DP O’Keefe Macquarie Law is a legal office in Dubbo NSW Australia.
Dan O’Keefe is an experienced solicitor, accredited business law specialist, mediator and notary public.
Providing practical, cost-effective & confidential advice.
Come to us for a high level of service in a friendly & personal manner.
Law full news items
Tax deductions for rental properties
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has said that it will make rental deductions a top priority this year and increase the number of its audits. Taxpayers can no longer claim travel expenses to inspect, maintain or collect rent for residential rental property.
(See the ATO website for more information)
Sexting presents criminal as well as other issues
We know that we have a digital history. What is it with young people sending sexually explicit photos of themselves to each other? As well as the psychological and social issues this raises there can be criminal consequences.
It is an offence for an adult to use a carriage service to have communications with a person the sender believes to be a child under the age of 16 (whether they are or not) intending to engage in sexual activity with the child. The maximum penalty is 15 years imprisonment (s. 474.26 Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)).
It is also an offence to use a carriage service to transmit an indecent communication to a person the sender believes to be a child under the age of 16. The maximum penalty is 15 years imprisonment (s. 474.27A Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)). A carriage service includes a mobile phone or the internet.
As well as in the Commonwealth legislation, there are also offences relating to recording and distributing intimate images in the NSW Crimes Act 1900 (Div. 15C).
eStatements & digital assets on death
In the news recently there was the story of the cryptocurrency lost because the administrator who died in India did not leave his widow the password access to his computer.
Most of us have digital assets such as social networking presences, photos, music, websites, domain names, geneology, research and various collections stored on the internet. These are all things that might have to be administered in a deceased estate and sometimes during our lives if we lose capacity.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to track down the details of the assets of some deceased persons because so many bank and other statements that would previously been mailed out are now sent out electronically. Even when in possession of the deceased's devices and computers access to email, MyGov and tax returns is likely to be restricted by logins and passwords.
Give thought to how you make logins and passwords available to executors and attorneys appointed by your power of attorney. Think about how to safely leave those instructions for them to be able to access your bank, super and dividend statements and tax returns if need be.
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