The third step involves assessing the future needs of each party. Factors to consider include:

• the age and state of health of each party,
• the income, property and financial resources of each party and their physical and mental capacity for achieving gainful employment,
• responsibility for a child of the marriage who is less than18 years old,
• commitments necessary for a party to support themselves or to support any other person that the party has a duty towards,
• eligibility for a pension, allowance or benefit,
• the standard of living which is reasonable in the circumstances,
• whether the relationship has affected the earning capacity of a party and to what extent,
• if either party is living with someone else, the financial circumstances arising from cohabitating with another person,
• the terms of any Orders made in relation to the property of the parties and
• the terms of any binding financial agreement.

Re-partnering is a commonly assessed factor. The financial situation resulting from the new relationship may influence the property settlement.

If a property settlement application proceeds to Court, the Court may place a great deal of weight on these factors or it can choose to decide they have a minimal impact. The Court will apply an adjustment in favour of one or other of the parties to compensate for any difference in their future circumstances.