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November 18, 2021 · Mingqiang

Friends Go Into Business Together, Fall Out, and Lose Both the Friendship and the Money — All Because They Didn’t Get the Hard Talk Out of the Way First

Australia is a country that is very friendly to small-business owners, and many immigrants choose to partner with others to run a business here. In practice, however, we frequently see businesses run into trouble and become unsustainable, with partners falling out over disagreements and ultimately parting on bad terms — losing both the friendship and the money. The fundamental reason is usually that no "Shareholders Agreement" was signed in advance.

November 16, 2021 · Mingqiang

How to Politely Tell Your Spouse ‘My Money Stays My Money’ — Legal, but No Guarantee You Won’t Get Hit…

Many people have heard of pre-nuptial property agreements, particularly those with significant assets or from wealthy families who want to protect their property if the relationship breaks down. Property agreements sound simple — seemingly just a straightforward document dividing assets — but under Australian law they are in fact quite complex.

November 11, 2021 · Mingqiang

Waiting at a Red Light When a Police Car Sirens and Flashes Behind You — Whether You Move or Not, You Can Get Fined?

Australia's road rules are famously strict, with heavy fines. Even drivers who have been on Australian roads for years can easily fall into the "traps" of the road rules and end up with tickets worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Let's look at three real cases below — mistakes that even seasoned drivers can make.

November 10, 2021 · Mingqiang

How Some “Socialites” Engineer Pregnancies with Wealthy Heirs to Fund Their Glamorous Lifestyles

Secretly taking ovulation-stimulating injections, unmarried pregnancies, using a child to secure status, forcing divorce, dividing assets, grabbing custody, demanding support payments. These plot lines, sensational as they are, have played out countless times in film and television dramas.

November 9, 2021 · Mingqiang

A thread of love binds us across the Northern Hemisphere — yet in the Southern Hemisphere, you severed our “bridge of magpies”!

A marriage certificate, a wedding ceremony — two people finally come together, crossing the limits of space and geography to register their marriage in China. Love is hard-won, and staying together is even harder. If the couple later moves to Australia together, or one of them does, and their marriage withers for one reason or another, how do they go about getting divorced in Australia? Can a marriage registered overseas be dissolved in Australia?

November 4, 2021 · Mingqiang

My Parents Bought the Property for Me — After We Split, Half of It Was Taken Away…

As property prices keep rising, young people — especially fresh graduates just entering the workforce — increasingly lack the financial capacity to buy a home. It is becoming more and more common for parents to fund all or part of the purchase price. However, when a property is bought with parental funds or transferred by parents into a child's name, disputes over ownership often arise, particularly when property settlement or a sale of the property is involved.

November 3, 2021 · Mingqiang

I Almost Missed This “Key Point” When Buying My Off-the-Plan Property — and Nearly Begged “Them” to Stay…

The Australian property market is on fire, and listings simply can't keep up with demand. Many new migrants and local young buyers are shifting their attention from established homes to off-the-plan properties. When buying off-the-plan, the biggest worry is usually not being able to take possession on time, or endless delays that wear you out.

November 2, 2021 · Mingqiang

My Uni Crush Asked Me to Dinner — Only So I’d Take His Demerit Points

The moment my senior said those words, my rose-tinted crush on him shattered, and whatever sobriety I had left took back the high ground of my common sense. I declined as politely but firmly as I could: "Sorry, we're not that close, and what you're asking is illegal."

October 28, 2021 · Mingqiang

If the Meng Meiqi Incident Happened in Australia: Is the Mistress Actually Legally Protected? Is a “Chen Lingtao-style Will” Legally Valid?

Today we are not going to discuss the moral issues in the Meng Meiqi incident — we trust that rational netizens have already formed their own judgements. As legal professionals, we only see the legal points hidden in this big piece of gossip. We will mainly analyse, if the Meng Meiqi incident were to happen in Australia, some of the legal issues it would involve.

October 27, 2021 · Mingqiang

Spent a Million Buying a Home in Sydney — But Didn’t “Receive” a Title Deed!?

If a home doesn't even come with a Certificate of Title, how do I know the property is mine? What happens if I want to sell it later? Are there any other implications?

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