We are delighted to welcome Petra Thomson as a Principal Lawyer, to HOCW’s growing Family Law practice. Petra joins our Family Lawyers: Simone Wunderlich and Chimene Vaughan. Petra has been practising in the area of family law since 1996 and is a highly skilled and well regarded practitioner. Read More
Parties to a marriage or de facto relationship are generally entitled to a property settlement following separation, as provided for in the Family Law Act (1975). This is the case regardless of whose name property is held in. An adjustment of each person's respective interest in property is permitted pursuant to the Act. Separation and death are not generally events that we can or want to foresee and it's important to know what the crucial first steps are that you should take in order to protect your property interests following a relationship breakdown. Read More
Hicks Oakley Chessell Williams Lawyers congratulate Lachlan Vallance, Wills & Estates Accredited Specialist, for being listed in the 2018 Doyle's Guide as a Leading Victorian Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer. Read More
A recent German Court victory for the parents of a deceased teenage girl who had been battling Facebook to access her account for five and a half years highlights the need for consideration to be given to the fate of social media accounts and other digital assets after death. While most of us plan for the disposal of assets such as houses, bank accounts, artwork and jewellery after we die, we may not have given as much thought to what will happen to our digital property such as social media accounts, photos, videos, subscriptions and online gaming and bank accounts. Read More
While Victorian Courts may be showing an increasing willingness to accept informal Wills, preparing your own Will without legal advice remains fraught with danger. If your Will doesn’t conform to the strict requirements to be considered valid, it may be considered an ‘informal Will’. In order for an informal Will to be accepted, the Court must be satisfied that the Will-maker intended the document to be their last Will and testament. This can be difficult to prove and these proceedings can be lengthy, acrimonious and expensive. Victorian Courts have traditionally been reluctant to accept informal Wills in most circumstances. However, two recent decisions appear to indicate a change in that trend. Read More
As of 22 February 2018 the Privacy Act 1988 (Act), which has been amended, now makes it compulsory for individuals and companies* to implement a Data Breach Response Plan when a data breach occurs. The Act imposes harsh penalties, $360K for individuals and $1.8M for companies, for failing to comply with the Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) scheme. The NDB scheme is meant to strengthen and protect personal information held by organisations. If a breach occurs organisations must inform the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as well as all affected individuals. Read More