Nicholas Kyriakoudes You may have heard of the expression “statute of limitation” but may not know what exactly this term means. Statute of limitation refers to the legislation which contains limitation periods in respect of causes of actions. A limitation period means the time limit which proceedings in respect of a particular cause of action [...]

Zane Wilde In 2012, the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) was amended, and the concept of coercive control was introduced into the definition of family violence. Coercive control is not defined in the Family Law Act but it is appreciated to be at the root of almost every act of domestic violence. Coercive control is [...]

The importance of legal advice when providing a guarantee.  By Youssef Abouelnasr and Nicholas Kyriakoudes Personal guarantees are legal agreements which entail a third party (the guarantor) promising to ensure that a particular legal duty owed to another party (the beneficiary) by some other entity (whether that be a person or company) will be performed [...]

Erin Chard When purchasing a property, the front page of the Contract will specify whether the property is being sold with vacant possession, or subject to an existing tenancy. Where vacant possession is selected, clause 17.1 of the Contract states that the Vendor must provide the purchaser with vacant possession on completion. So, what does [...]

Nicholas Kyriakoudes What is an easement ? An easement is a right that attaches to land which allows the owner of the land which is benefited by the easement (called the dominant tenement) to utilize the specific right conferred on the dominant tenement. As easements confer rights on the dominant tenement and do not confer [...]

Catilin McGrath Why a litigation guardian may be needed? Family law disputes come in all shapes in sizes. For instance, one marriage can be for a period of approximately forty years and another marriage for a period of eighteen months. Taking this into consideration, a party embroiled in a family law dispute may not have [...]

Kristina Komadina  The Taxation Act 1953 was recently amended to allow litigants in current property settlement proceedings to request Superannuation information of their former spouse or de facto partner. The Superannuation Visibility measure provides better visibility over superannuation assets at the end of a relationship, when a party is not full and frank with their [...]

Jasmine Cario and Nicholas Kyriakoudes  Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common – What is the difference? Generally, an asset which is owned at the time of your death as “joint tenants” will not form part of your estate and therefore, will not distributed pursuant to the terms of your Will. Rather, the asset held as [...]

Pitfalls surrounding “Option Leases”. Youssef Abouelnasr In commercial and retail leasing it is common that the landlord provides in the lease to the tenant an option to renew for a further term. This provides the tenant further security regarding their potential tenure of the premises and can also save both sides costs by avoiding renegotiating [...]

Ashleigh Serafini Ordinarily we would love to take on all clients that approach our door. However, before you enter it is important for us to ask some questions to determine whether it is appropriate for you to do so. For example, a new family law client will often hear – “what is your spouse/partner’s name”. [...]