Blog

Fast Dispute Resolution

December 13, 2023 10:29 am

My client had got behind in paying rent for some commercial premises. The main representative for the lessor went away and other person took over ...

Messy Agency Issues

October 4, 2023 2:58 pm

Our client provided estimates to company A for work on 2 trailers, did the work, charged the amount in the estimate, and got paid. Our ...

Enforcing Judgements

September 6, 2023 2:50 pm

We obtained a judgment for our client for about $8,800.00 in the Magistrates Court. The Judgment debtor ignored our demands for payment, so we applied ...

Messy Dispute- Thinking Outside the Box

August 9, 2023 3:29 pm

My clients bought a block of land with a friend’s company, then went guarantors on a another loan to the company, and ended up owing ...

Contract Dispute

May 3, 2023 11:17 am

We have been helping a client chase a $242k debt, half of which is not actually in dispute, but our client’s client is basically trying ...

Con-artist Scam

March 29, 2023 10:52 am

I’ve been trying to get back money for a client who was convinced to part with money on an offer to purchase shares which was ...

Granny Flat Dispute

March 22, 2023 1:04 pm

I am helping a client who paid most of the cost of the construction of a granny flat at his daughter and son-in-law’s house, using ...

3 Day Trial

February 1, 2023 1:38 pm

I’ve been recovering from the stress of a 3 day trial , where I was the barrister. The Magistrate reserved her decision. The outcome is ...

Commercial Lease Dispute

December 7, 2022 2:44 pm

I was in court a few weeks ago expecting to argue why a particular lease was a “retail shop lease”, as defined in the Commercial ...

Stressful Court Case

November 24, 2022 4:28 pm

We were seeking an adjournment of a hearing which was set for last Friday, due to one of our clients having had a recent double ...

Quick & Efficient Resolution of Court Cases

November 16, 2022 3:46 pm

We received instructions to assist a client at short notice to set aside a default judgment which had been given against them in the Magistrates ...

Fast Resolution of a Dispute

July 27, 2022 1:34 pm

We sent a demand letter naming all of the following as proposed defendants to a court action: The sales rep for a house and land ...

A Demanding Break-Up

July 20, 2022 3:04 pm

I received a call from a builder regarding his trailer, tools and his stand up paddle board, which he needed to head north on the ...

Misrepresentation Views

July 14, 2022 9:55 am

I met with a client to provide advice about making a summary judgment application in a case that he is handling himself. Ironically this new ...

Building Defects

June 2, 2022 11:23 am

I’ve been helping a lady who wishes to terminate a contract with a builder. The contract provides that the builder needs to be paid for ...

Paper Heavy Litigation

May 16, 2022 4:00 pm

It has been a busy week compiling affidavits for a couple of court cases we are dealing with. One I was working on the other ...

Recovering Money

May 6, 2022 10:53 am

I had to look into whether a couple of people might be able to recover about $750,000, some of which they lent to a non-existent ...

Trespass

April 19, 2022 1:25 pm

I’d like to share a note from a happy client, who needed to get a relative and his wife out of his mother’s house. Names ...

Building Contracts and Disputes

January 21, 2022 2:06 pm

I gave some advice recently to a new client in relation to a building contract that is going awry due to increases in the cost ...

Building Dispute

October 18, 2021 9:25 am

A builder client of mine installed the wrong tiles in a development. Despite conceding that he needed to rectify, the owners lodged a Building Commission ...

Contractor Disputes

September 20, 2021 1:40 pm

We had an enquiry from a new client who was working as a subcontractor for a former head contractor. The arrangement was that the head ...

Insurance Claims

September 13, 2021 1:02 pm

Recently, we have been working on a matter for a new client. Our client is a tenant who had signed a Lease requiring the tenant ...

Dispute Resolution & Recovering Money

August 16, 2021 9:50 am

Recently, a client signed the settlement deed for a matter we have settled. Our elderly client was persuaded to part with $250,000 for an interest ...

Trespass

August 6, 2021 11:21 am

We are helping an aunt evict a niece from the back shed of the aunt’s mother’s house at the moment. We helped to draft a ...

Dispute Settlement

June 28, 2021 1:11 pm

I was up rather late recently correcting errors in a spreadsheet that my client had sent me after 6.30pm and which I had not seen ...

Dispute Settlement

May 17, 2021 1:01 pm

Recently I helped a lady who was owed a paltry $726.00 for some consulting work. However, the person for whom she was providing the consulting services ...

Residential Tenancy (COVID-19 Response) Act 2020

May 11, 2021 12:46 pm

During the COVID emergency, I had a call from a client regarding a residential lease matter. He was panicking: he and his wife are renting; ...

Commercial and Deceased Estate Dispute

April 30, 2021 1:59 pm

I was recently in a Supreme Court mediation in relation to a deceased estate from 10.30am until 3.30pm, without a break for a coffee or ...

Commercial Tenancies During The Coronavirus Pandemic

October 8, 2020 11:22 am

With all the excitement of the Federal Budget and the myriad pre-budget announcements, a lot of people missed the changes to the Commercial Tenancy (COVID-19 ...

Patent Dispute

June 5, 2020 3:56 am

A new client was referred to me this week by a patent attorney. My client has been accused of infringing a patent, and US$500k is ...

Case Summary Mcgeough v Ian Torrington Blatchford as administrator of the estate of Margaret Mary Mcgeough [2019] WASC 454

May 25, 2020 11:49 am

This court case illustrates why these sorts of family provision matters should settle, particularly for a small estate. The first 132 paragraphs deal with the ...

