Maddocks Solicitors

Understanding — and sometimes revisiting, or revamping — the family business structure

These issues become more important as laws change and as the only family members who understand the structure get older. There are several things to think about. Family business and investment structures can be complicated: often they were structured s... Read >

SMSF Death Benefit Agreements end the "lapsing/non-lapsing binding death benefit nominations" confus

SMSF members can now arrange binding Death Benefit Agreements that do not lapse after 3 years â€" the agreement binds the trustee(s) until the member revokes it. Why are the new Death Benefit Agreements needed? There are risks associated with making... Read >

Small businesses: getting the net asset value test and your capital gains liability right — recent

Small businesses need to be able to show the Commissioner that they have taken reasonable care in concluding that they are eligible for small business tax concessions. These steps will help them to show they have taken that level of care: • prope... Read >

Protecting the commercial value of your businesses' name, sound, smell, etc. Trade marks: Greater pr

Trade marks are an important way for businesses to build goodwill and to develop valuable intellectual property. Registering a trade mark is the best way to protect that property's longevity and value. The purpose and value of your trade marks: signs,... Read >

Online video piracy: a successful lesson in protecting intellectual property rights — two recent c

In victories against piracy, Nintendo Co Ltd (Nintendo) successfully protected its copyright. These cases illustrate that infringers can be tracked down and with serious consequences The facts James Burt, 24, of Sinnamon Park, Brisbane copied New Su... Read >

Estate planning: Is it time to update your will?

You can find out about the following 6 issues in estate planning by reading this article: • A person's will may not cover their super • Succession planning for companies and trusts • Changes in circumstances: marriage, divorce etc. • Testa... Read >

Copyright — how does it affect my business?

Copyright is relevant to more than authors, artists, musicians and other creative people. The commercial world relies on material which is protected by copyright. For example, on most days in most offices people are creating copyright protected material. ... Read >

Anna Nicole Smith - some of the doubt is due to a lack of estate planning

Celebrity disputes over estate assets may seem irrelevant to most of us, but they remind us that: • almost everyone has an estate which must be distributed after they die; and • a lack of estate planning creates difficulties. The estates of ordin... Read >

Advances from Trusts: Be careful how you categorise them for tax purposes — recent case

Advances from a Trust to an individual need to be carefully scrutinized before they are labelled either a 'loan' or 'income'. A recent case highlights the serious consequences for categorising an advance from a Trust as a 'loan' when the payments are i... Read >

Domain names — and other people's intellectual property

What is a domain name? A domain name is the unique address that identifies the location of a website on the internet. As you will have noticed, domain names can have a variety of different endings which can refer to different types of organisations - s... Read >