by Lesley McDonnell | Feb 6, 2016 | Wills & Estates
The ability to choose who you leave your property to in your Will has been tempered by legislation that permits eligible persons (as defined by legislation) to apply to the Court for a greater share of a deceased person’s estate where “adequate” provision has not been made for their “proper” maintenance, education and advancement in life”.
A recent NSW decision upheld the wishes of a Willmaker and dismissed the application of two children seeking a greater share of their mother’s estate.
The Willmaker died in 2014 leaving a Will made a little over one month before she died. The Willmaker was survived by her two adult children.… Read More
by Natasha Wood | Jan 30, 2016 | Criminal
Suppose Johnny has in his possession 6 grams of methamphetamine.
3 grams is the trafficable quantity of methamphetamine. As Johnny has twice that amount, he is deemed to have the drug in his possession for supply, unless he can prove that he had it in his possession for a reason other than supply.
WHAT IS SUPPLY?
Supply has a broad definition and includes:
- selling and distributing;
- agreeing to supply;
- offering to supply;
- sending, forwarding, delivering or receiving for supply;
- or authorising, directing, causing, permitting or attempting any of those acts or things.
(Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) s3)
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO JOHNNY?… Read More
by Mark Grady | Jan 23, 2016 | General
Last December, the NSW Premier, announced a number of changes to the Road Rules Act (NSW) 2014 that commence on 1 March 2016. These changes affect cyclists, motorists and pedestrians and can be broadly split into three categories.
- Drivers must give cyclists at least 1 or 1.5m of space. When driving past a cyclist in a 60kmph zone you must allow 1m and if its a100kmph zone, 1.5m must be allowed. To ensure the proper space is left for the cyclist, as long as a driver has a clear view of oncoming traffic, the driver is allowed to do a number of other things such as drive on painted islands and cross to the incorrect side of the road.
… Read More
by Clint Coles | Jan 16, 2016 | Wills & Estates
Mr Yee passed away on 28 May 2013 and left two Wills.
The earlier Will was prepared by a solicitor and was dated 21 February 2013. (‘the earlier Will’). Under the earlier Will some property was left to the Mr Yee’s wife if ‘the marriage has not broken down’.
There was a later Will prepared by Mr Yee without professional assistance. That Will was dated 1 May 2013 (‘the later Will’).
The later Will commenced ‘I hereby revoke all former Wills previously made by me and declare this to be my last Will and testament’. It then went on to make a number of gifts largely consistent with the earlier Will, but, at issue in the proceedings, went on to say:
‘My wife Darunee Jarat is not a wife, even though we legally married, she was here to take all my money and assets…She cheated and lied about herself and why she stayed in Thailand… We found evidence of her still communicating with Vinnie.’… Read More
by Lesley McDonnell | Jan 9, 2016 | Wills & Estates
Where a capable Testator makes a Will that complies with formal requirements there is a presumption that the Testator knows and approves of the contents of the Will, but that presumption does not apply where the making of the Will is clouded by suspicious circumstances. For example where a Will has been prepared by a beneficiary this will raise suspicion as to whether the Testator knew and approved of its contents. Where suspicious circumstances exist the onus is on the person propounding the Will to prove not only its due execution but that that the Testator who signed the Will also knew and approved of its contents.… Read More
by Keiran Breckenridge | Jan 2, 2016 | Employment
A September 2015 decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) resulted in a stop bullying order being made in favour of an employee of a real estate agency.
After a number of incidents between two employees, a confrontation took place between the employees in the tea room. One of the employees called the other a “naughty little school girl running to the teacher” and then defriended her on Facebook. The Deputy President of the FWC said that action “evinces a lack of emotional maturity and is indicative of unreasonable behaviour… [she] took the first opportunity to draw a line under the relationship… when she removed her as a friend on Facebook as she did not like [her] and would prefer not to have to deal with her”.… Read More
by Mark Grady | Dec 26, 2015 | Criminal
An Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is a court order designed to ensure protection from violence, intimidation, harassment and stalking.
The person against whom the order is sought, the defendant, has two options, to consent to the order or to contest the order.
If you chose to consent to an AVO you can do so without admissions. This means that you are not agreeing to or admitting any or all or the particulars of the application. Rather, you are stating that you don’t object to the order being put in place because you are happy to comply with the prohibitions and restrictions sought in the application.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | Dec 19, 2015 | Business
Once there were 3 brothers who ran a very successful business via a company in which they all held shares and they all worked on a full-time (and a bit more) basis.
Like most brothers there were niggles between them from time to time but they got on and they certainly didn’t consider they needed to document their understandings of what should happen if one of them wanted to leave the business or if one of them died.
One of the brothers died unexpectedly leaving behind his wife and young family who depended upon the income from the company. His shares in the company passed to his wife under his will.… Read More
by George Hoddle | Dec 12, 2015 | Employment
In a recent case in the Fair Work Commission, an employee who behaved drunkenly and inappropriately at a work Christmas party won an unfair dismissal case against his employer. The message for employers is that your duties are not necessarily limited to the office; so be careful this season in supplying unlimited alcohol to your staff, or face the consequences.
Mr. Keenan was an employee at Leighton Boral when he attended a Christmas party for the firm in December of 2014. At the party, Keenan’s employer supplied unlimited alcohol for employees without supervision. As a result of becoming highly intoxicated at the function, Keenan acted inappropriately, swearing at his boss and repeatedly harassing a female colleague for her phone number.… Read More
by Keiran Breckenridge | Dec 5, 2015 | Commercial Litigation
As lawyers, when it comes time to closely examine the terms of a commercial contract, we often hear “Yes, that’s what the words say but what we really meant was…”. It is an uncertain and risky business practice to have commercial contracts in place in which the words do not reflect the intentions of the parties.
The High Court has recently restated the legal principles around determining the meaning of the terms of commercial contracts in the Mount Bruce Mining v Wright Prospecting case. The proper approach can be summarised as follows:
- Look at the text in disputes, the entire text of the contract, any contract, document or statute referred to in the contract, and look at the purpose of the contract.
… Read More