Building Dispute

April 23, 2020 8:55 am

We are dealing with a building dispute. We are concerned the building company involved will drag out the matter, and then go into liquidation. So ...

Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses

March 30, 2020 1:03 am

Here is a link to a flyer which you may have seen, click HERE. In summary: Creditors Statutory Demands (CSDs): The temporary increase in the ...

March 5, 2020 11:10 am

I was at a Supreme Court mediation yesterday trying to resolve a long-running dispute. I’m afraid that the enemy just wasted our time. This was ...

IT Clients

February 27, 2020 12:57 pm

We deal with various IT clients. One client provides software for the Aged Care sector. That client has received 2 rather unusual requests from the ...

Tiny House Dispute

February 20, 2020 11:10 am

We seem to be attracting building disputes at the moment. I am helping one lady who bought a couple of “tiny houses”, one to live ...

Mediating Disputes

February 13, 2020 11:26 am

I had prepared a shareholder agreement for some clients. An issue arose between two groups of shareholders and one group asked me if I could ...

Lots of Litigation

January 23, 2020 11:23 am

We are flat out at the moment with: A major Supreme Court matter with a hearing next week; A district court and a magistrates court ...

Building Arbitration

January 16, 2020 11:15 am

We have two building arbitration’s running at the moment which are keeping us very busy. We get a skewed view on life as lawyers, since ...

Family Provision Disputes

November 21, 2019 9:35 am

I went to a 4 hour seminar on Family Provision actions on Tuesday, in which relatives of the deceased claim to have special need that ...

Property Dispute

November 16, 2019 9:49 am

Last week I settled a dispute between an owner and a project manager. We acted for the owner. A project manager for a major renovation ...

Intellectual Property Dispute

November 7, 2019 11:21 am

Kellie has been working on a breach of confidentiality and trade restraint case this week. With the help of Steve Edwards, we have found evidence ...

Domestic Dispute

October 31, 2019 11:34 am

This week I’ve been dealing with a case of elder abuse. Am 82 year old widow client of mine is being harassed by her 60 ...

YouTube Copyright Dispute

September 26, 2019 9:13 am

This week we received an enquiry about a breach of copyright. Our client claims to own the copyright in several documentaries which have been posted ...

Dispute Over Unpaid Invoices

September 5, 2019 11:12 am

I received a call during the week from the daughter of a gentleman who has taken out his own summons in the Magistrates Court, chasing ...

A Heavy-Handed Section 69 Notice – Fair Trading Act

August 22, 2019 5:29 am

Michael met with a lady who had recently sold some vacant land. The buyer was not happy about the sewer line on which she could not ...

Case Summary of Porter -v- Steinberg [2019] WASC 291

August 16, 2019 12:53 am

In this case, the Applicant lived in a lower floor unit in a Strata development. The Respondents living in the unit immediately above the Applicant’s ...

Potentially Fraudulent Promises

August 15, 2019 5:03 am

One of our client’s has been strung along for some months with promises of payment and extra work. The promises have all been broken, to ...

Lease Dispute Arbitration

August 1, 2019 2:14 am

This week we finalised an agreement to send numerous disputes regarding a lease to arbitration. One dispute related to whether the lessee or the lessor ...

Family Provision Dispute

June 23, 2019 1:35 am

This week we received an e-mail from a lady whose step-son has served a Family Provision claim on her and his half-brother, his father having ...

$1.8 Million Claim – District Court Mediation

June 13, 2019 7:56 am

Michael attended a District Court mediation last week. We represented one elderly defendant. The plaintiff had a somewhat ambit claim seeking $1.8 million in damages ...

Alternative Dispute Resolution

May 16, 2019 9:50 am

Its been a busy week for us on the alternative dispute resolution front for us, including: Settling a draft position statement for a Supreme Court ...

Know who you are contracting with

May 9, 2019 8:48 am

Kellie was in Midland last week seeking summary judgment in case we are working on. The Claimant first of all tried to sue our client’s ...

Behind in Rent

May 2, 2019 9:57 am

I got a call yesterday morning from the daughter of a client who owns a commercial property. Her tenant is behind in the rent By ...

Company Dispute

April 18, 2019 9:02 am

We started dealing with another company dispute this week. Our client has been left to run the business on his own for over a year ...

Telephone Company Dispute

March 14, 2019 11:52 am

I helped a couple this week with a plan after a fraudster switched their business’s mobile number from Optus to Vodafone, hijacked it and started ...

Insurance Dispute Resolution

January 31, 2019 11:00 am

One of our clients has recently been subjected to an ATO audit and he had insurance to cover legal and accounting fees. The audit resulting ...

Commercial Tenancy Dispute

January 24, 2019 11:40 am

This week we took instructions from a couple of guys who had some of their personal gear stored at some premises that had been leased ...

Creditor’s Statutory Demand

December 7, 2018 11:02 am

We are coming up for Christmas and it is a favourite time to serve a Creditor’s Statutory Demand on a company that owes you money. ...

Disputes Between Business Associates

November 8, 2018 3:15 am

This week we’ve been helping an old client with a business venture that has been running for nine years. They run a hospitality business. The ...

Building Disputes

November 1, 2018 3:14 am

This week we went through a strategy for a client who is building a house and has some issues with his builder, including: Variations not ...

Fighting Telstra

October 25, 2018 3:13 am

This week we settled some submissions to Telstra on behalf of a client who has been badly stuffed around by Telstra: The client bought a ...

