Legal Advice – Slinky Life

Don’t Make Any Of These 10 Mistakes During Your Work Visa Application Process

The application process that you go through to be granted a work visa in Australia might seem fairly straightforward to you, and if you have read and understood every aspect of how the application process works then you may well have all you need to proceed. However according to migration agents Success Migration, for most applicants that is not the position they are in.

Instead, they barely glance at the regulations, they fail to follow the correct process, and then they wonder why their application has been refused. The most likely cause is that they have made one or more of ten of the most common mistakes which result in an applicant’s work visa application being refused. We hope you do not become one of them, and to help you further ensure your application goes smoothly we have listed those ten mistakes which you must avoid.

Not Seeking Advice: If there is one error which if avoided would eradicate almost all the other mistakes work visa applicants make, it is not seeking proper professional advice. Immigration experts and lawyers are there to help, so use them. Also, there are many websites which have useful advice regarding work visas.

Failing To Fully Understand The Visa Process: Following on from our point about seeking advice, if you do not, then you risk not following the proper procedure for a work visa application. This can mean either refusal, or your application not even being processed in the first place due to errors.

July 20, 2021Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

What Shared Parental Responsibility Means For Divorced Parents And Their Children

There is a core principle within Australian family law which basically means that whenever a couple gets divorced or they separate, the parental responsibility for any children they may have is shared equally. A family lawyer will explain to you that even if the child’s two parents are not on speaking terms, and one regards the other as an unfit parent, the Family Court will order joint parental responsibility in almost all cases.

We say almost all cases because although shared parental responsibility is usually the default position, there are some circumstances in which instead of shared, sole parental responsibility will be ordered, although it may only be temporarily. The reasons for this are very narrow and only apply in cases where one of the parents is deemed unfit to have the responsibility.

February 23, 2021Legal Advice, ParentingBy Slinky Life

Serious Driving Offences And What They Mean For Your Driving Licence

Although they may not be regarded as crimes in the same league as bank robbery and fraud, driving offences will still result in punishments for those who commit them. Although criminal lawyers may not always be required to represent those who commit minor driving offences, they most certainly should be consulted for the more serious driving offences.

The reason for that is that the punishments that can be applied when someone has been convicted of a serious driving offence can go all the way up the scale to include disqualification from driving, fines, and ultimately, a term of imprisonment.

Serious driving offences will include those that involve driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and there are three main definitions of these, which are:

October 13, 2020Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

Our Top 8 Law Firm Marketing Tips

Law firm marketing is essential for lawyers and law firms throughout the world. If you are in charge of online marketing for a law firm, you may be struggling to find effective marketing streams and to get a decent return on your marketing investment.

Don’t worry, this is normal for people without very much law firm marketing experience. This is why we have put together a list of our top 8 law firm online marketing tips. Read on to improve your marketing success dramatically!

Branding Is Key

Without good branding, your online marketing efforts will never be as successful as they could be. Make sure that you have a clearly defined brand and that you are consistent across the internet.

March 10, 2018Business Advice, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

Misleading The Tenants. How Far Is Too Far?

The relationship between landlord and tenant is a melting pot of legal relationships and the possible engagement of experienced commercial lawyers, that runs its colours into business, personal and Government spheres. One particular influence that has been the source of much litigation, legislative review and advocacy is the conduct of landlords when they are negotiating the commencement, renewal or termination of a tenancy.

Aspects of agency, contract, tort and trade practices can all be enlivened at the seemingly simplest statement made by a landlord, or for that matter the landlord’s agent. The law has tried for some time to not impede the ability of parties to negotiate and communicate with each other without fear of reprisal.

Conversely, the law has also drawn some lines where those negotiations and communications have moved past innocence and traversed into areas that give rise to rights and obligations. So how far is too far?

The scale begins with “mere puffery” which means statements that a person makes that might be incorrect and in any event could not be relied upon by anyone as a statement of fact. It then extends on to misrepresentation that might be actionable because it is negligent; and then further to misleading and deceptive conduct. The scale might extend all the way to fraudulent activities, in which case, you should be seeking legal advice, however for the purposes of this article we will focus on the ever subtle distinction between puffery and misleading statements or misrepresentation.

January 22, 2017Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

Divorce Proceedings in a Marriage of Less than Two Years

While divorce proceedings are relatively easy to instigate these days when compared with many years ago, experienced family lawyers will tell you there are still certain rules and regulations in place to make sure the decision to divorce is not an impulsive one that may be regretted at some later date. While divorce is necessary in some cases, it does bring with it a whole new set of problems when there are children of the union.

According to acceleratefamilylaw.com.au, when people who have been married less than two years want to file for a divorce it is essential – and a legal requirement – that they go to counselling first. Their application for divorce will not be heard unless counselling has been tried and failed to accomplish a satisfactory ending to the problems. However, it is often the case that one party may refuse to attend counselling. In this case the other party may go alone or simply request permission of the court to file for divorce.

August 28, 2016Legal Advice, RelationshipsBy Slinky Life

What’s Yours Is Mine Too – when executors and administrators help themselves

Litigation involving lawyers and deceased estates has rapidly increased over the last 15 years, to the point where even non-lawyers are aware that the massive depletion in the estate from legal expenses almost renders the fight untenable.

However, reconciling that somewhat philosophical view point with the prospect of a recalcitrant executor or unworthy beneficiary receiving more than they should, often creates an odd type of stand-off between parties.

