Questions on Victorian law, answered plainly.

Yes, and your first call is free. When you call Spencer Alexander Lawyers you speak directly with a lawyer about your matter, not a message service or an intake team. From that first conversation through to the resolution of your matter you deal with the lawyers running your file, and the principal oversees every matter.

After we understand what you need, we provide an engagement letter and costs agreement setting out a clear fee estimate before any substantive work begins, so there are no surprises. For many discrete tasks, such as a will or a straightforward probate application, we charge a fixed fee, and our fees page lists them. Your first call costs nothing but a few minutes and tells you the likely scope and cost.

We are based in Box Hill, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, and act for individuals, families and businesses across Melbourne and Victoria. Much of our work is handled by phone, email and video, so you do not need to come to our Box Hill office to work with us.

Quickly, where it matters. Urgent applications such as intervention orders, injunctions, recovery orders and caveats can be prepared and filed at short notice. Tell us the matter is urgent when you call and we will treat it that way.

Whatever you have: any documents or letters about the matter, key dates, and your questions. A short written timeline helps more than a thick folder. If you have nothing on paper, that is fine. The first conversation is about understanding your situation.

Yes. What you tell us is confidential, whether or not you go on to engage us, subject only to the narrow exceptions the law places on every lawyer, such as where a court requires disclosure. That duty applies from the first phone call, so you can speak freely about your situation.

For a small business, a commercial lawyer sets up the right structure, puts clear contracts and terms of trade in place, reviews leases and employment arrangements, and documents the agreement between the owners. If a dispute arises, we act to recover what you are owed and protect your position. Our guide to the contracts every Victorian business should have is a good place to start.

The value is in the detail: what exactly is being sold, the warranties and conditions, restraint of trade, the treatment of staff, leases and key contracts, and how the price is paid and secured. Proper due diligence and a well drafted contract are what protect you, and we manage both so the deal holds up. Our guide to buying a business in Victoria sets out what to check before you sign.

We start by understanding your commercial objective, not just the legal argument, then pursue the most efficient path to it, whether that is a firm letter, negotiation, mediation or court. Because we also draft commercial agreements, our litigation is grounded in how deals really work and how they hold up under pressure.

Act the same day you receive it. A company served with a statutory demand has 21 days to pay the debt, to secure it or reach a compromise to the creditor's reasonable satisfaction, or to apply to court to set the demand aside, and the application and its supporting affidavit must be both filed and served on the creditor within those 21 days. That deadline cannot be extended. If the company does none of these, and an application to wind it up is made within the following three months, by that creditor or anyone else, the court must presume the company is insolvent unless the contrary is proved. Call us on (03) 9125 8355 before the clock runs down. Our guide to recovering unpaid debts in Victoria explains where a statutory demand sits in the process.

Not before you understand exactly what it exposes you to. A personal guarantee puts your personal assets, including your home, behind the company's debts, and it often lasts longer than you expect. We review guarantees before you sign and negotiate caps, expiry dates and release conditions where possible.

Registering a business or company name does not, by itself, give you ownership of the brand. A registered trade mark does. If the name matters to your business, we advise on availability, register the mark, and act if someone trades off your name.

Start with the company's constitution and any shareholder agreement, which often contain a dispute resolution process. Many disputes settle through negotiation or mediation. Where a minority shareholder is treated unfairly, the Corporations Act provides an oppression remedy, and a court can order one party to buy the other out or grant other relief. Acting early, before positions harden, protects both your position and the value of the business. Our guide to shareholder agreements explains how a well drafted one heads off a dispute.

A director can be personally liable for a debt the company incurs while it is insolvent, or that makes it insolvent, where there were reasonable grounds to suspect as much. Safe harbour is a protection available to a director who, once they suspect the company may become or be insolvent, starts developing a course of action reasonably likely to lead to a better outcome for the company than the immediate appointment of an administrator or liquidator, such as a genuine restructuring plan made with proper advice. It covers debts incurred in connection with that course of action or in the ordinary course of business, but only if the director acts on it within a reasonable time, and only for as long as the director keeps pursuing it, it remains reasonably likely to lead to that better outcome and no administrator or liquidator has been appointed. It is generally not available while the company is behind in paying employee entitlements, including superannuation, or in lodging its tax returns and statements, and it can be lost if the director later fails to give an administrator or liquidator the books, information and reports the law requires. It rewards directors who act early rather than those who keep trading and hope conditions improve.

Yes. From 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation at the same time as salary and wages, so that contributions arrive in each employee's fund within seven business days of payday. This replaces the old quarterly payment cycle. An employer whose contributions arrive late risks penalties and interest under the superannuation guarantee rules, so payroll that still runs on quarterly super needs updating.