Honest Appraisal of your Prospects in Business Disputes

October 18, 2018 7:34 am

A lot of companies have gone into liquidation in recent years. Our client claimed he was owed consulting fees by a company in liquidation. The ...

Assessing the Prospects in Business Disputes

October 10, 2018 3:11 am

A lot of companies have gone into liquidation in recent years. Our client claimed he was owed consulting fees by a company in liquidation, but ...

IT Legal Advice

August 9, 2018 3:11 am

Last Friday we received an e-mail from a worried IT service provider client. His client’s admin@ e-mail account seems to have been hacked, with the ...

Stormy Situation

June 28, 2018 3:09 am

We saw a new client yesterday with an interesting problem. He leased out commercial premises. They were damaged in a storm. The tenant was responsible ...

Tricky Building Situation

June 11, 2018 8:55 am

This week I went through a strategy for a client who is building a house and has some issues with his builder, including: Variations not ...

Disputes with the ATO (Our Clients, Not Us)

May 3, 2018 3:07 am

It has been a week for resolving disputes. Today Michael’s off to Francis Street Northbridge, to try to settle a dispute with the ATO. Unlike ...

A Couple of Disputes

April 26, 2018 3:07 am

It has been a week for resolving disputes. We re-listed one matter for mediation after the two other parties failed to reach an agreement in ...

Client v Builder

March 29, 2018 3:06 am

We were contacted by one owner of a SMSF that has contracted to have a building constructed. Our client agreed to the builder’s suggestion to ...

Dispute with a Factoring Company

March 15, 2018 3:05 am

One of our clients has a dispute with a factoring company. A factor buys debts at a discount from companies that have cash flow issues, ...

Longest Mediation Session Ever!

March 8, 2018 3:05 am

Last week we attended the longest day’s mediation we’ve ever been involved with. We did not get out until after 7.00pm. We almost finished settling ...

Multiple Court Actions

March 1, 2018 3:00 am

Today Michael will be in Court most of the day attending a mediation in which he will be trying to settle six related Court actions. ...

Liquor Licence Transfer

February 22, 2018 2:55 am

Last week we finalising the paperwork for the transfer of a liquor licence. It proved to be a bit trickier than was expected due to ...

Upcoming Debt Collection Kit

February 1, 2018 2:52 am

We have two builders testing our Building Contract Management Kit. We are busy finalising the latest version of a DIY Debt Collection Kit which will ...

Commercialising Software

December 7, 2017 5:20 am

We had a long meeting with a client this week looking at some strategies for commercialising some software, including...

Commercial Disputes Part II

October 19, 2017 2:51 am

This week we spoke with a client who had engaged a large firm to help handle a dispute with a former business partner. He had ...

Shareholder Agreements Part II

October 12, 2017 2:49 am

This week we’ve been working on a suite of documents. One shareholder is leaving a company and another is buying in. The remaining two shareholders ...

ATO Troubles (Our Clients, Not Us)

September 14, 2017 2:48 am

It has been a week of helping clients deal with stressful situations. One client had a meeting with the ATO last week regarding an R&D ...

Supreme Court Trial

August 24, 2017 2:44 am

Yesterday one of our matters went to trial before Supreme Judge Allanson. It is rare thing. Only about two per cent of Supreme Court cases ...

Neighbour Disputes

August 17, 2017 2:39 am

We saw a chap yesterday who owns a duplex property. The other duplex owner has built a higher fence next to an old existing fence ...

Credit Arrangement with Franchisees

August 3, 2017 2:38 am

This week we’ve been working on a contract which is one piece in a larger puzzle involving: a $1 million deal; • one Chinese company ...

Accountant Conflict of Interest

July 27, 2017 4:27 am

Some clients of ours were not happy with their ex-accountant because he had been giving advice to a family member, who was also a client, ...

Resolving a Dispute with Solicitors

April 27, 2017 4:25 am

We are meeting with two other solicitors this afternoon in an attempt to negotiate the settlement of a long-running and acrimonious dispute over a deceased ...

Debt Collection Good Result

January 12, 2017 4:22 am

We had a good result for a client just before Christmas last year. Their company had provided over one million dollars in services between 1 ...

Incomplete Sale of Land

December 15, 2016 4:14 am

We had a new matter this week involving a contract for the sale of land. Our client is a company that owns a villa. The ...

Employment Dispute

January 30, 2014 11:00 am

I saw a new client before my one week break. He’d been sacked out of the blue. It was clearly an unfair dismissal and he ...

Sale of Land Dispute

November 7, 2013 12:29 pm

We received a referral from a settlement agent this week who is acting for a seller. The contract specified various issues with the house, but ...

Facebook and Copyright Issues

September 12, 2013 11:03 am

This week we saw a new client regarding some Facebook and Copyright issues. She had obtained permission to use images from the US manufacturer’s website, ...

Rouge Partner – Partnership Disputes

August 9, 2013 9:21 am

This week I met a new client who had been in partnership with a bit of a rogue. It seems the ex-partner was planning to ...

Last Minute Negotiation

July 25, 2013 9:26 am

This week we had some fun with some last minute negotiations. Our client believes he was oppressed by the majority shareholder of a company and ...

Mediating Disputes

July 13, 2013 8:14 am

Every stranded group needs someone to help resolve disputes. I have trained as a mediator and have been involved in many, many mediations, due to ...

Ridiculous Offer to Settle

July 8, 2013 8:45 am

We attended a mediation at the District Court earlier this week. Our clients have an excellent case, supported by an expert’s report, but they are ...

