I believe that any future property division by a court will be based on what you own at the time of the hearing, not at the point of separation. A good reason to finalise properly now.
Is that right ThatBum? Mr Bum?
Yes its the asset pool at the time of the hearing. Its all back on the table potentially (well it never came off the table).
The court does take into account assets acquired after separation as a contribution on behalf of that party usually, but it can still create problems for that party if the fair split was always going to be skewed the other way.
Frankly keeping it "informal" is an enormous risk moving forward, and especially so for the party who intends to be earning more in the future.
Would anyone have an "informal" agreement when buying property or developing? Presumably not, so then why would anyone risk literally all their assets on an "informal" agreement for the sake of saving a few bucks on lawyers?
Ha - Mr Bum. Sure why not.