Many clients come to see a family lawyer wanting to talk about issues related to the ATO, while others haven’t turned their minds to their own tax affairs for some time. Generally, we find there is a misunderstanding about the role and power of the ATO in family law property settlements. Family law […]
The Risks of Going Guarantor
Has a family member asked you to provide a guarantee for their home loan or personal loan? If so, you need to be clear about your obligations under a contract of guarantee. What is a guarantee? If a lender is concerned about a borrower’s capacity to repay a loan or has classified the borrower […]
GST and Residential Property Transactions
The responsibility for remitting Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) generally falls on the party making a ‘taxable supply’. In a property transaction, this has traditionally meant the vendor or developer (supplier), unless the contract provides otherwise. From 1 July 2018 purchasers of ‘new’ residential property must deduct the […]
Swimming Pools – new compliance laws
Across the country, thousands of homes have backyard swimming pools. With drowning being a leading cause of preventable death in young children, swimming pool safety is an important issue for the community. New compliance laws came into effect in NSW in April 2016, requiring that any property with a swimming pool now needs a certificate […]