The Importance of Joint Tenancy

May 5, 2013 6:10 am

Our client’s recently ex-husband died. The house was in joint names, so it automatically went to her and did not form part of his estate. ...

Copyright – International Enforcement

February 2, 2011 4:13 am

We received some interesting instructions this week from a photographer that was referred by an old client. One of his photographs, of a girl with ...

Software Licence Dispute

November 26, 2010 4:13 am

Our clients developed some software to demonstration stage. They set a price and a three-year term. The customer wanted the contract in writing and some ...

Building Dispute – Contract Price Increases and Prime Cost Variations

November 18, 2010 4:07 am

We’ve been dealing with some very nice people that signed with a project builder using a rather messy 2007 Housing Industry Association contract. The demolition ...

Advice on a Messy Shareholder Agreement

October 28, 2010 4:04 am

We worked this week on some advice on a proposed shareholder agreement that had been provided to a client of ours. According to our instructions, ...

Beware if You Seek to Rely on a Docusigned Contract

October 7, 2024 3:54 pm

In the ever-evolving digital age, Docusign has emerged as a widely-used method for electronically signing documents. However, as demonstrated in the recent case before Whitby ...

Deed of Gift

January 31, 2024 8:49 am

This week I’ve been giving advice to a new client about transferring her house into her name and her daughter, as joint tenants, so that ...

Analysis of new regulations

October 18, 2023 1:44 pm

I have a client who operates a reputable tow truck business. New regulations came into effect last year which impose some new obligations on tow ...

Transfer of Farmland

September 20, 2023 10:17 am

We are dealing with an interesting matter involving transfer of farmland Our client’s husband passed away a year ago. He left his farming property to ...

Trust Deed Variations

August 2, 2023 2:29 pm

One of our clients passed away last year. He and his wife were trustees of 2 trusts, so we need to replace him with one ...

Trade Mark Dispute

July 5, 2023 2:21 pm

We recently helped a client with a trademark application, consisting of 3 words. An aggressive US company which has a few trademarks related to one ...

Trust Deeds

June 28, 2023 9:53 am

Do you have your business held in Family Trust or Discretionary Trust? The ATO and most trust deeds, require a resolution distributing the income from ...

Are you a Sole Director?

February 22, 2023 2:51 pm

An old client contacted me the other week. His accountant has told him that one of his clients had died leaving behind multiple companies of ...

IT Legal Issues

February 16, 2023 12:59 pm

I helped revise an old Software Integration Agreement and an incorporated Software Licence Agreement so that it applied to the new way in which the ...

Setting up a Charity

February 8, 2023 3:33 pm

I have just helped set up a charitable Foundation. It is to help under-privileged kids participate in tennis, which can be a very expensive sport ...

3 Day Trial

February 1, 2023 1:38 pm

I’ve been recovering from the stress of a 3 day trial , where I was the barrister. The Magistrate reserved her decision. The outcome is ...

Restructuring Ownership of Businesses

January 18, 2023 8:53 am

I had a query from an accountant seeking assurance that the transfer of a business from an individual to a company, the shares which were ...

Sale of Share Agreements

December 14, 2022 12:49 pm

We are helping some long-term clients with the exit of the main business partner via a buy out from the more junior partners. The principle ...

Business Ventures

October 12, 2022 10:46 am

An old client of mine has an idea for a boutique bar with an interesting twist. He has been discussing the with the owners of ...

Termination of Employment Contracts

September 28, 2022 3:16 pm

I provided some advice to a client who had been made redundant and wanted to know if he could take action against his employer. His ...

Trust Deeds

September 14, 2022 12:13 pm

We reviewed a couple of trust deeds recently for a new client. One deed was validly executed and was effective to change the trustee, but ...

Enforcement of Mortgage

September 7, 2022 12:46 pm

A few years ago we settled a court action. One of the terms required the enemy to pay a further $25,000.00 within 5 years. We ...

Absolute Caveats

August 24, 2022 8:00 am

Some terms and conditions have a charging clause, which provide that the debtor provides a charge over his, her or its personal and/or real property ...

Sale of Accounting Practices

August 10, 2022 2:34 pm

We finalised the documents for the sale of 3 accounting practices. For 2 of them, 70% of the purchase price is being paid now and ...

A Demanding Break-Up

July 20, 2022 3:04 pm

I received a call from a builder regarding his trailer, tools and his stand up paddle board, which he needed to head north on the ...

Early Possession – Buyer’s Risks

July 6, 2022 3:05 pm

I was asked to give some advice to a couple who have contracted to buy a house, but settlement is being delayed. The couple have ...

Share and Unit Sale Agreements

May 3, 2022 9:58 am

We are in the middle of negotiating one unit sale agreement, one unit and share sale agreement, two other share sale agreements, and there is ...

Building Contracts and Disputes

January 21, 2022 2:06 pm

I gave some advice recently to a new client in relation to a building contract that is going awry due to increases in the cost ...

Building Dispute

October 18, 2021 9:25 am

A builder client of mine installed the wrong tiles in a development. Despite conceding that he needed to rectify, the owners lodged a Building Commission ...

Contractor Disputes

September 20, 2021 1:40 pm

We had an enquiry from a new client who was working as a subcontractor for a former head contractor. The arrangement was that the head ...

Insurance Claims

September 13, 2021 1:02 pm

Recently, we have been working on a matter for a new client. Our client is a tenant who had signed a Lease requiring the tenant ...

Dispute Resolution & Recovering Money

August 16, 2021 9:50 am

Recently, a client signed the settlement deed for a matter we have settled. Our elderly client was persuaded to part with $250,000 for an interest ...

