Parenting Arrangements: Are They Legally Binding?

Pynt Partners

Separating couples who have children together have a legal requirement to provide for their children, making sure that their interests are looked after. Some people choose to use an experienced family lawyer to resolve custody disputes, especially if a separation is nasty or on unfriendly terms.

On the other hand, a lot of parents come to informal parenting plans and arrangements. These might be in the form of documents that are signed and dated or verbal agreements. The important thing to realise is that many parenting arrangements aren’t always legally binding.

In this article we’ll explore the formalities surrounding parenting arrangements, when they are legally binding, when they aren’t and the things you can do to protect yourself and your children.

Are Written Agreements Legally Binding?

In truth, informal written parenting/de facto agreements aren’t usually legally binding – even if they’re complete in the presence of a family lawyer or other legal professional. However, they do have the benefit of helping separated parents move on with their lives.

On the other hand, problems can arise if one parent decides that they don’t want to continue to follow the agreement. They can effectively do what they want, potentially disrupting both the lives of both the other parent and the children in question.

One of the best things to do is to make sure that your parenting agreements are formalised by the courts. A family lawyer will be able to guide you on the process of doing this.

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Hiring the Right Legal Advice can Help you Minimise Risks and Losses

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As you embark on the exciting journey of starting your own business, it’s very important to hire the right legal assistance right from the start. Experienced commercial lawyers can help identify potential risks and protect your valuable assets from the threat of potential litigation. Hiring a competent lawyer, trained in Australian commercial law is crucial to any business and he or she can assist your business in several ways which are enumerated below:

  • They can offer expert guidance on compliance laws; many times, new business entrepreneurs may be unaware of existing laws that govern business operations.
  • Top lawyers can help protect you from the risks of trademark and copyright infringement issues. Australian law is stringent with regard to copyright, trademark etc and this may increase the risk of punitive action or penalties.
  • Having a good lawyer on your aide can also help reduce the risk of lawsuits and liability. Businesses are vulnerable to lawsuits and liabilities in several ways. A customer, supplier or vendor etc may choose to start legal proceedings. Having valid contracts in place helps improve your chances of getting what you deserve.
  • Business contracts and agreements often contain technical legal terms and verbiage that ordinary folks may not be able to interpret correctly. A dependable lawyer will help you understand the terms contained in the documents that you sign.

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Regulation of Hi-Tech Crimes Under Australian law

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High tech crimes, also known as hi-tech crimes, are defined in Commonwealth legislation within Part 10.7 – Computer Offences of the Criminal Code Act 1995 as specific computer related offences, such as computer intrusions, or, in other words, malicious hacking, unauthorised modification of data, involving destruction of data, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks using botnets, and the creation and distribution of malicious software, such as worms, viruses, Trojans. In Australia, each state and territory has enacted its own legislative framework that regulates computer-related offences. These frameworks resemble the Commonwealth legislation.

Computer intrusion is the first and foremost type of high tech crimes under Australia’s law. Australian statutes define computer intrusion as any unauthorised access to any computer or network of computers. The crime of computer intrusion may be manifested in different forms. Thus, it might take the form of hacking of free email services. The State or Territory police usually deal with the matters of hacking in cases when the perpetrator resides in Australia. In the majority of cases, Australian law enforcement agencies will be devoid of jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute cases of hacking when the perpetrator resides overseas.

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Is a Shareholders’ Dispute Threatening to Disrupt Business?

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Obtain Insights into your Rights and Obligations

It’s common for friends to decide to go into business together. However, as experienced commercial lawyers will tell you, it’s equally common for friends to fall out when they become business partners. Businesses are often started by friends who take a shared idea or vision forward and turn into a profitable venture. The initial excitement of starting up a new business often results in the partners turning a blind eye to the problems that may occur in the future. This is especially true when young and inexperienced entrepreneurs embark on a new business.

There is always a possibility that things may turn sour or the partners may have divergent visions for the business. In other words, it’s important to have a set of watertight business documents and an agreement that provides guidelines on various aspects of business. In fact, it’s fairly common to come across businesses that lack governing documents in cases of disputes. Most shareholders tend to consult a legal professional after the problems start rearing their heads. It’s a good idea to have a business agreement or governing documents in place because you will have a well-structured reference that contains solutions to contentious issues that may arise.