The issues are always complex and the outcomes often unsatisfactory. That however, is the result of the law awkwardly trying to solve problems that are a mixture of emotion and good sense, with inherently rigid syllogistic decision making.

July 22, 2016Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

All Together Now – Mutual Wills

In the current social and legal climate, proving and executing the wills of individuals is extremely complex and the subject of much litigation. That is so, even when all of the terms and wishes of the maker of the will are on the face of the document itself. As far as the law is concerned, mayhem then ensues when there is a promise or other term that is asserted by another party, and that term or promise is not on the document itself. We recommend contacting a wills lawyer when considering making your will or conducting estate planning.

The most obvious example of this is where the wills of two or more people are made in contemplation of each other’s will. Reserved in general for relationships of a domestic nature, this concept has evolved over hundreds of years.

The legal complexity stems from the fact that for a promise to be enforceable, it must meet certain criteria, such as being a valid contract, a promise that has been relied upon to someone’s detriment or a promise enforceable as a result of a statutory provision. So when it comes to a promise between two people about the distribution of their estate, very few of the above conditions can be met.

May 20, 2015Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

Insecurity – broke is, as broke does

An often misunderstood and occasionally strategically abused right between litigants is the right to receive (or obligation to provide) security for another party’s costs of conducting the litigation.

Although not exclusively, security for costs is often the province of appellate Courts because a possibly impecunious corporate party seeking the indulgence (appellant) is obliged to ensure that the other party is not left in a worse position by undertaking a course that may or may not alter the outcome already obtained.

The circumstances which will allow an application for security for costs and the basis upon which it will be granted are subject to some procedural variation between jurisdictions, however there are some long standing principles of law that remain. In determining the requirement for one party to provide security, the Court must undertake an enquiry as to the financial resources of the party. That is because, security for costs is only designed to protect a successful party from an unsuccessful party’s inability to meet an adverse costs order from its own resources.

November 19, 2014Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

Unompelling – Inquiries and Examinations of possibly criminal conduct

Australia still maintains a privilege against self-incrimination in criminal matters. Although this privilege can be abrogated in certain circumstances[1], the law holds this privilege as a paramount right of defendants. As professional criminal lawyers will tell you, It specifically includes the right to not make a statement and/or to not give evidence on your own behalf.

That works fine for the defendant who has been arrested and charged on the complaint of someone else, but what about where the defendant has previously been investigated by a professional body or commission of inquiry and was compelled by law to disclose documents, answer questions; and is now arrested and charged for the same conduct that was the subject of the inquiry?

The defendant has effectively lost their right to silence and more particularly was not cautioned about the effective waiver of their rights at the time of the inquiry or investigation.

Where criminal proceedings are pending or threatened and the intended defendant is called to give evidence at an inquiry, the pertinent issue is their ability to be compelled to answer questions about the subject matter of the likely criminal proceedings and thereby telling the incriminate truth about themselves or giving false information, which is a criminal offence in its own right.

The High Court has equivocated over this issue in several cases and they seem to be decided on principles of statutory construction as it pertains to the legislation that gives rise to the commission or inquiry that is being challenged.

August 25, 2014Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

An Honest Days Work – when Mum promises you the farm

To the members of any farming family, the arrangements described here will seem entirely normal and appropriate. They are of course both of those things, however such intentions and understandings are always influenced by time and relationships.

Farming families constantly grapple not only with the business issues of running a successful operation, they also deal with issues such as making the farm an attractive career prospect for future generations, how to equitably deal with the family assets between children that do not desire to or cannot continue the operation in the future.

In most cases, these matters are discussed in kitchens or similar family meetings. More often than not certain promises are made or ‘understandings’ are reached about what will happen to the farm when the current generation are deceased; and more particularly how things will be divided up among children that wish to continue working the farm and those that have already left to pursue other careers.

February 18, 2014Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

Trust Me – when your will doesn’t mean what you think it means

The incidence of testamentary trusts, previously reserved for the wealthy and the ‘artful dodgers’ is increasingly a part of the estate planning of every-day society. These particular types of trust that only arise upon the happening of the death of the maker of the will, are invaluable in dealing with blended families, assets that would otherwise be subject to substantial tax or duty; and the maintenance of minor or disabled beneficiaries.

The freedom that these vehicles give in the estate planning process come at the expense of control. That might appear counter-intuitive as an argument because the terms of the trust are well established prior to the maker of the will dying. However, the trust has been invited into the mix and bring with it all of the complexities that have plagued the law of trusts for centuries. Not the least of which is the powers of the trustee at general law and the law’s own interpretation of certain terms and phrases in the trust document.

December 16, 2013Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life

A Life Of Privilege – keeping things to yourself

The maintenance of a robust and effective legal system depends, in a large part, on litigants being completely open and forthright with their legal advisors without fear of sensitive information falling into the hands of opponents. This is rationale offered for the existence of what is known as litigation privilege. It maintains that communications passing between a litigant and their lawyers are effectively ‘carved out’ of the overarching obligation to disclose all of the documents in their possession that are relevant to a fact that is in issue in the litigation.

However, the exception does not allow a party to completely conceal documents that are the subject of the privilege. In all jurisdictions, parties are required to identify them by a brief description and date and then openly claim that the document is privileged so that the other party has the opportunity to object and seek the intervention of the Court if it sees fit.

Privilege extends to more than just documents, however in the case of documents it is considered privileged if it was prepared for the dominant purpose of instructing a lawyer to prosecute or defend proceedings and extends to proceedings that are contemplated but not yet in existence.

January 17, 2013Business, Legal AdviceBy Slinky Life