Buy, Sell Agreements & Shareholder Agreements

July 26, 2021 1:43 pm

I received some instructions from a client to prepare documents to allow one key person to exit. Instead of the other shareholders buying out his ...

Loan Agreements

July 12, 2021 12:43 pm

Recently, I’ve been providing advice to new client. He and a friend are looking to lend a total of $350k to a builder who is ...

Dispute Settlement

June 28, 2021 1:11 pm

I was up rather late recently correcting errors in a spreadsheet that my client had sent me after 6.30pm and which I had not seen ...

Residential Tenancy (COVID-19 Response) Act 2020

May 11, 2021 12:46 pm

During the COVID emergency, I had a call from a client regarding a residential lease matter. He was panicking: he and his wife are renting; ...

Industrial Manslaughter – Strata Councillors Beware!

November 12, 2020 2:52 pm

The Work Health and Safety Act 2020 came into force this week. Some key points are: What was previously called “gross negligence” is now called ...

Powers of Attorney and Your Business

September 24, 2020 9:38 am

A common business set up is to have a husband and wife as the shareholders and directors of a company, either trading in its own ...

Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) and Dealing with Land

September 8, 2020 1:03 pm

Recently we assisted a pair of clients acting as Attorneys for an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) in dealing with Land owned by their parent. ...

Winery Purchase

May 14, 2020 9:31 am

In what can only be described as a good sign, we are acting on the purchase of a winery for a client. The client is ...

Beware of the Fine Print when a Trust gives a Guarantee!

April 16, 2020 11:20 am

We recently dealt with a guarantee that was being given by our client’s in their capacity as trustees of a discretionary trust. There is a ...

Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses

March 30, 2020 1:03 am

Here is a link to a flyer which you may have seen, click HERE. In summary: Creditors Statutory Demands (CSDs): The temporary increase in the ...

IT Clients

February 27, 2020 12:57 pm

We deal with various IT clients. One client provides software for the Aged Care sector. That client has received 2 rather unusual requests from the ...

Mediating Disputes

February 13, 2020 11:26 am

I had prepared a shareholder agreement for some clients. An issue arose between two groups of shareholders and one group asked me if I could ...

Buying & Selling Businesses

January 16, 2020 11:25 am

Do you want to buy the shares in an existing company and run the risk of taking on skeletons that may be lurking in the ...

Contracts of Sale

November 18, 2019 11:58 am

We are helping some clients purchase 2 businesses outside of Perth. It involves contracts of sale and shareholder agreements. One sale has a potentially long ...

Heritage Commercial Property Sub-Lease

September 12, 2019 11:08 am

This week I’ve been helping a client negotiate a sub-lease of a heritage-listed commercial property. I am a bit concerned because the landlord is somewhat ...

Macro to Change the Fonts in Practically Every Part a Document – It only misses Watermarks, that I know of …

September 5, 2019 11:52 am

As a lawyer with a computer science degree, I like to write the occasional bit of software, often in Microsoft WordBasic. We recently changed the ...

Speedy Settlement

August 29, 2019 8:30 am

An old client came to us last week seeking independent advice on loan contract, guarantees and mortgages being given as security for a loan. The ...

IP Issues for IT Client

July 7, 2019 6:19 am

We received an e-mail from an old IT client who had a trade mark issue. A cruise company wanted to register a trade mark in ...

Company Dispute

April 18, 2019 9:02 am

We started dealing with another company dispute this week. Our client has been left to run the business on his own for over a year ...

Spreadsheets for Business Sale Agreements

March 28, 2019 9:18 am

I have been preparing documents for a client who wishes to sell some businesses. The buyer pulled out, but my client is now offering to ...

Terminating A Building Contract

March 7, 2019 11:08 am

We received some instructions this week to help terminate a building contract. There has been a litany of issues during the build. It is not ...

$1.15 Million Business Sale

February 28, 2019 11:55 am

I had a lengthy discussion with a client who is selling his interest in 5 businesses to his business associates for $1.15 million, on 90% ...

Computer and IT Contracts

February 14, 2019 11:59 am

We are helping a client who wishes to develop some software to assist in his business and sell to others in the industry to recoup ...

Insurance Dispute Resolution

January 31, 2019 11:00 am

One of our clients has recently been subjected to an ATO audit and he had insurance to cover legal and accounting fees. The audit resulting ...

Creditor’s Statutory Demand

December 7, 2018 11:02 am

We are coming up for Christmas and it is a favourite time to serve a Creditor’s Statutory Demand on a company that owes you money. ...

Merging Businesses

September 27, 2018 3:48 am

We spoke to an old colleague of Michael’s this week who is merging his business with the business of another old colleague. He needs a ...

Sale Agreement Improvement

September 20, 2018 3:31 am

We’ve been helping a client with documentation to buy a café this week. A real estate agent who is acting for the seller put together ...

Businesses Extending Credit to Customers

July 26, 2018 3:30 am

A lot of businesses extend credit to their customers. We recommend businesses require their customers to make credit application, which incorporate the business’s terms of ...

Business Agreements

May 10, 2018 3:26 am

People are starting to do business again. This week we received some instructions to: prepare a sale agreement for the sale of 20% of the ...

IT-related Legal Work

April 19, 2018 3:26 am

We’ve been doing quite a bit of IT-related legal work this week – a copyright assignment deed in relation to a computer program, a head ...

More Business Deals

April 17, 2018 3:27 am

More people are starting to do business again. This week we received some instructions from one new to: help restructure a group of companies review ...

