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A recent Supreme Court case, known as the Alphabet Case, tackled the complex question of how far a parent's legal responsibilities extend, particularly when family assets are placed in trusts. The Court confirmed that while parents have special legal duties to their children during childhood, these obligations usually end when children become adults. Find out what this important case means for family trusts and how potential law reforms could affect your estate planning.

While retirement facilities offer attractive lifestyle options, understanding your legal rights is crucial. Unlike traditional home ownership, retirement village residents don't own their units outright but instead operate under an Occupation Right Agreement (ORA). With the Retirement Villages Act now 24 years old, significant reforms are being proposed to better protect residents' interests. Learn what these proposed changes could mean for current and future residents.

While finding talented staff is challenging, retaining them can be even more complex. The good news? You don't need to be a perfect employer - just a fair and reasonable one. Recent Employment Court guidance provides a practical "target" approach to good employment practices, where best practice is the bullseye, but hitting anywhere on the target still counts as fair and reasonable. Learn the golden rules that can transform you into an employer that good employees want to stick with for the long haul.

Despite the short-term nature of these roles, if you hire staff on a casual basis you still have significant legal responsibilities. This is highlighted in a recent case before the Employment Relations Authority.

Contracting out agreements can be entered into at any time during a relationship and are particularly useful for couples entering into a de facto relationship, or marrying later in life, as both parties are more likely to come to the relationship with more complex financial affairs.

As urban land becomes more expensive, landowners and developers are constantly looking for ways to get the most out of their patch of dirt.

When a parent dies and leaves their child or children out of their will, those children are entitled to bring a claim against their parent’s estate under the Family Protection Act 1955 (FPA). While a financially stable adult child may not have a claim to a large  proportion of their parent’s estate, they will usually still have a claim for ‘recognition.’ The same is not true for children claiming against the estate of a stepparent.