Boylson & Collyer Solicitors in Boonah, Queensland | Legal service

Boylson & Collyer Solicitors

Locality: Boonah, Queensland

Phone: +61 7 5463 1611

Address: 16 Yeates Avenue 4310 Boonah, QLD, Australia

Website: http://boylsoncollyer.com.au

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25.01.2022 It's nice when clients recognise what we do for them.

25.01.2022 We just received another contract which is already signed by both parties, so it is binding. Had we been given the chance to talk to the client before they signed, we would have been able to point out problems and solve them, such as lack of finance approval date or add a due diligence clause to obtain council records to make sure all approvals have been obtained for the improvements on the property. If we only see the contract after it is signed, then we don't have the opportunity to provide that sort of advice. Angela

22.01.2022 It's always amazing to see how towns and streets change over time. This is a plan of the southern end of High Street Boonah in 1914. At the far right (southern end) are School of Arts, Reading Room, Billiards Room and Public Hall. The first three buildings are on the area now occupied by the Cultural Centre. The "Public Hall" sits on what is now the road between the Centre and the Tiny Tots park. To the left (north) of the School of Arts is "Street" which is now the ram...p (beside the library) from Yeates Avenue to High Street. To the left (north) of that is "Fruit Shop" and "Commercial Bank". The building where Boylson & Collyer office is located is behind those shops, facing Yeates Avenue where the Railway line appears as a black line alone the bottom of this plan. Our building was built about 1980, so nearly 70 years later. Then comes "Behncken's Clothing & Outfitters" then "Gilletts butchery" where a butchery shop still stands today. All of these buildings have disappeared in the 100 years and even the streets have changed. Thankfully maps preserve them for the future.

21.01.2022 Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) One of the most powerful documents you can sign is an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA). By signing an EPA you give power to someone else to make legal decisions on your behalf eg your attorney can withdraw money from your bank account, sell your home and sign contracts on your behalf. Of course an EPA is open to abuse, but most attorneys carry out their duties ethically and honestly. In order to make sure you are aware of the implications o...f the EPA, a solicitor or JP must explain it to you and witness your signature. The current EPA is coloured green and was originally created in 1998. For the last few years there have been suggestions to improve it. The new EPA has been introduced and must be used from 30 November 2020, - see the attached image of the front page. If you have an existing EPA, it will continue unchanged. But if you want to sign an EPA on or after 30 November 2020 you must use the new 2020 form. You can buy printed copies of the forms or you can download them for free from the Qld government website - just search for Qld EPA (make sure you use the Qld form, not one from another state).

19.01.2022 Further to my last item about the new Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) which was introduced three days ago ... EPA's are long documents - the old version was 16 pages and the new one 13 pages. Many organisations such as banks and nursing homes require a certified copy of the EPA. The legislation ordered that each and every page of the certified copy had to be stamped and signed and dated, so certification was not a short process. That remains in place for the old EPA's. But the new EPA's can now be certified like other documents - a stamp, signature and date on the first page and then an initial on each of the other pages. This has made the process quicker and will be welcome news for all the hard-working JP's who certify copies of documents for the public.

16.01.2022 Dementia is common among the elderly and is often listed as a cause of death on the death certificate. That can cause great problems for the estate if the deceased signed their will in the last couple of years before their death. It is then arguable that they had dementia when they signed the will and didn't know what they were doing. It is best to get a doctors certificate when an older person signs a will and store it with the will. If there is a question in the future over whether they were competent to sign the will, there is doctors evidence from the time to support the will.

15.01.2022 Detail from Crown Plan D439.9 showing Boonah Hospital Reserve in 1909, bounded by Highbury, Bell and Leonard Streets.

14.01.2022 Representing both sides Not many people would ask a solicitor to represent both sides of a divorce but we are regularly asked to represent both sides in the purchase and sale of a home (conveyance). This firm has been active in the Fassifern area for more than 30 years and so we have many long-standing clients. Occasionally one client is buying a property from another client and both ask us to act for them. We always refuse to act for both.... The conduct of solicitors in Australia is governed by the Solicitors Conduct Rules. It is not strictly against the rules to represent both sides of a conveyance, but the solicitor must obtain the informed consent of both clients to act for both. There is a great risk of conflict of interest arising in a conveyance eg if the buyer needs an extension because their bank is not ready to settle, but the seller has a better offer from another person. There is obviously a real conflict between the interests of the two clients. If a conflict arises, then the solicitor must stop representing both clients and both clients must find new solicitors. This would be a great inconvenience. For this reason, we never represent both sides of a conveyance.

13.01.2022 Contracts A contract is a legally binding promise or agreement. Not all agreements are legally binding. To be legally binding there must be an offer and acceptance and agreement on the terms eg the start and end date. If one of these is missing, then the agreement may not legally binding. Buying a selling a house is one of the biggest decisions people make in their lifetime and the signed contract should contain all of the important terms. A house contract is usually con...ditional on a few things such as a bank loan and pest inspection but once those conditions are met, then the contract is unconditional. There are very few ways to "get out of" an unconditional contract. In the current coronavirus pandemic, people have experienced sudden unexpected unemployment after signing a contract. They expect that these circumstances mean that the contract can be ended or terminated but that is often not correct. That is why it is vital that you are entirely sure you can proceed with a contract before you sign.