Buying into Companies

March 22, 2018 3:25 am

We met a new client yesterday who is looking to allow some of his employees to buy into his company. We discussed different ways and ...

Building Contract Management Kit

January 18, 2018 3:24 am

We are now ready to release our New Building Contract Management Kit for builders, consisting of: a contract for residential buildings a contract for commercial ...

Business and Property Documents

December 14, 2017 3:22 am

We put together an interesting suite of documents this week: A lease of a large commercial property from one company which owns the property; A ...

Option Agreements

November 30, 2017 5:58 am

It has been a week for option agreements this week. We amended one that gives a couple of potential investors the option to invest multiples ...

Employment Contracts

November 16, 2017 6:24 am

This week we received a call from a friend of a client with an employment issue. He was recruited, signed a contract and shown his ...

Copyright Breach Allegations

November 2, 2017 6:39 am

We spoke to a client about a copyright matter this week. They had had a company prepare some plans for them based off an initial ...

Shareholder Agreements

July 20, 2017 4:26 am

We have been working on a shareholder agreement with some slightly complicated succession clauses. In summary: (a) the company pays for insurance for the key ...

$11 Million Deal

April 17, 2014 11:13 am

We have been working on a new $11m deal for a new client – a contract to buy a piece of land and another contract ...

Liquidation

April 14, 2014 11:56 am

We have one client whose company was ordered to be wound up yesterday, but the company assets seem to exceed it liabilities, so we may ...

Corporate Compliance

March 14, 2014 11:32 am

Do you use a company to trade? Do you have the Australian Company Number for that company on your business card? What about your website? ...

Exotic Share Class

March 6, 2014 11:05 am

We have helped a few clients set up companies recently. The last matter required a special class of share for 15% of the total shares ...

Privacy Policy

February 27, 2014 11:04 am

Do you have a Privacy Policy? Does it comply with the 10 National Privacy Principles from the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988? Did you know that ...

Trust Deed Advice

January 14, 2014 11:36 am

We’ve got a matter where the enemy is questioning the validity of a deed of variation that was signed in 1979 on the basis of ...

Loan & Security Documents

December 13, 2013 8:25 am

We have had a few clients lately selling on vendor finance. We provide a deed of acknowledgement of debt and guarantee, and where possible, a ...

Complicated Business Sale Agreement

November 21, 2013 12:02 pm

I’ve been working on a complicated business sale agreement this week. Among other things: Control of the buying company has to be changed with a ...

Contract of Sale of Land Disputes

November 13, 2013 12:26 pm

Following on from my story about the buyer, a lawyer, who was challenging the validity of a large number of special conditions which he and ...

Sale of Land Dispute

November 7, 2013 12:29 pm

We received a referral from a settlement agent this week who is acting for a seller. The contract specified various issues with the house, but ...

Commercial Loans & Security Documentation

October 13, 2013 11:55 am

We are helping a client who got a little too large too quickly. He has a profitable business, but it has about $1 million in ...

Sale and Purchase of a Business

October 10, 2013 11:29 am

I am working on a sale and purchase of a business. The buyer and seller are business partners. The seller wishes to slow down and ...

Property Development

September 19, 2013 2:00 am

Michael saw an old client this week. He’s had his builder’s ticket for 4 years and is about to start his own building company. He ...

Pragmatic Business

August 15, 2013 11:02 am

A client of mine sent me an e-mail yesterday worried about a contract for the purchase of a property. She and her husband have faced ...

Lending Money

August 1, 2013 9:28 am

I got some instructions from an old client that I had to sue a couple of years ago to recover some fees. Her father wishes ...

Finalising Franchise Agreement

July 11, 2013 8:18 am

Yesterday we finalised negotiations regarding a franchise for a client. We managed to get numerous changes made to the franchise agreement, though not as many ...

Purchase of Financial Planning Business

May 13, 2013 1:15 pm

We are helping a lady negotiate the purchase of 2 financial planning businesses at the moment. We’ve done a few of these over the years, ...

Documents for a Proposed Development and a Visit from Constable Care!

May 13, 2013 1:10 pm

We are working on a set of documents for a proposed development: A trust deed making it clear that the trustees are purchasing the land ...

Contractor Contract

May 2, 2013 9:14 am

We met with a new client this week. He is looking at buying a truck and a business to go with it. The business has ...

BUYERS (NEEDING FINANCE) BEWARE!

June 17, 2011 3:22 am

On 15 June 2011, the Court of Appeal of the WA Supreme Court in Dodds -v- Kennedy [No 2] [2011] WASCA 131 made some rulings ...

Buying or Selling a Business?

December 2, 2010 3:20 am

This week we’ve been asked to give advice on a 50 page business sale agreement. The purchaser price is about $650,000, so it needs to ...

Contracts Commercialisation of Intellectual Property

November 11, 2010 3:18 am

This week we finalised a complicated deal between our client who owns some valuable patents and trade secrets and a large US company. It involved: ...

Need a Notary?

November 11, 2018 3:23 am

I am Notary Public and we had the AGM of the Public Notaries Society of WA on Tuesday. At 54 I drop the average age ...

Notary Assistance

November 8, 2018 11:02 am

I am Notary Public and we had the AGM of the Public Notaries Society of WA on Tuesday. One item discussed involved a solicitor in ...

Notarisation of Overseas Documents

November 23, 2017 6:11 am

One of our clients needs some documents notarised and sent to the US, as part of the process of winding up her late husband’s estate.

Granny Flat Agreements – How Can We Help

June 6, 2025 9:25 am

At our firm, we regularly assist clients with preparing granny flat occupation agreements that clearly set out the terms under which a parent or other ...

