Generally if you give someone a substantial gift you will have to pay gift duty. However, if you make a gift to a charity you do not have to pay gift duty. For example, a society (XYZ Society Incorporated) can transfer land to a charity (XYZ Trust) for free without paying gift duty. The society [...]
If you have loaned someone money and registered mortgage over their property as security you are a "mortgagee". If the borrower has stopped making interest and principal repayments there is a process you need to follow to enforce your rights under the mortgage. What can you do? If the borrower is in default because they [...]
Copyright is a property right that exists in original copyright works. This property right is a type of intellectual property. Copyright work includes: literary works e.g. emails, novels, lyrics, tables and compilations, computer programmes; dramatic works e.g. scripts; musical works e.g. sheet music; artistic works e.g. photos, diagrams, drawings, sculptures, maps, paintings; sound recordings (as [...]
Patent protection is a type of intellectual property. The aim of the patent regime is to provide protection by a system of registration that grants a limited-term monopoly for inventions; to provide the owner with an exclusive right to commercially exploit the invention for a period of up to 20 years, and provide protection against [...]
Since 2008 the witnessing requirements for enduring powers of attorney have been very strict. Due to a potential conflict of interest the law required the donor (the person appointing the attorney) to have their signature witnessed by a lawyer who is independent of the attorney. That meant that a lawyer who acts for both the [...]
In my Blog on trusts tainted by new associated persons rules I discussed one of the outcomes of the amendment to the “associated persons” rules in the Income Tax Act 2007. The main consequence of the amendment is that a person who is a dealer, developer or builder will “taint” persons he or she is [...]
Trespass over land is either a civil offence (a “tort” based on case law – previously known as a “writ of trespass”) or a criminal offence (the elements of which are found in the Trespass Act 1980). Trespass is a possessory right and protects an owner or occupier of land from direct interference, or invasion, of [...]
One of the first things people consider when going into business is the type of entity or structure they would like to use to carry out their business. The business structure is like a vehicle which will take the business through its life cycle from formation to winding up. However, depending on the type of [...]
New laws applying to the finance industry from 1 December this year will have a substantial impact on financial advisers and financial service providers. This legal blog deals with the new obligations on financial services providers. Retailers providing goods on credit terms are financial service providers and therefore need to register as financial service providers [...]
The Animal Welfare Bill has been passed, significantly raising penalties for cruelty to animals. The Animal Welfare Amendment Act increases the maximum sentence for animal ill-treatment and neglect from three to five years and the maximum fine will double to $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a body corporate. The Act redefines the description [...]