Small business restructuring is a formal but streamlined process that lets an eligible smaller company restructure its debts with the help of a restructuring practitioner while the directors stay in control of day to day trading. It is open to a company whose directors have resolved that it is insolvent or likely to become insolvent, and whose debts and claims, not counting employee entitlements, total no more than $1 million. Generally, the company must not have been through the process or a simplified liquidation in the last seven years, and no current director, or anyone who was a director in the past 12 months, may have been a director of another company that has. Before a plan can go to creditors, the company must have paid the employee entitlements that are due, including superannuation, and lodged its tax returns and statements, or be substantially up to date with both. It sits alongside the safe harbour protection for directors as one of the main options for a company in financial difficulty, and acting early preserves the most options.

This is one of the most common company disputes. Shareholding does not usually depend on continued work, so the starting point is the company's constitution and any shareholder agreement: a well drafted agreement often deals with an owner who leaves or stops contributing, including how their shares can be bought out and at what value. Without one, the options are negotiation, mediation and, in some cases, a court application, and a court can order one party to buy the other out. Getting advice before positions harden usually saves money and protects the value of the business.

Yes. The Australian Consumer Law protects small businesses from unfair terms in standard form contracts, the take it or leave it agreements many suppliers, landlords, franchisors and platforms use. Broadly, a term is unfair if it creates a significant imbalance between the parties, is not reasonably necessary to protect a legitimate interest, and would cause detriment if relied on. A term found to be unfair is void, and including or relying on one can now attract substantial penalties, so the protections cut both ways: they can help you resist a harsh term, and they make your own standard contracts worth reviewing. Our guide to essential business contracts covers what to look for.

When two equal owners cannot agree, neither can outvote the other, and decisions that need a majority of the directors or the shareholders can stall entirely. The first place to look is the company's constitution and any shareholder agreement, because a well drafted agreement sets out what happens in a deadlock, often a process for one owner to buy the other out at a value worked out in an agreed way. Without one, most deadlocks end in a negotiated buyout or a sale of the business, often with the help of mediation. If that fails, the Corporations Act allows the court to order that the company be wound up where it considers that just and equitable, and where the company's affairs are being conducted oppressively or unfairly against one owner, the court can make a wide range of orders instead, including that one owner buy the other's shares. Winding up ends the business for both owners, which is why taking advice early, while a negotiated exit is still possible, usually preserves far more of its value.

There is no automatic fifty fifty split. The court considers what each person brought into the relationship, the contributions each made during it, including as a parent and homemaker, and each person's future needs. Most settlements are reached by agreement and formalised as consent orders or a binding financial agreement, without a final hearing. Our guide to how property is divided after separation walks through each step.

Usually not. Most parenting and property matters are resolved through negotiation, mediation or family dispute resolution and then formalised by consent, which is faster, less costly and less stressful than a hearing. We prepare every matter thoroughly so that, if court does become necessary, you are well represented.

Both can make a property arrangement final. Consent orders are approved by a court and carry its authority, while a binding financial agreement is a private contract between the parties, each with their own legal advice. Which is right for you depends on your circumstances, and we will talk you through the options. Our guide to binding financial agreements in Australia explains what makes one hold up.

Most child support is set by an administrative assessment through Services Australia, based on both parents' incomes and the care arrangements. Parents who want certainty or different terms can enter a binding child support agreement, which requires independent legal advice. We advise on assessments, agreements and disputes. Our guide to how child support is calculated in Australia explains the formula and the agreements.

You should not, without the other parent's agreement or a court order, if the move would make it significantly harder for the children to spend time with the other parent. The Family Law Act treats a move like that as a major long-term issue, which parents are encouraged to consult each other about where it is safe to do so, and where a parenting order provides for joint decision-making, it requires you to consult the other parent and make a genuine effort to reach a joint decision. Moving first and asking later can seriously damage your case. Speak to us before making any plans. Our guide to parenting arrangements after separation explains how the law decides what is best for the children.

Superannuation counts as property and can be divided, even though it stays in a fund until retirement. A splitting order or agreement can transfer part of one person's super to the other. It is often one of the largest assets in the pool, so it should never be an afterthought. Our guide to how property is divided after separation explains where superannuation fits in the pool.

Broadly, yes. Separating de facto couples can seek a property settlement and maintenance under the Family Law Act in the same way as married couples. Generally the relationship must have lasted two years, although a child of the relationship, a registered relationship, or substantial contributions by the person applying where refusing an order would cause them serious injustice, can qualify a shorter one. The deadline is different too: a de facto partner generally has two years from separation to commence proceedings.

Pets are treated as property in family law, but since June 2025 the Family Law Act has had specific rules for companion animals under the 2025 property reforms. If a court has to decide, it considers matters such as who cared for the animal, any family violence, and each person's attachment to it, and it can order that one person keep the animal, that it be transferred to someone who has agreed to take it, or that it be sold, but it cannot order joint ownership or shared possession, and the same limits apply to consent orders. Couples remain free to agree their own arrangements outside the court's orders.

