Mullane & Lindsay Taking The Lead By Appointing Its First Female Director
While recent statistics from the Law Society of NSW reveal that only 18% of those managing law practices in NSW are women, Mullane & Lindsay Solicitors continues to uphold its mantra of taking the lead, by recently appointing its first female director Kristy Nunn.
Mullane & Lindsay is a long established law firm based in the Civic precinct, close to the new State Courthouse which is currently under construction. The firm was established in the late 1970’s by novocastrians The Honourable Graham Mullane and Robert Lindsay and has since grown to be one of the best regarded firms in the region. Read the rest of this entry »
Family Law Property Settlement: When Bankruptcy Overshadows All
David Gawthorne is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and an Accredited Specialist in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
Earlier this year, legislation was amended to make it clear that the Family Court’s own rules apply when a bankruptcy case is transferred to it from the Federal Court. It is still not widely recognised that Family Law Courts have bankruptcy powers in their own right where one of the parties to a Family Law property case is or may be declared bankrupt. This vesting of family law and bankruptcy powers in a single court has lead to a situation, in some cases, where the interests of the non-bankrupt spouse are balanced against the interests of the trustee in bankruptcy for the bankrupt spouse.
The usual approach that Family Law Courts adopt in determining an application for property settlement, and particularly in relation to longer marriages, is to firstly pool together all of the property of both parties, as to its value. From that single value is then usually subtracted the total value of the parties’ joint and several liabilities. In this way, payment of creditors is taken into account first, before the net value of the property is then considered available for division between the parties, according to their contribution and having regard to their future needs and other considerations. Read the rest of this entry »
Internet Domain Names
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and is one of LawCover’s panel solicitors.
The NSW Supreme Court recently upheld a decision by a domain name administrator, to cancel the registration of numerous registered domain names associated with a company, Loans and Debt Assistance Incorporated (LADAI). The company wanted to maintain the registrations. The domain names included fairly generic names such as “creditcards.org.au” and “carloan.org.au”. Many of the sites had either limited content or no content – the latter class were described as being ‘in development’. Read the rest of this entry »
Who is Responsible if a Child Suffers an Injury on Your Property?
by Kristy Nunn
Kristy Nunn is a Associate Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practices in our Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team.
In a recent case in the Queensland Supreme Court, the Court was asked to decide if an owner was liable for injuries suffered to a 17 year old child in a motor vehicle accident
Mr Grundy owned a rural property. On Christmas Day 2005 he held a family luncheon where his 17 year old step-granddaughter attended to see her grandmother (Mr Grundy’s partner), together with her mother, step-father and younger siblings. After Christmas lunch, the granddaughter requested permission to take her 14 year old brother for a drive in a car kept on the property. Read the rest of this entry »
Making Family Law Orders & Agreements Count Across the Ditch
David Gawthorne is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and an Accredited Specialist in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
New Zealand is geographically near to Australia and there is a special arrangement in place for free movement between the two countries. At the same time, Australia and New Zealand have very different Family Law systems for determining disputes between separated couples concerning how their joint and separate property is to be dealt with. So, circumstances often arise in which a disputing couple have residences or other property in both countries, potentially leading to a question as to which Family Law system should apply. To compound the difficulty, existing orders of Australian Family Law courts are not automatically recognised in New Zealandcourts, because there is presently no ability to register Australian Family Law orders there.
This situation is expected to change later in 2012 with the coming into force of the New Zealand Trans Tasman Proceedings Act and counterpart Australian legislation. The legislation will allow Australian Family Law orders to be registered and have force inNew Zealand. It will also provide a single test to be applied in bothAustralia and New Zealand as to which country’s courts should decide a particular Trans-Tasman Family Law property dispute. The third significant aspect is that Binding Financial Agreements (including prenuptial agreements) will be able to provide that either Australian orNew Zealand law should apply in considering the effect of the agreement. This will relieve a significant problem in trying to make agreements that cover the law of both countries when parties have property spread across theTasman Sea.
Reference: Eggleston, E. ‘Trans-Tasman Family Law Financial Issues’ (July 2012) Law Society Journal 72-75
David Gawthorne is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay, and practises extensively in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law. If you require any assistance in this area please contact David Gawthorne to arrange a consultation or contact our Newcastle office.
The Perils of Hot Chips
by Kristy Nunn
Kristy Nunn is a Assoicate Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practices in our Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team.
Hot chips are often criticised for being bad for our health. In the recent case decided by the High Court of Australia, hot chips were blamed for depositing grease on a shopping centre floor, which caused a woman to fall and suffer injury.
In September 2004 Ms Strong, a right leg amputee who was dependent on crutches, was looking at plants in a sidewalk sales area outside Big W at the Centro Taree Shopping Centre. Her crutch slipped on grease deposited by a chip which caused her to fall. She commenced some Court proceedings and her case went all the way to the High Court: Strong v Woolworths Ltd trading as Big W & Anor [2012] HCA 5. Read the rest of this entry »
Costs in Family Law Cases
David Gawthorne is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and an Accredited Specialist in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
It is common across many different kinds of litigation for the usual order in relation to the costs of the proceedings to follow the result. That is, the party to a court case who succeeds in their claim, or defence of a claim, as against the other party is usually entitled to have their legal costs paid by that unsuccessful party. To be precise, the successful party will be entitled to having a substantial part of their total legal bill paid by the other party, known as “party/party” costs. Read the rest of this entry »
Workers Compensation Reform
by Kristy Nunn
Kristy Nunn is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practices in our Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team.
