It is not uncommon for a landlord to make extensive investigations into a tenant’s financial situation, to minimise the risk that the tenant will fall into financial hardship and not be able to pay the rent.

But what if the landlord suffers financial hardship?  What then are the tenant’s rights?

I...

A Granny Flat is typically a self-contained unit within or attached to another home, often with the intent that the elderly resident can be close to family and help if required.

For social security purposes, a granny flat arrangement does not necessarily require a separate residence – it just needs...

Every so often, a default judgment will be entered against an apparent debtor, but the debtor has no idea about the court proceedings having been commenced against it, or indeed about the debt itself.

The first time they know about it is when the sheriff comes knocking on their door, or when they a...

If you hear that someone has said something about your character or some other personal trait, often a knee-jerk reaction is to think “they’ve defamed me and they can’t do that.”  However this is not always the case.  You first need to understand the legalities of defamation, and how this may apply ...

Time and time again Shire Legal prepares Wills for parents who are living in Australia and whose ex-spouses are resident overseas, with little or no contact with the children. If the Australian parent dies, will the children be required to move overseas to live with their surviving parent?

Not nece...

When you are selling a business, you are transferring ownership of a bundle of rights, responsibilities and assets that are used together to create profit for their owner. These rights, responsibilities and assets need to be clearly identified so they can be effectively transferred from seller to bu...

Like many commercial transactions, the transfer of ownership of property is underpinned by the common law doctrine of “buyer beware” (aka “caveat emptor”).  That is, the purchaser needs to make sure they make their own enquiries and carry out their own pre-purchase inspections to be satisfied as to ...