Steadily increasing Melbourne house prices have meant that, for many people, buying property in the current market is little more than a pipe dream.
Property

Forcing a sale of jointly owned property in Victoria What do you do if you want to sell a property and the other owner doesn’t? Can you force a sale of jointly owned property in Victoria? If the parties are married or in a de facto relationship, then the Family Court of Australia will have …

Valuing property in Family Law Settlements Valuing family law assets can be a vague, uncertain and expensive task. There are also different methods to apply depending on the asset e.g for contents of a home you do not rely on the insurance replacement value, but rather second-hand goods value. For superannuation – depending on the …

How is superannuation dealt with in family law? Superannuation is treated as property and can be divided between the parties after the breakdown of a marriage or the breakdown of a de facto relationship. Rather than cashing out the super is “split” and assigned to the spouse who is entitled to a top up. Superannuation …

Use (and abuse) of social media is becoming more prevalent in court cases including in family law cases. Evidence in Court Cases Evidence obtained via social media is becoming increasingly common in family law proceedings. Evidence obtained from sources such as Facebook and Twitter can sometimes provide beneficial (and conversely sometimes very damaging) evidence for …

Whether your inheritance will be counted in the divorce assets to be split depends on each case. There is no “one rule for all cases“. Where the inheritance has already been received these are some relevant factors taken into account in a divorce case: Time since the inheritance – If a long time has passed between …

All vendors selling property over $750,000 are required to obtain an ATO Clearance Certificate These new changes will apply to contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2017. What are the upcoming changes? From July 1, the FRCGW withholding tax rate increases to 12.5% from 10%. This applies to properties where the purchase price is $750,000 and above, where it …

The Victorian Government announced that it intends to increase the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) from $10,000 to $20,000 for new homes built in regional Victoria and valued up to $750,000. This will apply for contracts signed from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2020. Eligible first-home buyers of new homes in metropolitan Melbourne will continue …

The Consumer Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2016 No 23 (Vic) was assented to on 10 May 2016. This act updates both the Sale of Land Act 1962 and the Property Law Act 1958 to amend anomalies in these Acts. These amendments will come into effect on 1 June 2016. Sections 29W(1), (2), (3) …

Are you entering into a shopping centre lease? Here are some critical questions to consider: What will be my level of competition in the shopping centre? Larger centres often have an over-supply of similar businesses. An accurate picture of your level of competition is necessary for survival. Is there clear identification of the space I’m …