The workers compensation reform legislation was passed by both houses of parliament on 22 June 2012. The key changes include:
- The system for payment of weekly payments of workers has been completed revised. Many workers will have a maximum entitlement to weekly payments for 2.5 years only, and unless an injured worker is assessed as having permanent impairment greater than 20%, all payments of weekly compensation will cease at the end of 5 years. Read the rest of this entry »
Paid Parental Leave scheme for working parents and it’s proposed extension for fathers and other partners Part 2
Ashley Stevens is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
Once you have successfully made a claim for Parental Leave Pay, you are able to nominate the date you start receiving the payments. You can start receiving payments from the birth date or adoption date, or at some later date, however the 18 weeks of payments must all be paid within 52 weeks of the birth or adoption. Read the rest of this entry »
Paid Parental Leave scheme for working parents and it’s proposed extension for fathers and other partners Part 1
Ashley Stevens is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
The Paid Parental Leave scheme entitles working parents of children born or adopted from 1 January 2011 to receive Parental Leave Pay which is funded by the government.
In order to receive Parental Leave Pay, certain eligibility criteria must be met. If eligible, working parents can receive Parental Leave Pay at the rate of the National Minimum Wage (currently $589.40 a week) for up to 18 weeks. Tax is payable on this pay. Read the rest of this entry »
Oaths Act Requirements
By Sally Davies
Sally Davies is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in our Commercial, Property & Estates Law Team
As of 30 April 2012, witnesses to NSW Statutory Declarations and affidavits are required to take certain steps to identify the person making the declaration or affidavit.
Under amendments to the Oaths Act, an ‘authorised witness’ of a statutory declaration or affidavit must:- Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Mortgage Default And Claims For Possession
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and is one of LawCover’s panel solicitors.
As most people understand, if they borrow money on the security of a mortgage, but do not repay the loan, the lender may try to take possession of the security property to satisfy the debt. Generally, lenders must notify an intention to do so. A recent case of Monas v Perpetual Trustees Victoria Limited deals with whether, in relation to a loan subject to the Consumer Credit (NSW) Code, a lender must give notice of default to a borrower in specific terms and, whether, if it does not, the default notice is invalid. Read the rest of this entry »
Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment Bill 2011
Mark Sullivan is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
On 2 November 2011, the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment Bill 2011 was introduced to Parliament. The Bill will increase the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) from 9% to 12%. Read the rest of this entry »
Treasury – New Online Form to Find Lost Super
Mark Sullivan is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
On 23 September 2011, Treasury announced that a new electronic form will be introduced to make it easier to connect account holders with 5.8 million lost super accounts worth more than $18.8 billion. The new form will help streamline the process which currently requires fund members to post certified copies of their ID to their fund once they have located the lost super. Read the rest of this entry »
Changes to NSW demerit points scheme commencing 31 January 2010
By Ashleigh John
Ashleigh John is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in our Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law Team
In December 2010 NSW Parliament enacted changes to the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1998 to update the current demerit point scheme in New South Wales. The changes will come into force on 31 January 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Accommodation Bonds in Nursing Homes
By Sally Davies
Sally Davies is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in our Commercial, Property & Estates Law Team
When a resident of an aged care facility dies, the facility must refund the accommodation bond to the resident’s Estate. The bond will then be distributed in accordance with the resident’s Will.
If the money for the accommodation bond has been paid by the resident, then so long as their Will is up to date this usually won’t create any problems. However, if the bond has been paid by somebody other than the resident, the money may not end up going to whom it was intended. Read the rest of this entry »
The NSW Public Holidays Act
By Sally Davies
Sally Davies is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in our Commercial, Property & Estates Law Team
The Public Holidays Act 2010 commenced on 31 December 2010, replacing the old Bank and Bank Holidays Act. This is an attempt to clarify what is an often confusing area, particularly what happens in the event that a particular Public Holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
Making a Power of Attorney – Part 2
By Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and leads our Commercial & Property Law team.
The Powers of Attorney Act provides that an Attorney is not entitled to benefit himself or herself unless the Principal (the person appointing the attorney) specifically empowers the Attorney to do so in the Power of Attorney. It is commonplace for a spouse to appoint his or her spouse as Attorney. Often a substitute Attorney is not appointed in the event that the spouse dies or is unable to act as the Attorney. Section 12 (2) of the Powers of Attorney Act allows a clause to be added to the Power of Attorney whereby the Principal authorises the Attorney to confer benefits on the Attorney to meet his or her reasonable living and medical expenses.
Family Care: More leave entitlements in new employment system
National employment standards are an important feature of the new workplace relations system replacing Work Choices. Ten minimum working conditions will apply to all employees under the federal system from the beginning of next year.
The standards include a number of entitlements to help workers better accommodate their family responsibilities. They will include a right to 12 months unpaid parental leave, including birth-related and adoption-related leave.