If employers take only one thing out of the sacking of one of Australia’s best rugby players it should be this – in certain circumstances, an employer does have an interest, and the right to be interested, in an employee’s behaviour outside of the workplace.
Ashley-Jayne Lodge
There have been two recent notable High Court decisions regarding testamentary promises.
Basically, a testamentary promise is made when one person agrees with another that the one party will make provision for another in their will to reward them for services and work. If the promise is shown and the ...
A lot of clients ask us if they need a Will. Our answer is always “yes”.
The truth is, that not having a Will creates added expense, time and complexity to your estate administration. It also leaves your family in doubt as to what your wishes really were.
Wills are very important documents. The law recognises this by imposing very strict requirements on how they are to be signed.
For a Will to be considered valid, it must be signed by the willmaker, or at the direction of the willmaker, in the presence of two witnesses. Those witnesses ...
In our article 'Do you know about the changes affecting enduring powers of attorney?', we advised that changes to the law governing enduring powers of attorney were imminent. Those changes in fact came into force on 16 March 2017.
From 16 March 2017 all new enduring powers of attorney (EPAs) must be on a new prescribed form. The intention of the new form is to make EPAs easier to make and understand.
Do you want to know whether you can write your child out of your Will? Perhaps your relationship has broken down irreparably with your son or daughter, or perhaps they are just not good with money? Or perhaps your son or daughter (or their partner) has a gambling problem and ...
Writing a Will is easy right? Just leave everything to my kids and bury my body? Think again …
Do it yourself Will kits may make it seem easy but there are many pitfalls throughout the process of making a Will which could make yours invalid or mean that your testamentary ...
What are they? Aren’t they just for "old" people?
The recent tragic deaths of Jerry Collins and his wife bring to light the importance of not only having current Wills but of having provision for the care of any child you may have should both parents die. Many people assume that if they die, the other parent will be ...
Under the Wills Act the Court has the ability to declare a Will valid even if it doesn’t meet all of the usual requirements. This can make it easier for some cases where a formal Will hasn’t been completed however this should never be relied upon to carry ...
When one of our clients passed away recently without a current Will, her family had to deal with a lot of unnecessary additional stress when trying to organise her estate.
The effect of poor Will drafting can be devastating. There have been numerous court cases where Wills have been drafted that do not actually achieve the effect that they were intended to achieve. However, a well drafted Will is incredibly good value for the benefit they bring your loved ones.