http://garvey.biz A Queensland small business and private client legal practice Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:42:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you control a discretionary trust with absolute discretion to favour yourself or someone else to the exclusion of other beneficiaries, you should still always act with propriety, tact and sensitivity in trust matters. Inflammatory or grandiose statements provide the fuel for disappointed beneficiaries to have a new ... http://garvey.biz/2008/07/09/elovalis-v-elovalis/ The Supreme Court of Queensland has affirmed the freedom to contract in a decision favouring a vendor terminating a contract and keeping the deposit when the buyer failed to meet a deadline. The buyer argued there was an instalment contract (within the meaning of section 71 of the Property ... http://garvey.biz/2008/06/05/phillips-anor-v-scotdale-pl-2008-qca-127-ok-to-early-release-of-deposit/ The new transfer duty marginal rates replace 7 progressive rates with just 4 plus the abolition of duty for property under $20,000. Overall there in an increase of duty payable on the purchase of property valued over $590,000, although when combined with a residence concession, there is a reduction ... http://garvey.biz/2008/06/04/new-duty-rates/ Common usage of the expression "right of first refusal" in the marketplace attests to the frequency of commercial arrangements where an owner gives a preference to someone to buy an asset from them in they event it is to be sold. For example, the right might be part of ... http://garvey.biz/2008/03/22/rights-of-first-refusal/ On 14 December 2007 regulations were gazetted relaxing the tighter restrictions and penalties imposed by the Legal Profession Act 2007 on persons practising law by preparing land contracts. Last year's legal clampdown was the subject of a previous blog posting on this website: Agents may only fill in details. ... http://garvey.biz/2008/01/12/agents-may-do-more-than-just-fill-in-details/ Section 24 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 prohibits engaging in legal practice unless the person is an Australian legal practitioner.  The maximum penalty is 300 penalty units ($22,500) or 2 years in prison.  There is however a limited exception for real estate agents: " 24 (2) (e) .. work performed ... http://garvey.biz/2007/10/24/agents-may-only-fill-in-details/ The New South Wales Court of Appeal has given a needed to refresher on the nature of a deposit and in doing so confirmed as worthless the typical “reduced deposit” clause. Iannello & Anor. v. Sharpe [2007] NSWCA 61 involved a contract for the sale of a house for $4.5 million ... http://garvey.biz/2007/07/17/deposits-penalties-and-liquidated-damages/ The issue of whether a trustee’s right of indemnity can be excluded by trust instrument was considered by the Honourable Justice Debelle of the South Australian Supreme Court in MOYES & ANOR v J & L DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD & ANOR (No 2) [2007] SASC 261 in a judgment delivered ... http://garvey.biz/2007/07/12/trusee-not-made-of-straw/ A Queensland Supreme Court application on whether a family trust controller had successfully replaced himself before his death has been decided in the negative. In Jenkins v Ellett [2007] QSC 154, Douglas J pondered for some 6 months after hearing a typically elliptical clause allowing for changes to a discretionary ... http://garvey.biz/2007/07/10/controller-of-family-trust-unable-to-give-up-control/