Be Careful With How You Word Your Will

March 27, 2024 10:14 am

A lady called a few years ago wanting to change her mother’s Will, because the named executors has passed away. Her mother has dementia, and ...

Advance Health Directive

February 26, 2024 4:32 pm

I have client with a severe Heart condition. She’s only been given about a month to live. She has had enough and does not wish ...

Deed of Gift

January 31, 2024 8:49 am

This week I’ve been giving advice to a new client about transferring her house into her name and her daughter, as joint tenants, so that ...

Disputes over Deceased Estates

December 20, 2023 8:53 am

We settled a matter involving a deceased estate. My client’s father passed away, leaving a Will. He left a sum of money to each of ...

Tax -Effective Estate Planning – Over 65

November 22, 2023 8:51 am

I came across an interesting private tax ruling. A lady who was over the age of 65 had a Will leaving her estate to her ...

Tax- Effective Wills

October 11, 2023 12:13 pm

Who would like to give 2% of their superannuation to the tax man, for no good reason? These days, most people have a half-reasonable amount ...

Transfer of Farmland

September 20, 2023 10:17 am

We are dealing with an interesting matter involving transfer of farmland Our client’s husband passed away a year ago. He left his farming property to ...

Grants of Probate & Letters of Administration in 7 Days!

September 13, 2023 9:49 am

The Western Australian Supreme Court is granting well-prepared Applications for Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration in about 7 days at the moment. However, ...

Probate Applications

August 30, 2023 3:04 pm

We are assisting with probate applications for a couple of executors. One involves an executor who is in Melbourne, but the deceased, his aunt, lived ...

Superannuation and Wills

August 24, 2023 12:46 pm

I spoke to a new client the other day. He is unsure if he has a Will. If he were to pass away without a ...

Tax- Effective Wills

August 17, 2023 10:13 am

We received a reminder from the provider of our SMSF deeds the other day. If you nominate your legal personal representative to be the recipient ...

Trust Deed Variations

August 2, 2023 2:29 pm

One of our clients passed away last year. He and his wife were trustees of 2 trusts, so we need to replace him with one ...

Enduring Power of Attorney

July 26, 2023 12:47 pm

Enduring Powers of Attorney: We only ever allow our clients to execute the first type, because the other defeats the purpose of having an EPA, ...

Evil Step-Mother Takes Inheritance

May 10, 2023 11:54 am

A sad story this week. My client’s father died a month ago. My client understands that her father’s intention was that he would leave everything ...

Are you a Sole Director?

February 22, 2023 2:51 pm

An old client contacted me the other week. His accountant has told him that one of his clients had died leaving behind multiple companies of ...

Transferring a Farm

January 11, 2023 2:01 pm

We recently had a query about a mother who wishes to transfer a farm to her daughter. There are transfer duty exemptions for transfers of ...

Bequest of Houses

November 30, 2022 1:36 pm

Another case was handed down involving the bequest of a house where the house had been sold prior to the testator’s death. Usually, the gift ...

SAT Applications for Disabled Children

November 2, 2022 3:22 pm

We saw a new client whose 30 year old daughter has Downs syndrome. The daughter is not mentally capable of managing her own affairs, but ...

Trust Deeds

September 14, 2022 12:13 pm

We reviewed a couple of trust deeds recently for a new client. One deed was validly executed and was effective to change the trustee, but ...

Estate Planning for 80 Year Olds

August 3, 2022 1:34 pm

I met a very fit and healthy couple in their 80’s to discuss some estate planning. They showed me their current Wills, which they had ...

Non-revocable Trust Resolution

June 29, 2022 10:29 am

I met with a client who needs Wills with full discretionary testamentary trusts, EPAs and EPGs for himself and his wife. He wanted AHDs (Advanced ...

A Few Good Reasons for Having a Will

June 9, 2022 3:10 pm

Today I had the pleasure of talking about the importance of having a Will on 89.7FM with the hosts of “In Good Company”, Lisa Evans ...

“Britney-Spears” Type Trusts

May 26, 2022 3:17 pm

I saw a client who would like a Will with gifts given pursuant to the terms of a discretionary testamentary trust, which enables income and ...

Superannuation Equalisation Provisions in Wills

May 9, 2022 3:08 pm

Below is a sheet which shows the benefit of having superannuation equalisation provisions in a Will if there is at least one financial dependent sharing ...

Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney

April 26, 2022 3:13 pm

I provided some advice to a lady who is the enduring attorney for her mother. Her mother now has dementia. She wanted to change her mother’s ...

Wills and Will Disputes

April 8, 2022 2:09 pm

Recently we gave some advice to a lady whose father had passed away about 15 years ago, leaving everything to his second wife. Instead of ...

Deceased Estates & Winding-up

September 7, 2021 12:57 pm

I received an enquiry from lady whose father passed away 5 years ago, and despite obtaining probate nearly 5 years ago, the executor has done ...

Deceased Estates

July 19, 2021 11:42 am

We were instructed to seek letters of administration in favour of two sisters of a lady who died about a year ago now, leaving no ...

Tax Effective Wills

July 5, 2021 9:54 am

We’ve been preparing a few wills of late. One set of clauses we are including deal with superannuation proceeds that are paid into the estate, ...

Commercial and Deceased Estate Dispute

April 30, 2021 1:59 pm

I was recently in a Supreme Court mediation in relation to a deceased estate from 10.30am until 3.30pm, without a break for a coffee or ...

