What is a De Facto Relationship?

Have you ever had a client who claimed to be in a De Facto Relationship with someone they barely knew? Well they might be reading the law correctly. This is an area of the law that is simply confusing - not living together, not committed and not even in the same state! Courts have found couples to be De Factos and ntitled to make claims under the Family Law Act and the Succession Act for many years. This dispels some of the myths and answers why that is the case.