without the added stress of a property settlement that seems to be going nowhere. When one party delays the process, it can create real emotional and financial strain, especially when your ability to move forward feels tied to someone else’s inaction.
Under Australian family law, a property settlement is the process of dividing assets, liabilities, and financial resources after separation. While many matters resolve through negotiation, delays are common, and not always for the same reasons.
For nearly a decade, BGM Family Lawyers has guided families through property division using proven approaches designed to save time, money and stress, with the firm recognised by Doyle’s Guide and Best Law Firms Australia for its work in family law.
In this article, we draw on our experience to explain why property settlements get delayed, how delays typically show up, the risks of waiting too long, and what practical steps you can take if your ex is stalling.
Key takeaways
- Property settlement delays are common and can be strategic, circumstantial, or stem from emotional distress, grief, or an inability to cope after separation
- Ongoing delays can create financial imbalance, legal risk, and emotional strain
- There are practical and legal steps available to progress a stalled settlement, including formal notices and court intervention where necessary
- Strict time limits apply to property settlements, and missing them can significantly affect your rights
Get clear, practical advice about your property settlement from one of BGM Family Lawyers’ experienced property settlement lawyers.
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Why is my ex-wife or ex-husband delaying the property settlement?
Delays can be active (deliberate) or passive (circumstantial), and understanding the difference is important as it can determine your course of action.
Active or deliberate delays
In some cases, delays are strategic. This can include:
- Allowing time for a transaction to complete, such as the sale of an asset
- Attempting to “run out the clock” on statutory time limits to block a claim
- Creating financial pressure by forcing the other party to exhaust their legal resources
- Avoiding engagement to make it harder for the other person to stay legally represented
These delays are intentional and often driven by a perceived legal or financial advantage.
Passive or circumstantial delays
Not all delays are tactical. Sometimes, a spouse is struggling to cope with the separation itself. This may involve:
- Difficulty assembling financial disclosure
- Limited time or emotional capacity to deal with legal steps
- Poor mental health or an inability to function at normal capacity
In practice, delays are often linked to how the separation occurred. For example, if the separation was sudden, unexpected, or involved distressing revelations such as infidelity, one party may not yet be in a headspace to make decisions or take action. Grief, shock, and emotional paralysis are very real factors.
How an ex-partner may delay a property settlement
Delays rarely present as an outright refusal to engage. More commonly, they appear through patterns of behaviour over time, such as:
- Failing to provide financial disclosure, or providing it in incomplete stages
- Delayed or non-existent responses to correspondence
- Avoiding of complicating necessary steps like asset valuations
- Refusing to engage in dispute resolution processes such as mediation
- Raising irrelevant ‘red herring’ issues that distract from the core financial matters
Individually, these behaviours may seem minor, but collectively they can significantly slow progress.
What to do when your ex is delaying the property settlement
The appropriate response depends on the reason for the delay.
If the delay appears deliberate, there are formal tools available to progress the matter. One commonly used step is issuing a ‘Notice of Action’. This document typically sets out what needs to happen next, such as completing disclosure, obtaining valuations, or participating in mediation, and places a clear timeframe around those steps. It may also include a formal settlement offer.
If there is no response, the party who issued the notice may apply to the court for procedural orders. Importantly, an unanswered Notice of Action can be relied upon when seeking orders for costs.
Where the delay appears to be driven by emotional distress or an inability to cope, a more measured approach may be appropriate. This can involve allowing additional time, recommending support from a mental health professional, or suggesting both parties participate in separation counselling. In some cases, counselling can help a spouse process the end of the relationship and re-focus on the financial matters that still need to be resolved.
Court proceedings generally become necessary when reasonable attempts to progress the matter have failed, and there is no meaningful engagement/participation from the other side. At that point, the matter often needs to be driven forward by litigation, with the court making directions and orders to move it toward resolution.
One important caution applies regardless of which side you are on: if you receive a Notice of Action, you should obtain legal advice and respond within the timeframe specified. Ignoring it can have serious legal and cost consequences.
COURT PROCEEDINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AN IMMEDIATE IMPASSE BREAKER
If you decide to commence Court proceedings after a Notice of Action is not answered, a recalcitrant spouse may continue to refuse to comply with the Court’s orders and directions. So what do you do then? There are 2 options – firstly, you can use the tools which are opened when a case is before the Court, to take steps yourself, such as issuing Subpoenas to banks, accountants, and other third parties, and then seeking an order that your former partner pays the costs of those steps. Secondly, you can reframe your property settlement to seek a larger portion of the asset pool, inviting the Court to draw an inference that your spouse has not provided full and frank disclosure for financial reasons advantageous to them.
The impacts of delaying a property settlement
Delays can have tangible and long-lasting effects. From a practical perspective, financial imbalance is common. One party may continue living in the family home while the other is renting, or one spouse may remain involved in a family business and receive income while the other has exited without any ongoing income stream.
There are also significant legal and financial risks, including:
- Expiration of statutory time limits, potentially preventing a financial claim
- Unrevealed dealings with assets that may be reducing the asset pool
- Accumulation of debt that complicates settlement negotiations
Changes in asset values can further complicate matters. Property markets, businesses, and investments fluctuate. An increase or decrease in value during a delay period may disproportionately affect one party and alter what outcomes are achievable. For example, a rising property market may make it more difficult for one party to retain the former family home.
Extended delays also increase the likelihood of changes in circumstances. A party may receive an inheritance or other financial windfall during the waiting period, which can impact settlement outcomes.
Emotionally, most people want to feel that their matter is progressing toward a conclusion. When a case feels stuck, frustration and uncertainty often increase, making it harder to plan for the future.
Is there a time limit for completing a property settlement?
Yes, there are time limits for completing a property settlement, and these deadlines are critical.
- For married couples, an application for financial orders must be filed within 12 months of a divorce order taking effect.
- For de facto couples, the time limit is 24 months from the date of separation.
These deadlines are missed more often than people expect. Whilst it is possible to seek permission from the court to proceed out of time, this requires a separate application before the financial claim can be brought. These applications are frequently opposed, expensive to run, and outcomes can be unpredictable. The court will, before allowing an ‘out of time’ claim to proceed, closely examine both the reason for the delay and the prejudice to the other party if the claim is allowed to proceed.
Final thoughts
Delays in property settlement can arise from strategy, circumstance, or emotional overwhelm. Identifying what is driving the delay is essential to choosing the right response, whether that involves firm legal steps or a more sensitive, supportive approach.
If your property settlement has stalled, early advice can help you protect your position, avoid missed deadlines, and move the matter toward resolution so you can move forward with greater clarity and certainty.
Ready to understand your options and move forward? Speak with one of BGM Family Lawyers’ experienced property settlement lawyers today.
