New Family Court and FCC websites
Mark Sullivan is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
The community wants more information in an accessible format from businesses and Government departments, and they want it now. We have come to expect public information being readily available on the internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the busy Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court administrators have recognised this and have recently completed updating their websites.
The new Family Court site can be found at www.familycourt.gov.au and the Federal Circuit Court site remains at www.federalcircuitcourt.gov.au. They both went live on 29 May 2015. Features of the new sites include: Read the rest of this entry »
The dangers of a broad indemnity
by Lana Black
Lana Black is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay and is part of our Commercial & Property Law team.
If you ask a solicitor, he/she will tell you there are significant dangers with granting broad indemnities both in a commercial and personal context. One area of particular concern, when it comes to granting a far reaching indemnity, is where the indemnity includes claims for negligence.
In the case of Samways v Workcover Queensland and Others [2010] QSC 127 the Supreme Court of Queensland considered whether a contractual indemnity included an indemnity against any claim resulting from the indemnified party’s own negligence. Read the rest of this entry »
The importance of properly documenting a settlement
by Felicity Wardhaugh
Felicity Wardhaugh is a Special Counsel at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in commercial dispute resolution & litigation, and employment law.
A recent case in the Supreme Court of New South Wales highlights how important it is to properly document the settlement of claims and to think carefully about the effect of those documents on legal rights.
In Peter John Conridge v Marius Emiele Schaapveld [2015] NSWSC 663 Peter Conridge (the Plaintiff) had lent sums totalling $700,000 to assist his friends establish a frozen custard franchise. The loans were not documented. When the loans were not repaid he sued all 4 members of the family to recover his money. Read the rest of this entry »
Self managed superannuation funds (SMSF), Defined benefit interest rates for 2015/2016
Mark Sullivan is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
The importance of superannuation as a part of a couples’ wealth and financial resources cannot be understated. Australian’s superannuation assets totalled $2.05 trillion at the end of the March 2015 quarter.
It is possible to split the superannuation entitlements of married, de facto and same sex couples as part of a property settlement adjustment. Such splits need to be the subject of a Court order or a Superannuation Agreement entered into strictly in accordance with the Family Law Act. There are exclusions for de facto and same sex couples resident in Western Australia. Read the rest of this entry »
Separation in the age of the internet
by Rose Laffan
Rose Laffan is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practises extensively in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
We undoubtedly live in a digital age. We bank and shop online and we download music, movies and television. Email and text message are prominent forms of communication.
We also socialise online. With so many people sharing so much on sites like Facebook and Twitter, it can be easy to forget that these sites are not private – they are in the public domain. And in increasing number the internet, and in particular Facebook, is implicated in the breakdown of marriages and relationships. Read the rest of this entry »
Can a grandchild contest a will?
By Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and leads our Commercial & Property Law team.
Section 57 of the Succession Act lists those individuals who can contest the Will of a deceased person. They are termed “eligible persons” in the Act.
Section 57 (1) (e) provides that a grandchild of the deceased can contest a Will if he or she has been wholly or partly dependent on the deceased person (i.e. their grandparent). The fact that a person is the grandchild of the deceased is not sufficient to be an eligible person. The grandchild must establish that they have been in some way dependant on the deceased. Naturally, it is not difficult to establish that a grandchild has been wholly dependant on his or her grandparent if they live with the grandparent and are reared by the grandparent. However, to determine whether a grandchild has been partly dependant on his or her grandparent, the facts must be taken into consideration. Read the rest of this entry »
Appointing a guardian in your will
by Felicity Wardhaugh
Felicity Wardhaugh is a Special Counsel at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in commercial dispute resolution & litigation, and employment law.
It is a standard worry for a parent about what to do if they die and leave their children without anyone to look after them. Legislation in NSW allows a parent to appoint a guardian to look after the children in their Will. This guardian will then have the capacity to act as a parent for the children. If one parent is killed then usually the other parent will continue in the parental role and there will be no need for a different guardian.
However, if you are divorced or separated from a de facto relationship, inserting a provision in your Will that someone other than your ex-spouse or partner act as guardian for the children may not be effective. Under the Family Law Act (1975) your ex-spouse or partner will be the person who takes over the full time parental role. Read the rest of this entry »