Double Deceased Estate

October 1, 2020 11:43 am

We are helping with the administration of a double deceased estate, where an elderly son died not long after his even more-elderly mother. The son ...

Family Provision

September 17, 2020 9:25 am

On Tuesday I attended a 4¼ hour seminar on legal issues concerning the Family Provision Act, which was rather timely, given that we have 4 ...

Wills and Testamentary Capacity

September 4, 2020 11:33 am

In relation to another matter we are handling, we tried unsuccessfully to contact a lawyer who had prepared a Will for a now-deceased client. That ...

Importance of Binding Death Benefit Nominations

July 28, 2020 2:06 pm

Just as everyone should have a Will to ensure their assets are disposed of according to their wishes, and not according to the outdated Administration ...

Novel Binding Death Benefit Nominations

June 23, 2020 4:24 pm

We have a client who has separated from her husband and she wants to leave her super to her 4 kids. She does not wish ...

Case Summary Mcgeough v Ian Torrington Blatchford as administrator of the estate of Margaret Mary Mcgeough [2019] WASC 454

May 25, 2020 11:49 am

This court case illustrates why these sorts of family provision matters should settle, particularly for a small estate. The first 132 paragraphs deal with the ...

Do you have a Will?

May 21, 2020 8:53 am

The results of a poll that I looked at last night estimated that that 55% of the adults in Western Australia have no Will, or ...

Wills with Tax Benefits

December 5, 2019 9:03 am

We have been finalising wills for a couple with a large combined estate, however, the wife will not have much in her estate if she ...

Help with a Deceased Estate

November 28, 2019 9:20 am

This week we received a referral from another lawyer to prepare the paperwork necessary to effect a transfer of one third of a property from ...

Family Provision Disputes

November 21, 2019 9:35 am

I went to a 4 hour seminar on Family Provision actions on Tuesday, in which relatives of the deceased claim to have special need that ...

Guardianship and Administration Order

September 4, 2019 3:06 am

What to do when a loved one has Alzheimer’s and is incapable of looking after themselves or making decisions: You would need to obtain a ...

Case Summary of Walsh v Adrian Cory Sloan as Executor of The Estate of The Late Laurette Dorothy Keddie [2019] WASCA 107

August 7, 2019 7:24 am

This case is an appeal regarding a Will bequeathing a house as a gift to a friend. On the face of it, the clause was ...

Probate of Will with Informal Codicil

July 25, 2019 4:00 am

This week Michael met with an accountant to receive some instructions to apply for probate on a Will that we drafted about 10 years ago. ...

Family Provision Dispute

June 23, 2019 1:35 am

This week we received an e-mail from a lady whose step-son has served a Family Provision claim on her and his half-brother, his father having ...

The Importance of a Binding Death Benefit Nomination

April 4, 2019 9:06 am

I was reading a recent case yesterday about a lady whose husband passed away with no will, a small estate, $500k in super and no ...

Grants of Letters of Administration and Reseals

March 21, 2019 9:13 am

A South African lady was referred to me this week. Her husband passed away leaving a bank account in Perth and the NAB will not ...

Wills for Blended Families

February 21, 2019 11:04 am

I had a chat with another lawyer yesterday about Wills. He has seen my article in the West last year about why kids should pay ...

Requisitions when Executors Apply for Probate Themselves

January 17, 2019 11:48 am

I saw an executor of an estate yesterday. He was doing his probate application himself. He received a requisition from the Probate Registry of the ...

Executor’s Of Deceased Estates

December 13, 2018 11:02 am

I saw a couple of sisters for some advice about obtaining probate or alternatively, letters of administration. Their late father told them that he had ...

Longest Mediation Session Ever!

March 8, 2018 3:05 am

Last week we attended the longest day’s mediation we’ve ever been involved with. We did not get out until after 7.00pm. We almost finished settling ...

Multiple Court Actions

March 1, 2018 3:00 am

Today Michael will be in Court most of the day attending a mediation in which he will be trying to settle six related Court actions. ...

Red Cross Wills

May 14, 2014 3:49 am

Irene and Jarred were busy over the last couple of days taking instructions from clients and preparing wills as part of a fund-raiser for the ...

Special Purpose Wills

April 10, 2014 11:59 am

We have been preparing some special purpose wills lately: Wills that make special provision for intellectually disabled children; and Wills that only allow the next ...

What is Estate Planning?

March 14, 2014 11:13 am

What is estate planning all about? It’s about making adequate provision for those you leave behind. From a legal point of view this includes Wills, ...

Letters of Administration in Lithuania

February 20, 2014 11:46 am

We have been having fun obtaining letters of administration for the estate of a man from Lithuania. We have needed: certified copies and translations of ...

When Probate isn’t Necessary

February 13, 2014 11:23 am

We spoke to an old client yesterday. She wanted help getting probate on her late mother’s will. We could have helped her do that, but ...

EPA & EPG

September 26, 2013 11:25 am

I saw a lovely 79 year old lady on Tuesday. She is moving into a nursing home in Glendalough run the Little Sisters of the ...

Life Support with no Will

September 19, 2013 9:37 am

Here’s a sad story. We learnt of a young chap last week who is on life support, but more than likely brain dead, so his ...

Old Will After Divorce

August 29, 2013 11:08 am

We saw 2 clients two weeks ago to prepare some wills. Both were divorced some 20 years ago. Both were unaware that the wills that ...

Winding Up Estates

June 20, 2013 8:11 am

We’ve been helping a client wind up an estate. Unfortunately, she started without us, and distributed a lot of what should have been the residuary ...