A good source of information is the webcast of the ASIC Business Names Roadshow Presentation, the link to which is here.

Find out about ASIC Connect, how each State and Territory’s records will be merged into the one register and the new rules for registration and renewal.

This presents a serious risk to many other enterprises.  The failure of one or two larger clients to pay their invoices can result in an otherwise stable business suffering extreme difficulty – even if you can survive the loss of income, can you survive the squeeze on cashflow?

There are ways of controlling these risks.  For example, check the credit file of new clients, obtain director guarantees, have the power to take securities.  A good terms of trade document can assist you to do all of this and more.

If you would like to know more, contact Oldfield Legal.

Some important points to remember:

• Agreeing on the money is the start, not the end of the process.  For instance, when and how is the money to be paid?  Do you terminate the court action before or after the payment?
• If the agreement involves selling a property, how will you appoint an agent, how will the sale price be set, how will the net proceeds of sale be shared out?
• Are there any other issues between the parties that should be sorted out as part of an overall “package”?
• Does any part of the process depend on a third party (eg, discharging a mortgage held by a bank).  Have you made sure that the third party will do what you want them to do?

A settlement agreement should always be in writing.  Not only does it create proof of what was agreed and why, but writing it down makes it easier to see if anything has been missed.

And remember, if you’re expecting money from a settlement agreement, don’t spend it until you have cleared funds in your bank account!

Prior to the accident, the man had owned a taxi which he drove 12 hours a day, 6 days per week and had the taxi driven by another when he was not himself driving.  He also earned income from leasing a second taxi plate.

It eventuated that the man had not declared the lease income in relation to the second plate.

The appellate Court apparently accepted the man’s evidence regarding his pre-accident earnings, but then directed the Registrar of the Court to refer the decision to the Commissioner of Taxation for consideration.

Ouch!

Thanks to Smart Company – to read original article, click here.

It seems that the settlement did not proceed because the couple had been unable to sell their existing home.

Although the terms of the contract and the circumstances of the transaction have not been made public, this perhaps demonstrates the importance of having the contract drawn up properly at the very beginning.  Spending a small amount on getting a good contract, can save a lot of money (and a lot of stress) if later things don’t all go according to plan.

Thanks to Property Observer – to see their article, click here.

The laws of each jurisdiction may not be the same and this can have significant impact upon the drafting of Wills and the administration of deceased estates.  For example, the validity of a Will, the effect of a Will in different jurisdictions, how tax will be imposed upon the estate and/or the beneficiaries, the degree to which obligations in one location can be enforced in another jurisdiction.

For example the recent decision of Ali v Ali [2011] NSWLR 261 looked at the estate of a deceased man who had owned property in NSW and Fiji, had an ex-defacto wife and 2 daughters in Fiji and an ex-wife in NSW.  At issue was the accounting for rent and expenses relating to property located in NSW and how assets held by the second ex-partner might relate to divorce proceedings in Fiji.

Failure to appreciate inter-jurisdictional complexities can cause an estate unnecessary expense and delay in administration, can work to defeat the will-maker’s intentions and could even cause expensive court proceedings.

Recently large law firms met in Sydney to discuss the effect of the Patriot Act 2001 in the US.

A specific concern is that the Act allows US authorities to demand data if there is a “sufficient connection” with the US.  Although it has not been tested in an Australian court, it appears that if a data centre were located in Australia but owned or operated by a US entity, that would constitute sufficient connection and the data could be accessed even if doing so violated Australian privacy legislation.

The potential impact of this legislation means that all businesses, not merely law firms, should think carefully about such matters as the location of their servers, the ownership of their service providers and the quarantining of US and non-US data.

In a recent interview with StartUpSmart.com.au, Marc Englaro described his experiences when selling his business to a US-based firm, dealing with his Australian lawyers and their US attorneys.

He made the point that no one will know a business better than the persons running it, so they are a vital part of the decision making process.

In our experience, the more a client engages in the process being undertaken by the lawyer, the legal work is more closely aligned with the client’s needs and generally the better the overall result.

To read the article, click here.

The classes are said to be a mix of short videos, quizzes and online Q&A.

They are aimed at people of all backgrounds and skill sets.

For more information on the Launchpad course, click here.

From 1 January 2012 there are standardised guarantees which business cannot avoid, to the effect that goods and services must be of acceptable quality, fit for purpose, match any description, sample or demonstration model and meet any promises made by the vendor.

Companies can also offer warranties in addition to those described above.  For instance, providing a guarantee against all defects for 5 years from the purchase date.  The new laws prescribe the way in which such a warranty must be presented and the information it must contain.

It is important to note that although these laws are referred to as “consumer guarantees” in some circumstances purchases made by businesses may also fall within the ambit of these rules.

More information can be found at this website: www.accc.gov.au