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Reasons to Consider Purchasing an Older Property

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When you are considering buying property, it is wise to consult with property lawyers to ensure everything is legal and above board. They’ll be able to tell you what to look out for and do all the legwork in making sure the property is suitable, safe and sound. They may also give advice on property law and pricing.

Most people love the idea of moving into a brand new home, but there are some good reasons to consider purchasing an older property.

  • Older properties can be found closer to the CBD and in inner city locations. This puts you closer to the action and can save on transport costs to work and to other amenities. It’s not so far to go to dine out and find other things you like to participate in as part of your inner city lifestyle.

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Gaining Financial Freedom From Your Ex Post Divorce

Pynt Partners

Divorces can be long, drawn out processes, especially if you and your ex split on unfriendly terms. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to separate your finances after a divorce, even if you both worked and had individual bank accounts. For people who shared a bank account and where only one person in the relationship worked, it can seem near impossible. Good family lawyers can help you gain financial freedom from your ex post divorce, so speak to one if you are having trouble.

Separating your finances:

The first thing to do when it comes to gaining financial freedom is separating your finances. Many couples share things like bank accounts and investments, which can make complete separation very hard. In this case, you need to either come to an agreement about how the funds will be split, or take the matter to a court (with the help of a good family lawyer). Close any joint accounts and open separate individual accounts so that your ex can’t see what you are spending your money on – after all, it’s none of their business after you are separated.

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Surviving Property Settlements in a Divorce

Pynt Partners

One of the most difficult and contentious phases of a divorce proceeding is the property settlement.  Most divorce cases that go to trial inevitably focus on disputes surrounding community property.  Several key tips, as well as the advice of a competent family lawyer will help you survive this particular battle.

Since most jurisdictions apply community properly principals the court will seek to equitably divide all marital assets and award fifty percent of the value to each spouse.  This might involve liquidating property that would seriously inconvenience one of the parties.  Equity in a house, for example, cannot be split without selling the home, refinancing, or otherwise giving commensurate value to the receiving spouse.  All of these options may be troubling or seriously concerning to you, which brings up tip number 1.

  • Knowledge is power

Make sure you know where all property is and how it is owned.  Records such as deeds, titles, promissory notes, etc. are helpful.  The purpose is to arm you with information so you can make intelligent decisions.  If you know the value of the marital assets you can decided before negotiating which pieces of property you most want and how they may be split in the divorce.  If you have a large number of assets coordinating with your family lawyer is essential.  Divorce is a law suit which comes with certain obligations and rules and breaking any of them can put you in hot water with the court.

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Why You Should Negotiate a Fair Share: Financial Agreements and Settlement After Divorce

Pynt Partners

Divorce often proves to be an emotional and stressful experience. Requesting timely assistance from competent family lawyers can help you resolve issues and negotiate a fair share in a rational manner. Negotiations prove to be far more effective when performed in a collaborative rather than confrontational manner. You may not be used to handling money matters by force of habit. For example, your spouse may have been more dominant and experienced regarding financial issues.

In such cases, it’s very important to be kind to yourself and ask for an adequate share so that you can live comfortably. The process of financial and property settlement is equally applicable to marriage relationships as well as de facto relationships. Australian laws are equally applicable to opposite sex or same sex relationships.

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Estate Planning Should Be Today

Pynt Partners

No one ever likes to admit that some day they will, well, check out of this life.  No matter what phase of life you find yourself in thinking about estate planning can be overwhelming and distasteful.  Even thinking about a Will or a lawyer can be scary.  In Estate Planning It’s difficult to know where to start, to understand what’s important and what’s not, and sometimes even beginning the discussion with family members can cause hard feelings.

There are, however, things that you can do to simplify and streamline estate planning decisions that are low cost, simple, and which will avoid problems and heartache in the future.

Here are a few simple tips:

  • Start Simple. Some people will tell you that an instrument called a ‘revocable trust’ is essential for everyone.  Several decades ago that may have been true, but in the last few years the estate tax exemption has dramatically increased and fewer people have estates large enough to require this kind of tax planning.  Instead, start with a simple Will.  Every person should have one because otherwise the laws of the state in which you live will decide how your property is divided.

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Successfully Arguing a Traffic Ticket

Pynt Partners

You don’t have to be a criminal lawyer to successfully dispute a traffic ticket.  You may need a brief trip to court to get a dismissal but that’s no reason to give up.  Below are some helpful tips based on interviews with real-world police officers.

