In recent years, there has been a shift in how people approach language in legal documents, such as their Wills.  We’ve noticed that more individuals choose to use gender-neutral pronouns like "they" or "their" to refer to their executors and beneficiaries. This shift...

New South Wales  has established robust work health and safety legislation (WHS) to safeguard the wellbeing of its workforce.  The cornerstone of WHS Regulation in NSW is the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.  This Legislation is comprehensive and aims to prevent...

Binding Death Benefit Nominations When a life insurance or superannuation policy holder dies, their benefits under their policies are dealt with based on their nomination direction.  If the deceased did not leave a binding death nomination, the Trustee of the fund is...

There are special laws in place in New South Wales for people over the age of 16 years who are not able to consent to medical treatment. This includes people who do not understand the general nature and effect of the treatment or cannot communicate their consent to...

Asset Protection in Mature Relationships As legal professionals, we often counsel mature parties entering into new relationships later in life, bringing a wealth of experience and sometimes complex personal histories. Typically, each individual has accumulated assets,...

CMC In-House CLE Day  We regard ongoing legal training highly and our professional staff and law student paralegals spent the day at our annual inhouse Continuing Legal Education at the Camden Valley Inn.  We were treated to excellent guest speakers including Dean...

Granny Flat Agreements  We frequently assist multi-generational families who live on the same property. Very often, a parent has paid a lump sum to an adult child in return for a right to reside at the child's property. Everyone is happy and they get along because...

What Happens to your Pet if you Pass Away In a comprehensive study by Animal Medicines Australia, it was found that nearly 70% of Australian households are pet owners, with many considering their pet a beloved family member. This growing trend has led to an increased...

DeFacto Relationships and Inheritance Disputes Inheritance disputes can often involve a person claiming to be a de facto partner of the deceased.  Establishing the existence of a de facto relationship can have significant benefits in the context of a deceased estate...

Think twice before sending your ‘Thumbs Up’ emoji! As a fast and easy way to express ourselves in online communication, emojis have been described as the digital equivalent of body language and have become firmly embedded in the way people communicate online.   As fun...

It is not unusual for parents to advance their children money. It could be for their first car, grandchildren’s school fees, a holiday, medical expenses or even a superannuation contribution. In recent years, it has become increasingly common for parents to help their...