Family law and pets
by Rose Laffan
Rose Laffan is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practises extensively in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
Given how much people adore their pets it is no surprise that the question of who gets the pets after separation is a growing issue for family lawyers.
In some parts of the world Courts can settle disputes by setting out what days of the week pets will spend with each party, as well as issues concerning medical care and stipulations for pet day care if both parties work.
In Australia, however, such options are not available. If you cannot reach agreement it usually means one person walks away from their beloved pet. Even if an agreement can be reached between the parties it is not possible to have that agreement formalised as the Courts will not make Orders for pets.
Dividing digital assets
by Rose Laffan
Rose Laffan is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practises extensively in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
Splitting up today means considering items beyond the pots and pans – extending to devices like phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers, cameras, and even cloud data and iTunes accounts. Some of these items only take up a small amount of space – or even only virtual space – but they can take thousands of dollars to accumulate.
Another emerging issue is how to settle virtual assets: non-physical objects purchased online for use in online communities and games but using real-world currency. In some games, players trade and sell these goods and can convert them back to real-world currency, often for a profit – for example, according to a media report a player in the multiplayer Entropia Universe sold a virtual nightclub for over US$600,000.
What is a Will and why should I have one?
by Lana Black
Lana Black is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay and is part of our Commercial & Property Law team.
A will is a written legal document which is made by a person (the testator) and sets out the distribution of that person’s property after they die. While many people believe making a will is too costly and a waste of money, the reality is that if a person dies without a will (intestate) the cost of administering the deceased’s estate can be substantially higher and the estate will be divided according to a statutory formula which may not be inline with the deceased’s wishes.
Shareholder disputes in small companies
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in dispute resolution, litigation and employment law.
Although it is a long established principle of law that corporations have separate legal “personalities” to their shareholders and Directors, when shareholder disputes occur in small companies there are often parallels with partnership disputes between individuals.
The Federal Court recently considered such a case. A company was created essentially as a vehicle for money lending. There were only two shareholders, each of whom was a Director. Read the rest of this entry »
The dangers of at home will kits
by Lana Black
Lana Black is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay and is part of our Commercial & Property Law team.
While many people find at home will kits more convenient and cost effective than having a Solicitor prepare his/her will, the reality is that at home will kits are fraught with dangers and may ultimately cost more in the long run.
The Succession Act (the Act) provides that a document must be in writing, be signed by the testator (the person making the will) and be witnessed by two independent adults in order to be considered a will. While this criteria seems relatively straight forward, they are often not satisfied when a person prepares his/her own will using an at home will kit.