  • It all starts with the traffic stop

Trained police officers are copious note takers.  Typically, each has a notebook where he/she jots down exactly what happens on every encounter with a citizen, from a casual enquiry to a felony traffic stop.  They use this information for everything from writing up official reports to reminding themselves what happened with a particular subject a month later when they encounter the same individual.

The important part for you is this: however you act during the traffic stop will be noted in the police officers notebook, and sometimes on the ticket itself.  That means if you are rude and belligerent during the stop the court may find out about it during your hearing.  The solution is to be polite, even if you don’t agree with the officer.  Nothing ever good will happen when you berate a police officer.

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Competent Commercial Litigation Lawyers can help you Resolve Business Crises

Pynt Partners

Need Assistance with Shareholder Dispute?

Business relationships can sour and partners may fall out as a result of disputes. Consulting commercial lawyers can help you resolve shareholder disputes in a collaborative manner. You and your partners may have incorporated a business entity and may differ on your respective visions for the business. Disagreements may also occur due to various other reasons. You may find yourself in a stressful situation if the relationship has soured and the shareholders are unable to agree on a vision. Alternatively, solutions may be proposed but your partners and shareholders may not agree to them.

Such a situation is known as a deadlock and this often has an adverse impact on day-to-day trade. It’s important to resolve the dispute so that problems are ironed out at the earliest. A shareholder’s dispute may occur between partners in a trust, directors and shareholders, between directors or generally between individuals who control a business entity. The underlying motive for a shareholders’ dispute is always a struggle for control. A trustworthy lawyer can help ascertain your legal position.

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Why Are Estate Plans So Important?

Pynt Partners

Estate planning is a complex process which many people put off because they feel that it is too hard or not worth doing. However, estate planning is all about protecting your loved ones and making sure that they don’t get penalised if you happen to pass away. Although estate planning isn’t fun and can take up a lot of time, high-quality estate planning lawyers are out there, and are a great choice when you are looking for someone to help you put a plan into place.

There are many reasons why estate plans are very important. They apply to everyone, rich and poor, young and old and should be put into place as soon as possible if you don’t already have one. A few of the reasons why estate plans are so important include:

They can help avoid taxes

Sure, you won’t have to pay any taxes when you die, but your loved ones will. Estate planning is all about making sure that the recipients of your property after you die won’t have to pay extremely high taxes. While they will undoubtedly still have to pay some, a decent estate plan can help keep taxes as low as possible. Talk an estate planning lawyer for more information.

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Wills and Power of Attorney in Australia

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Broadly speaking, a power of attorney is a legal document that authorises another individual to manage the business or other affairs of the person that issued the power of attorney and on his behalf. On the other hand, a will is a legal document that allows to make a decision on what is going to happen to the will maker’s property and assets in case of his death. In order to better understand the differences and significance of a will and power of attorney, it is essential to review the general principles of Australian law that regulate these two types of legally significant documents. First and foremost, Australian law defines a will as a written, not oral, document that incarnates the true wishes of the person regarding the distribution of his property after his death. Under Australian law, an individual who creates a will is usually known as a ‘testator’. The creation of a will makes it possible for the person to select different options of property distribution by designating what is going to happen to his assets in case of his death. Aside from the above, the creation of a will enables the will maker to designate an executor, who will be responsible for bringing the will maker’s wishes into life.

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Current Situation Around Shareholder Disputes Under Australian law

Pynt Partners

Company law of Australia regulates shareholder disputes and various methods of dispute resolution. In case a business entity is owned by two or more shareholders, is managed by two directors and there is no shareholders agreement, the business entity will not be immune from a variety of disputes that may occur there and create deadlock between the members. There are several dispute resolution strategies that help Australian companies survive. Present-day shareholder agreements tend to handle situations when it is necessary to share sales proceed. Also, modern shareholder agreements may regulate how “bad leavers” – shareholders and employees who have resigned or been terminated with cause – be compelled to sell their shares back to the company. However, if there is no shareholder agreement, there may be much more difficult to settle shareholder disputes under Australian law. In this connection, the disputing parties frequently have recourse to the company constitution, according to which deadlocks can be resolved by way of a casting vote of the chairman. In case a shareholder shows intent to get rid of this shares, he has to propose them to other shareholders, in accordance with the company constitution, or, if the company does not have any constitution, in conformity with the replaceable rules in the Corporations Act that empower the company in cases when, for some reason, the company does not have constitution.

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