Legal Articles
Statutory Demand: The 21 Day Guillotine
July 18th, 2017 by | Court Disputes, Debt Collection
In a previous article (How to Deal With a Statutory Demand), we assured you that the 21 day window to apply (by filing the application and serving it on the applying creditor) to set aside a Statutory Demand could not be extended. The scheme set up by the Corporations Act is strict and inflexible on… Read more »
Lease Term Extended by SA Court Order
May 29th, 2017 by | Commercial Transactions, Court Disputes, Property & Leases
Recently, Beger & Co Lawyers acted for commercial tenants who were being evicted by their landlord because their lease arrangements were coming to an end. Despite vigorous opposition by the landlord, our clients won a Court Order to extend their lease term so that they can stay in their shop for at least 5 years…. Read more »
Justice of the Peace or Notary Public?
May 24th, 2017 by | Commercial Transactions
A Notary and Justice of the Peace (JP) are not the same. A fundamental difference between a JP and Notary is that a JP is only recognised in a particular State or Territory of Australia while a Notary is recognised both nationally and internationally. Each Australian State and Territory has its own legislation to regulate JP’s appointment,… Read more »
Prince Dies Intestate: Singer’s Siblings to Inherit
May 22nd, 2017 by | Deceased Estates & Inheritance Claims
A recent article in The Guardian looks at the outcome of Prince having died intestate. The article states: “A Minnesota judge has ruled that Prince’s six siblings are the heirs to his estate, more than a year after the pop superstar died of a drug overdose.” Of the many celebrity deaths over the last 12 months or… Read more »
Old Lease, Extended Lease, New Lease
May 9th, 2017 by | Property & Leases
Can you keep extending a commercial lease? Of course a landlord and tenant can, either by the tenant duly exercising a right of renewal in the tenancy agreement itself, or, when that runs out, by agreement between landlord and tenant for a formal extension. The same terms can be retained, subject to agreed variations on matters… Read more »
Defaming Public Figures
May 3rd, 2017 by | Court Disputes, Peter Jakobsen
In defamation law, there is a defence of Qualified Privilege. A defamatory statement will not make the defendant liable if there was a legal, social or moral interest or duty to say it, and the person spoken-to had a corresponding duty or interest to hear it. And the statement must be reasonably necessary to the… Read more »
Service of Court Process From Overseas
March 29th, 2017 by | Court Disputes, Peter Jakobsen
The world is a smaller place and more and more of us do business overseas, in the United States among other countries, despite the disdain of the US President for certain free trade agreements. But business can, unfortunately, sometimes lead to litigation (which has been described as business by other means). What to do if… Read more »
Is an Executor Obligated to Act Within Time Limit?
March 22nd, 2017 by | Deceased Estates & Inheritance Claims
One of the most common questions I am asked when dealing with Probate matters is: Is there a time limit for the Executor to obtain Probate of a Will? Most people are surprised to hear that the answer is “no”. But that is not the end of the story. Being an Executor is not always… Read more »
Stamp Duty on SA Business Transfers Abolished
March 21st, 2017 by | Business Sale & Purchase, Commercial Transactions, Lorenzo Mazzocchetti
Stamp Duty was abolished from all SA business transfers from 18 June 2015 but this is still (good) news for lots of people. In fact, SA stamp duty was abolished for transfers of all non-quoted marketable securities (shares in private companies), units in unit trusts and all non-real property (non-land) transfers which includes licences such… Read more »
Incorrect Death Certificate Problematic for SA Probate
March 17th, 2017 by | Deceased Estates & Inheritance Claims
From 1 July 2015, all applications for Probate (or Letters of Administration) must be accompanied by an original Death Certificate, or a copy certified by a solicitor. The Probate Registrar has indicated that he will not accept errors on the Death Certificate. This stems from the admirable conviction that the historical records of our State… Read more »
Expert Evidence
November 22nd, 2016 by | Court Disputes
Generally, the Courts aren’t interested in anyone’s opinion except their own. That is, the Courts are there to hear facts and then deliver their opinion (which is called a Judgment). One major exception to this principle arises in the case of an expert witness. Experts are allowed to give an opinion and have that opinion… Read more »
Electronic Conveyancing
November 22nd, 2016 by | Conveyancing
On Monday 4th July 2016 Electronic Conveyancing was introduced in South Australia. So what does that mean for property owners? Some of the substantive changes are set out below. Client Authorisations Parties no longer sign their own Lands Titles Office documents, but are instead signed by the legal practitioner or conveyancer on behalf of their… Read more »
Executor’s Commission
July 12th, 2016 by | Deceased Estates & Inheritance Claims
The question is often asked by those appointed executor of a deceased estate, whether they are entitled to a commission for the time and effort required to do everything necessary to sort out the deceased estate. If the executor is also a beneficiary of the estate or if the will specifically makes provision for the… Read more »
How Long Does Your Commercial Lease Run?
July 12th, 2016 by | Property & Leases
If you’re a tenant seeking commercial space, or a landlord leasing commercial space, note that the policy of the Retail and Commercial Leases Act 1995 is to give commercial tenants a minimum of 5 years, whatever the lease says. Sections 20B (1) and (2) of the Act state: “(1) The term for which a retail shop… Read more »
Separation and Social Media
July 12th, 2016 by | Family
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are useful ways to keep our family and friends informed about important events in our lives, such as birthdays, new jobs, weddings, deaths, etc. Many people also use social media to announce that they have separated from their partner. Most of us have friends who have changed their relationship status to… Read more »
