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1300 COMLAW (266 529)

02 4704 9991

Suite 11, 354-360 High Street, Penrith NSW 2750
PO Box 1835 PENRITH NSW 2751

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Business Structures

Starting or buying a business is an exciting and challenging time. It is important that you make sure you tick all of the right legal boxes from the start to make sure that you comply with your legal obligations and maximise your business’s potential.

Apart from registering a business name and applying for an ABN, you must also decide what ‘business structure’ you want to run your business in. Here are the three most common business structures and their pros and cons:

Sole Trader
One person, who is the exclusive owner of the business. The main advantage is that you get to keep of the business’s profits for yourself. The main disadvantage is that you are personally liable for your business’s debts and liabilities e.g. if your business goes broke your personal assets can be used to pay its debts.
Partnership
Two or more people who own the business together. The main advantage of this structure is that you share the costs of running of the business and the business’s liabilities with each partner and have the benefit of multiple people with fresh ideas to keep improving the business.
The main disadvantage is that each partner is still personally liable for the business’s debts and liabilities which puts your personal assets (such as the family home) at risk.
Company
This is the most common business structure in the modern age. The main advantage of a company is that it is a separate legal entity to you, which means that is can hold assets and have debts, enter into contracts, sue, and be sued – the affect being that you can protect your personal assets from the risks associated with running a business. There can also be greater flexibility in terms of taxation with a company structure.
The main disadvantage of a company structure is the cost of setting up the company and ongoing compliance with company law.

If your inner entrepreneur is dying to get out and you’re thinking about going into business for yourself, contact Complete Legal and Conveyancing today and we can talk you through the process.

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Dying Without a Will – Intestacy

Have you been putting off writing a will? Do you know what will happen to your assets if you die without a will?

If someone dies without a will their assets are distributed in accordance with a formula depending on their family circumstances, and it might not be as clear-cut as you think.

Here’s some examples of how it works:

  • If you die leaving a de facto/spouse and no children, your partner is entitled to your whole estate
  • If you die leaving a de facto/spouse and children of that relationship, your partner is entitled to your whole estate
  • If you die leaving no de facto/spouse but leaving children, your children are entitled to your whole estate
  • If you die leaving a de facto/spouse and children who are not also the children of your de facto/spouse (e.g. you have children of a previous relationship), your de facto/spouse is entitled to your personal belongings and a sum of money determined by statute but must share the rest of your estate with the children of your previous relationship
  • If you die leaving no de facto/spouse and no children, your parents are entitled to your whole estate

There are many more scenarios that affect how your assets are distributed if you die without a will depending on your marital status when you die, whether you have children or if you have a “mixed family”.

More and more people are marrying later in life or having multiple marriages which can result in your assets passing to people you do not want them to.

The only way to make sure that your assets end up where you want them to is to write a valid will that meets the specific technical requirements of the Succession Act 2006.

If you die without a will not only will your assets be distributed in accordance with a sometimes confusing formula, but it will mean more cost and more stress for your family.

Contact the team at Complete Legal and Conveyancing if you would like to find out more.

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Traffic Offenses

Traffic offenses – what can you do?

We have all our found ourselves on the wrong end of a traffic fine now and then. Here are some tips on what you can do if you do find yourself in breach.

Usually you will receive your charge/fine in one of the following ways:

  • Field ticket/penalty notice – the police officer who books you will give you a ticket/penalty notice on the spot
  • Court Attendance Notice – for more serious offenses (such as driving under the influence of alcohol) you may need to go to Court, and will receive a notice on the spot or in the mail
  • Suspension Notice – if you exceed your quota of demerit points you may receive a letter in the mail telling you your license is suspended

If you have received a penalty notice you can elect to take the matter to court by following the instructions on the back of the ticket. You will then receive a court date by email or post and should see a solicitor in the meantime for some advice.

If you think a mistake has been made you can make an application to have the offense overturned, for example if you weren’t driving the vehicle at the time the offense was committed or you think your vehicle has been incorrectly identified.

If you receive a license suspension letter for accruing too many demerit points you may be able to seek leniency or avoid a suspension in special circumstances, for example if you have a good traffic record and need your license for your work.

There is in age old saying in the law that goes “he who represents himself has a fool for a client”. If you are contesting a traffic matter, you need expert advice. Contact Complete Legal today to find out more.

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Family Provision

Will Disputes – Contesting a Will

Have you ever heard of the term “contesting a will”?

The legal term for this is a “family provision claim” and it is much more common than you might think. The law recognises that sometimes people make decisions about who to leave their assets to that fail to take into account promises they’ve made during their lives, the needs of people who are dependent on them and the moral expectations of society, for example that a husband/wife should provide for his/her spouse in their will. When this happens, the law is there to help. Here’s how it works: If you fit one of these categories you are eligible to make a family provision claim:

  • The child of a deceased person
  • The de facto or married spouse of a deceased person
  • A person who was at any time dependent on a deceased person and lived in the same house as them (including grandchildren)

  • In a close personal relationship with a deceased person at the time of death
  • Ex de facto or spouse

Your claim can take one of the following forms:


  • A claim for a share of the deceased person’s estate, if you were left nothing in their will

  • A claim for a larger share of the deceased person’s estate if the share you were left was inadequate

If you think you fit one of the above categories and have been treated unfairly in a will, you may be entitled to more than you think.

Similarly, if you are an Executor of a will and someone is making a family provision claim against you as the estate’s representative, you need expert advice.

At Complete Legal and Conveyancing we have extensive estate litigation experience in relation to all sorts of will disputes and family provision claims. If you need some advice, why not contact us for a free consultation.

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