May 2023 - Rosemary Saad INFORMAL WILLS IN NSW A formal Will in New South Wales follows guidelines outlined in the Succession Act 2006. If a Will does not follow these legislative guidelines, all hope is not lost! These Wills are called informal Wills and can still be considered valid by a Court in NSW. Formal or informal Wills? For a Willin NSW to be recognised as legal and binding it must be in writing; executed by
Important things you need to consider and act on | PART 2 of 2 March 2023 | Nicola Sharp and Ashley Lovelock Following on from our previous article, there are common issues we face in our client and estate dealings and questions that arise that we want to cover and answer for you to help ensure you and your assets are fully protected and your wishes are legally documented … What happens if I die without a Will?
Important things you need to consider and act on | PART 1 of 2 February 2023 | Nicola Sharp and Ashley Lovelock Estate Planning & Second Spouses/Marriages In the world we live in today, with blended families as the “new normal”, it is essential that you protect your assets and you plan for: providing for your children from your previous relationship; providing for your surviving spouse from your current relationship; and providing for any children from your current
October 2022 | Ashley Lovelock A recent divorce of an Australian high society couple became “ugly” when it was revealed the former wife misled her Husband over the value of her “international luxury designer clothes collection”. The Wife valued her couture collection at NIL when the couple signed off on a division of their property. The Husband disputed the value in Court, and gave evidence that the items were actually worth $1.2 million. The
August 2022 | Ashley Lovelock A question frequently asked by clients is whether they can rely on recordings they have taken on their phone of their ex-partner or children and whether such recordings can be put into evidence and considered by a Judge in their final hearing. What does the legislation say? In NSW the recording of a private conversation is prohibited under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW)[1]. The Act states that a person must not knowingly install,
May 2022 | Natasha Thomas As of April 5 2022 ASIC requires all intending directors to apply for a director’s ID prior to their appointment. This step marks the end of the transitional period for the rollout of this new requirement, intended to increase corporate transparency and fairness. To learn more about what director ID’s are and your obligations read our article here. All intending directors or alternate-directors bear the onus of applying for a director ID through
February 2022 | Natasha Thomas COVID-19 has highlighted the contemporary need for law reform concerning the legal validity of electronic documents, and virtual company meetings. To learn more about how the law has adapted to COVID-19 see our article here. Responding to these changes and pressures, on 10 February 2022 the Senate passed the Corporations Amendments (Meetings and Documents) Bill 2021, its reforms permanently modernising corporation law. The reforms outlined in this legislation include: allowing companies to hold meetings
January 2022 | Natasha Thomas COVID-19 restrictions presented unique legal challenges for companies, including the ability to hold in-person meetings and validly execute documents. Responding to this, in 2020 the Australian Government amended the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to allow companies or registered schemes to employ virtual meeting technology. The changes to the law permitted companies or registered schemes to: hold virtual meetings; distribute meeting-related documents in electronic form; and execute documents electronically. With COVID-19 showing limited signs
December 2021 | Natasha Thomas ASIC has introduced a new law requiring company directors to verify their identity through a director identification number (director ID). Directors will be issued with an ID by the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS), which they retain for your whole lifetime even if you resign as a director, change names, move overseas. People who deal with a company are entitled to know the identity and certain details of the company’s directors. The scheme
October 2021 The move to 100% e-conveyancingThe NSW Government has introduced new changes to the land titles system that will take effect from 11 October 2021. These changes stem from the Real Property Amendment (Certificates of Title) Act 2021 and will abolish the use of Certificate of Title documents (CTs) and establish a new era of 100% e-conveyancing.What does this mean?The Registrar General has published a summary of changes for landowners, namely:those who pay off their mortgage will no longer receive
April 2021 | Scott Freidman The vaccines developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are showing signs of promise in addressing the health implications of the virus. However, they also raise issues of uncertainty for Australian workplaces focusing upon their health and safety obligations. In particular, two questions arise: in the absence of legislated directions requiring them, when can employers make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for their employees; and what options are available to an employer if an employee refuses
March 2021 | Nicola Sharp Electronic execution under the Corporations Act suspended The temporary COVID-19 relief measures imposed by the Federal Government expired on 21 March 2021. The Corporations (Coronavirus Economic Response Determination (No 3) 2020 (Cth) (Determination) enabled businesses to electronically execute documents through changes on the operation of provisions in the Corporations Act 2001. Despite belief that the measures would be further extended through the passing of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No.1) Bill 2021, parliament
