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The deceit of the policy manual
“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.” — Groucho Marx As an HR professional, you value your integrity, right? Without that, your credibility with staff disappears. A core aspect of integrity is honesty — if your word cannot be relied upon, then you lose the trust…
Who needs a statutory will?
In Brief In a previous article, we examined how statutory wills are able to be used for asset protection and tax minimisation purposes. In this article, we outline the types of people for whom an application for a statutory will might be made and then consider the prevailing issue of testamentary capacity…
Separation, divorce, children & overseas travel — Preventing international parental child abduction
Did you know that Australia has one of the highest per capita rate of international parental child abduction in the world with more than 250 cases every year? In a multicultural country such as Australia, with an increase in the movement of families leaving Australia for work, parents and children having dual…
What happens when spouses split a business? 6 possible scenarios
The ‘clean break’ principle The Family Court’s position is that whenever possible, there should be a clean break between ex-spouses. This means a property settlement, with the combined asset pool being broken into two chunks. When the assets include a business, the property split can take place in a number of ways.1. Value of the…
Being impartial on partial property settlements
Commencing Family Court proceedings can be daunting – not only because it’s an emotional time in your life, but because of the high legal fees that can result from what can be a long and drawn out process. You might wonder, how will I be able to pay for a car, or replacement furniture…
Innovation it’s in our DNA
I always remember our founder, the late Fred Swaab, talking about being at the bleeding edge. He was a man who looked ahead to the next step, always challenging himself, and those alongside him, to find better ways to do things. Fred wanted to be right out in front – at that…
Top Ten Tips for Landlord Leasing
This article contains some useful tips and insights on matters of importance for landlord leasing. The information is general in nature and does not take into account any personal circumstances. Get your commercial terms in order The document which sets out the agreed commercial terms of a lease has several different names…
The ABCs of Child Support
Child support is a payment made by one parent to the other to assist him or her to meet the expenses of raising their child/children. The legislation provides that parents of a child/children have a duty to maintain the child/children. This applies even if one parent is not presently spending time with the…
Relationship break downs — how do you sort out maintenance?
So, we have a relationship break down – how do we sort the maintenance? It is one of the most challenging aspects of family law – who gets what and who owes whom — when a relationship breaks down and maintenance is being negotiated. Consider this article as an overview and checklist to…
If you employ a worker for a particular project, can you terminate them at the end of that project?
IN BRIEF Today in the world of Australian property, contingent workers fit the bill. Contingent workers are the freelancers, or independent professionals and consultants, or temporary contract workers, who provide their services to an organisation on a non-permanent or contract basis. There’s recently been a big increase of fit-outs in residential property across the…