When Does a De Facto Relationship End? Understanding the Two-Year Time Limit for Property Claims
The end of a de facto relationship is not always marked by one clear event. One person may start sleeping on the couch or move into a separate bedroom. A couple may stop having a sexual relationship, separate their finances or stop socialising together, but continue living under the same roof, particularly where there are children or practical reasons for doing so. Others may separate, spend time together again and later disagree about whether the relationship had resumed. These circumstances can make the date the relationship ended difficult to identify and legally important. A person generally has two years from the end of a de facto relationship to commence a property claim. A recent case, Alloway & Longo, is a useful reminder that the end of a de facto relationship is not always defined by the day someone moves out or says the relationship is over. What happens afterwards may also matter. What matters is the overall picture and because the two-year time limit runs from the end of the de facto relationship, that picture can have real legal consequences.