Who’s liable for unsafe rental premises?
The N.S.W. Court of Appeal recently considered the respective liabilities of a landlord, managing agent and tenant arising out of the collapse of a balcony at a rental property at Collaroy, on the Northern Beaches of Sydney (Libra Collaroy Pty Limited v Bhide).
In 2005, the landlord engaged a real estate agent to manage their residential rental property pursuant to a Management Agreement. During the tenancy, the tenant raised numerous issues concerning the state of repair of the upstairs balcony. The managing agent obtained quotes for repairs and forwarded these to the landlord however these were not acted on.
In 2012, the balcony collapsed injuring 4 people, including the tenant’s daughter. The 4 injured persons commenced proceedings against the landlord and the managing agent for their injuries and the tenant also commenced proceedings against the landlord and the managing agent for psychological injury. The landlord and managing agent issued cross claims against each other and also against the tenant. Read the rest of this entry »
Buying or selling an RTO?
If you are buying or selling a Registered Training Organisation (“RTO“) it is very important you engage a competent solicitor who has experience in dealing with RTOs.
In addition to dealing with the usual sale of business considerations, including without limitation:
- Stock,
- Goodwill,
- Plant & Equipment (including discharging securities),
- Restraints,
- Employees,
- Leases/Licence Agreements/Supplier Agreements/Franchise Agreements, and
- Intellectual Property;
The sale or purchase of an RTO must also deal with the government department known as the Australian Skill Quality Authority (“ASQA”). Read the rest of this entry »
Naming your small business start-up – what to consider
One of the first things to do for your small business start-up is choosing a name. It is also one of the most exciting! It is a creative opportunity to come up with the name that will identify your business going forward and build your successful empire (hopefully)!
However, there are some unexciting legal considerations that should also be addressed during this process. The main one is to ensure that you are not going to infringe on anyone else’s intellectual property rights when settling on your name or be accused of trying to pass off as another business with a similar name. There are some administrative headaches that can also be avoided if you put some effort into identifying the current marketplace before settling on a name. Read the rest of this entry »
Elder abuse – a push to keep our elderly safe
Elder abuse is an area which is becoming of greater concern to Australian society. With an aging population and increased wealth being held by the elderly, it is an unfortunate reality that elder abuse is becoming more and more common.
Elder abuse is defined as ‘a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person’.
Elder abuse can take various forms, including:
- physical abuse
- psychological or emotional abuse
- sexual abuse
- financial abuse
- neglect
Feuding over the funeral – who has the say?
They say death brings out the worst in people. It follows that the funeral arrangements are probably the first opportunity where disputes can erupt.
So who has the final say when it comes to your funeral arrangements?
If you die with a will, the answer is your executor. The executor appointed under your will has the right to the custody and possession of your body for the purpose of burial and is responsible for the burial. These rules date back to 1882. If you have included wishes regarding your funeral in your will, they are not binding on your executor. If however you have left a written direction that you are not to be cremated, this is binding on your executor. Read the rest of this entry »
If I leave him something, can he still contest my will?
The changing nature of families over recent years has presented a new concern for people in attempting to leave their estate to those they wish. With an ever increasing number of blended families and more and more competing interests of family members who may not have a close relationship with each other, people are finding it difficult to have their testamentary intentions become a reality.
A family provision claim is where someone claims they should have been left more of a deceased person’s estate than what they were left. There are only certain classes of people who are eligible to make a family provision claim, however the law has evolved over time to broaden the types of eligible persons. Read the rest of this entry »
Thinking of amending your will by hand? Think again
Your will is an extremely important document and governs what happens to your assets upon your death. Estate planning, and particularly drafting and interpreting wills, is a complex area of law. Although this is so, people commonly think it is straight forward.
You have spent a lifetime accumulating your wealth and the transferring of that wealth to the next generation is not necessarily a simple task. Even in situations where there is a simple family structure and relatively straight forward assets, we often see problems created by self-drafted or self-amended wills.
Obtaining legal advice regarding how best to transfer your assets upon your death and having your will professionally drafted is of great importance. For those who have gone to the effort and expense of doing so in the past, it can be tempting to make small changes to the will by hand afterward. There are however numerous rules which govern whether a will is validly amended and it is often the case that these rules are not followed when people amend their wills themselves. Read the rest of this entry »