Drink Driving and Police Licence Suspension Powers
David Gawthorne is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
Whenever someone is caught driving with a blood alcohol level in the mid-range (0.080 to 0.149) or higher, NSW Police have the power to suspend the driver’s licence on the spot until the drink driving charge is dealt with by a Magistrate. They usually use this power. Though there are some cases in which the Magistrate finds that the offence occurred without convicting the driver, in the usual case the driver is convicted and disqualified from holding a driver licence for at least 6 months… often longer. Read the rest of this entry »
Duties of Employees to their Employer
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and is one of LawCover’s panel solicitors.
The Federal Court recently considered the duties owed by employees to employers. In Permission Corp v Pegasus, two employees of the applicant Permission Corp (PC) set up their own company Pegasus and, without disclosing their interest in it to PC, arranged for Pegasus to enter into contracts with PC. As a result Pegasus was paid significant sums. Further, Pegasus did not provide the service for which the payment was made. PC later became aware of the situation; obtained orders ‘freezing’ Pegasus’ bank accounts, and sued Pegasus and the employees (who, unsurprisingly, were dismissed) for damages. Read the rest of this entry »
Superannuation
Mark Sullivan is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
In APRA’s recently released December 2011 Quarterly Superannuation Performance publication it reported that the total estimated superannuation assets of Australians increased by $15.8 billion (1.2%) to $1.31 trillion over the 12 months to 31 December 2011. These are big numbers and difficult to comprehend, but they clearly underline the importance of superannuation in our society today. Read the rest of this entry »
Payslip Reporting of Superannuation Benefits
Mark Sullivan is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
Changes to the Superannuation laws and practice affects all of our clients, but usually in the areas of employment law, business management, Elder law, wills and estates and of course Family law where superannuation entitlements represent a major asset and financial resource that might need to be adjusted on a relationship breakdown. Read the rest of this entry »
Suing To See The Grandkids
David Gawthorne is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
The recent Family Law case of Oldfield & Oldfield involved the unusual and somewhat tragic situation of grandparents suing their son and his partner to spend time with their 6 and 10 year-old grandkids. It all started after the birth of the second grandchild. At that time the grandmother made certain unflattering comments about her stepdaughter to a hairdresser. As the stepdaughter felt that the grandparents did not respect her, she decided to use her boys to exact a form of victory over the grandparents. Read the rest of this entry »
The Child Support Agency: Recent Developments
Mark Sullivan is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
The Child Support Agency (CSA) has established a Special Investigation Unit to target employers who fail to pass on child support payments which they have deducted from employee’s wages. Read the rest of this entry »
Power of Attorney – Should it be registered?
Robert Lindsay is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and leads our Commercial & Property Law team.
A correctly prepared and executed Power of Attorney confers on the Attorney the authority to do on behalf of the grantor (i.e. the person giving the Power of Attorney) anything that the grantor may lawfully authorise an Attorney to do (subject to compliance with any conditions or limitations specified in the Power of Attorney). In respect of an Enduring Power of Attorney, authority to act as the Attorney of the grantor is not conferred until the Attorney accepts the appointment by signing the Power of Attorney. Read the rest of this entry »
Power of Attorney – Two or More Attorneys
Robert Lindsay is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and leads our Commercial & Property Law team.
Often, a person creating a Power of Attorney (“the grantor”) decides to appoint two or more people to be his or her Attorneys. If so, the grantor must decide whether the Attorneys will be appointed jointly, jointly and severally or severally. Read the rest of this entry »
Enduring Power of Attorney
Robert Lindsay is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and leads our Commercial & Property Law team.
A common reason why a person appoints another person to be his or her Attorney is the fear by the grantor (i.e. the person making the Power of Attorney) that he or she may be unable to manage his or her affairs due to illness causing lack of mental capacity (such as dementia). If that is the reason for the creation of the Power of Attorney then it is important the Power of Attorney is an Enduring Power of Attorney. Section 19 of the Powers of Attorney Act 2003 provides that an Enduring Power of Attorney is created if: Read the rest of this entry »
Power of Attorney – Who Can Benefit?
Robert Lindsay is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and leads our Commercial & Property Law team.
Section 12(1) of the Powers of Attorney Act 2003 provides that an Attorney appointed pursuant to a Power of Attorney cannot confer a benefit on himself or herself unless the Power of Attorney expressly allows the Attorney to do so. Read the rest of this entry »