A power of attorney is an authority conferred on an individual to act or manage the financial affairs of another as their agent, and is commonly used when property is transferred. Upon signing the contract for sale/purchase the power of attorney is not required to be registered, provided there is a prior executed agreement between...
An easement over property is a right or legal interest that either benefits or burdens a parcel of land. It is commonly used to provide access to the sewerage, drainage and other necessary services for local councils, or alternatively to allow a right of way across neighbouring land without causing significant interference. Easements are a...
Separated couples, (married or defacto) can avoid stamp duty payments when transferring property between themselves (whether it is for a house or investment property) if their property settlement is properly documented. Which means that getting this paperwork right can represent savings of tens of thousands of dollars. To meet this requirement, the transfer of property involved...
The Queensland Civil Partnerships and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 came into effect on 27 June 2012, and, amongst other amendments, has renamed the former Civil Partnerships Act 2011 to the Relationships Act 2011. In order to formally recognise a committed relationship between a couple, regardless of their sex, couples can now register their relationships...
From 1 July 2012, the principal place of residence concession will be re-introduced and the applicable concession rates will be those which were in place prior to the 1 August 2011 amendments. There have also been amendments to the first home owner concession. For contracts entered into after 1 July 2012, there will be no...
With the enactment of the Business Registration Services Act 2011, as of 28 May 2012 the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (‘ASIC’) took over the registration of business names from the States and Territory departments such as the Office of Fair Trading, which previously provided these services. There is now a single national register which...
Following on from our previous article in relation to the enactment of the Personal Properties Securities Register on 30 January 2012, we remind our clients that if you or your business provide goods to customers in the course of your business, and you have previously relied on consignment/lease terms or ‘retention of title’ clauses to...
Jayant Patel submitted an application in the High Court of Australia seeking special leave to appeal a decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal. Mr Patel was convicted on three counts of manslaughter and one of unlawful grievous bodily harm for deciding to operate on a patient whose health was precarious. The patient suffered bleeding...
If you become seriously ill or unconscious or are no longer able to make decisions, you may be unable to communicate your healthcare decisions. An advance health directive allows you to plan what medical treatment or health care you would like in the event that you cannot make decisions for yourself. You can even appoint...