12.01.2022 Further to my last post that all Certificates of Title (CT's) will cease to have legal effect from October 2019 .... Modern CT's are a simple piece of A4 paper showing the current owner and any mortgages, easements etc. The old CT's were much more informative. If the owner subdivided and sold part of the land, a stamp was put on the back of the CT recording the sale. That means it is possible to trace the history of land by looking at the old CT. This is page 2 of the CT f...or John Hooper's Portion 50 in the 1880's. It includes a map Portion 50 at the top. Por 50 stretched from today's High Street across to Macquarie Street and along Coronation Drive. Coronation Drive and Hoya Road (both unnamed) appear at the top of the map. Beside the map are stamps recording the sales of land to the following people: Josiah Hancock 27 Aug 1886 Enoch Bostock June 1887 Levi Blumberg Aug 1887 Thomas Griffiths Feb 1888 Qld National Bank Feb 1888 and many more. These sale record the birth of Boonah town.

09.01.2022 Witnessing a Will Wills are very important documents. They only take effect after the Will-maker (testator) has died. So if the Will is confusing, they cannot explain what they meant. Also, if someone claims the Will is a forgery, the Will-maker is not available to give evidence. For this reason, the law traditionally required two independent witnesses be present with the Will-maker so that all three watch each other sign at the same time. Those two witnesses can give evide...nce that the Will was definitely signed by the Will-maker. In the last decade, the law regarding signing a Will has been relaxed a little. Yesterday it was relaxed further for a short time. The Courts have issued a direction that from March to September 2020, during the COVID19 pandemic, the court may accept a Will that was signed with one or both witnesses watching by video conference because the Will-maker was in isolation or quarantine as long as the Will was written by a solicitor and other strict criteria are met. This is not a blanket approval, but only a temporary measure to meet extraordinary circumstances. It is always far better to comply with the normal rules of Will-making rather than try to argue after the Will-maker's death.

09.01.2022 Release mortgages One of the biggest achievements of our lives is when we have paid off the mortgage. Owners are so happy and proud. The bank asks them to sign forms and gives them a final piece of paper called a "Form 3 Release of Mortgage" and tell them to "register it." Most owners put it away and never look at it again. When the property is to be sold or passed down by Will, we do a Title Search at the Titles Office and note there is a mortgage on the property. The... owner will deny that saying "Oh no, we paid that off years ago..." It may be true that the owner has paid off the mortgage at the bank, but the owner must also tell the Titles Office. When you first get a mortgage, the bank registers it at the Titles Office. But when you pay the mortgage off, the bank gives the owner the "Release of Mortgage" form and expects the owner to register it at the Titles Office. You can either do this yourself or have a solicitor do it for you. The Titles Office registration fee is $187 in 2019, though the fees rise every year on 1 July.

04.01.2022 And another aspect of that sad case where the man recorded his Will shortly before his death ... He left his Superannuation to family members. But that was not effective because his super did not go into his estate. The Super fund will choose who to pay the super to, though under the legislation, they can only pay it to the spouse, child, dependent or estate. Many people don't realise that they may not be able to leave their super to someone in their Will. Angela

03.01.2022 Contracts and the COVID19 A contract is a legally enforceable promise or agreement, eg a contract to buy a house or lease a shop or work for someone. The other party to a contract can enforce it (the doctrine of privity of contract). If you sign a contract, then realise it was a bad idea, generally you still have to fulfill it. It is the role of a court to enforce contracts, not rescue you from a poor decision. The COVID19 pandemic has resulted in many people, through no ...fault of their own, being unable to fulfill their contracts. The government has asked parties (eg landlords) to compromise but has not passed legislation to rescue people so the contracts remain enforceable eg even if beauty parlours are closed, they are required to comply with their lease and pay their rent. However, the law can be flexible and the pandemic may result in long-term changes to contract law. See more

01.01.2022 Disappearing title deeds Title deeds for land used to be beautiful documents, printed on special materials such as vellum, with beautiful calligraphy. They were prized possessions, kept in bank vaults and passed down from generation to generation. They were important because possession of the title deed equated to ownership of the land. The Titles Office kept the actual deed in big volumes and issued the landowner with a duplicate deed. Any change (eg the owner selling o...r mortgaging the land) had to be recorded on both the original and duplicate. So, the owner had to send the duplicate to the Titles Office with a form explaining the change (eg the transfer of land). The Titles Office staff would find the original deed in their volumes and handwrite the change on both the original and duplicate deed, and then send the changed duplicate back to the owner. That changed in Queensland in the 1980s. In those days the system was grinding to a halt due to the sheer volume of sales. In property booms, sometimes land was sold and resold in quick succession and the Titles Office could not keep up with it. Registration of land sales often lagged months behind. Something had to change. The Titles Office went digital. They computerized all land ownership instead of entering it into paper volumes. From that time on, the Titles Office did not issue a duplicate deed unless the new owner specifically asked for one. Most owners did not. They felt, rightly, that it was another piece of paper to lose. But some people wanted their deed and so there are still some in circulation. The Titles Office says that about 11% of properties in Queensland have a paper title deed today. But all that will change later this year. On 26 March 2019, the government amended the Land Title Act 1994 so that from 1 October 2019, paper title deeds will no longer have any legal effect. Also from that date, you will not be able to request a paper title deed, ie no deeds will be issued after 1 October 2019. Any deeds in circulation will cease being legal documents and instead will become historical exhibits. If you have a deed, you can keep it, but you will never use it again after 1 October and it has no legal effect. If you have lost your deed, you will not have to search for it so that is the silver lining on this cloud. See more