Articles

The social distancing restrictions that have been introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic have raised issues regarding the signing of legal documents that require a witness, including affidavits and statutory declarations.

Engaging a builder to build your home can be daunting – you are committing a significant amount of time and money into developing a valuable asset. In such circumstances, the last thing you want is a dispute with your builder that will take significant time to resolve and extensive legal costs. We provide a guide of steps that can be taken to avoid domestic building disputes with your builder.

Victoria’s Courts and Tribunals have adopted varying approaches to respond to coronavirus (COVID-19). Each Court has provided detailed statements regarding their approach which can be found on their respective websites. This article seeks to provide a brief overview of the measures that have been taken at this stage, and will focus solely on the response of the Courts and VCAT in relation to civil matters. For information regarding criminal matters or intervention orders, follow the links provided to the relevant court websites.

A common question we often hear when advising charities is “do we need a fundraising licence?” In this article we will answer this question and also provide an update on important changes affecting fundraising in Victoria and Western Australia.

On 20 August 2020, the Victorian Treasurer has announced an extension to the existing rent relief scheme and some further measures to assist Landlords and Tenants. The actual Regulations are yet to be released and more detail will invariably follow. In the meantime, we have summarised what has been announced with more information to follow as these changes occur.

For many people, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced and increased a range of psychological issues, including feelings of isolation, loneliness, and anxiety, as they are unable to rely on their usual support networks, including the ability to visit friends and family. As many businesses have now shifted to a working from home and online environment, the already fine line between professional and personal life has proven even more difficult to draw.

There are various steps that are required to be completed by your lawyer prior to completing your transaction electronically. These include but are not limited to the formal verification of your identity in addition to completing a client authorisation form.

Any simple steps that can be taken to avoid domestic building disputes are worthwhile – ideally to avoid a dispute or prevent it from escalating, but otherwise at least to provide you with some protection in the event of a dispute arising. In this article we list some key steps you can take to achieve these goals.

With the COVID-19 pandemic far from over, it is not a surprise that the Government is continuing to provide support to businesses and workers through JobKeeper. However, the Government has been clear that the scheme is temporary, and we are seeing a gradual winding back of the payments and a tightening of eligibility criteria.

A Charity Giving Fund is a type of charitable trust designed to provide an investment structure for philanthropic giving purposes. Simple and quick to set up, it offers tax deductions to donors and tax exemptions for income earned by the fund.

‍

A grant of representation is the legal document issued by the Court which enables an executor or administrator to deal with a deceased person's assets.In most circumstances, without a grant of representation, you will not be able to deal with any of the deceased person's accounts, sell or transfer their property or ensure their debts are paid. There are three main types of grants, being a Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration and a Grant of Representation.

There is a general rule that executors have an 'executor's year' to complete the estate administration. This means that you should be aiming to have the estate finalised and distributed within 12 months from the date of death.