The court charges a filing fee for a divorce application, and a reduced fee is available to concession card holders and people in financial hardship, although for a joint application both of you must qualify. Fees change from year to year, so check the current schedule of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The application itself is usually the smallest expense: most of the cost in a separation sits in resolving property and parenting, and reaching agreement early keeps it down. Our own fee for a divorce application is fixed at $1,089 for a joint application and $1,452 for a sole one, including GST, and our fees page sets out what each covers.

Yes. The property pool used in a settlement includes liabilities as well as assets, so a mortgage, credit card debt or other borrowing is weighed alongside what is owned, not ignored. A property worth less than the loan against it does not disappear from the settlement. It is factored into the overall balance sheet the court or the parties work from when deciding what each person should receive.

It can. Since the June 2025 reforms to the Family Law Act, courts must consider in a property settlement, where relevant, how family violence by one person against the other affected either person's ability to contribute, and its effect on the current and future circumstances of the person subjected to it, and the definition of family violence now expressly includes economic and financial abuse, such as controlling money or coercing someone into debt. Evidence still matters, so keeping records of what happened is important to having it counted. Our guide to the 2025 property reforms explains the changes.

Not yet, although that is changing. In September 2026 the Victorian Parliament passed legislation creating a standalone coercive control offence for intimate partner relationships. It received Royal Assent on 22 September 2026, and the offence starts on a day to be proclaimed and no later than 1 March 2028, so the protections that apply today remain the existing ones. Coercive and controlling behaviour is treated as family violence under Victorian law, so it can support a family violence intervention order, and breaching an intervention order is a criminal offence. Some conduct within a controlling pattern, such as threats or stalking, is criminal in its own right, and in property settlements courts must consider the effect of family violence, including financial abuse. Our guide to intervention orders in Victoria explains the protections available now.

Yes, and the limits are strict. A married couple generally has twelve months from the date the divorce order takes effect to commence property settlement or spousal maintenance proceedings, and a de facto couple generally has two years from the date of separation. After that you can apply only with both people's consent or the court's permission, and permission is not guaranteed. The limits apply to starting court proceedings, so agreeing a settlement and formalising it early is the safer course, and if a deadline is approaching while negotiations drift, filing protectively preserves your rights. Our guides to property after separation and de facto separation explain the process.

Property orders made by the family courts can be enforced, and a former partner who ignores them does not get to decide whether the settlement goes ahead. Where the orders direct them to sign a transfer or another document and they refuse, the court can appoint an officer of the court or another person to sign it in their name, and that signature has the same effect as theirs. Where money has not been paid or property has not been handed over, an enforcement application asks the court for further orders to give effect to what was ordered. Since 21 September 2026 those applications in financial and property matters go to a new National Enforcement List, which the court set up to deal with them promptly, to discourage people from ignoring orders and to make appropriate costs orders where enforcement is needed. If your orders have stalled, call us on (03) 9125 8355 with a copy of them, and our guide to property after separation explains how orders are made in the first place.

Yes, in stages. Parliament has passed the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Act 2026, which changes how family violence intervention orders work in Victoria. Since 26 April 2026 stalking has been expressly recognised as family violence, and the forms of harm to animals that count as family violence have widened. Further changes, requiring police and the courts to look at the whole relationship when deciding whether the wrong person has been named as the respondent, and stopping an application being made against a child under 12, start on a day to be proclaimed and no later than 10 November 2026. The protections available now are unchanged, and an order can still be sought urgently. Our guide to intervention orders in Victoria explains how the process works.

Raise it early, because it is far easier to deal with before final orders are made. Being wrongly identified as the person using family violence is a known problem, and it often happens where the person who has actually been experiencing violence was the one who called for help, or acted to protect themselves or their children. Victorian reforms passed in 2026 will require police deciding on a safety notice, and courts deciding whether to make an intervention order, to consider as far as practicable whether this has occurred, from a day to be proclaimed and no later than 10 November 2026. If it has happened to you, take advice before your next court date, gather anything that shows the longer pattern, such as messages, photographs, medical records or the accounts of people who saw what happened, and comply with the order in the meantime, because breaching an order is a criminal offence whether or not you believe the order should have been made. An order can be contested, and it can also be varied or revoked later.

A will is the best way to make sure your estate goes where you intend and that someone you trust administers it. If you die without a valid will in Victoria, your estate is distributed under a fixed statutory formula that may not reflect your wishes, and the process is usually slower and more stressful for your family. A simple will is quick to put in place and easy to update as life changes.

Yes, for a family provision claim. In Victoria a claim under Part IV must generally be started within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration, and a late claim needs the court's permission, which can only be sought before the estate is finally distributed. A challenge to the validity of a will is different, and is usually raised by lodging a caveat before probate is granted. Either way, get advice as early as possible, because a missed deadline can end a claim.

Probate is a court's official recognition that a will is valid and that the executor may deal with the estate. Whether it is required depends on what the estate holds; many banks, share registries and land titles offices will not release assets without it. We can tell you quickly whether a grant is needed and handle the application for you.

Yes, at any time while you have capacity, by making a new will or a formal amendment called a codicil. Never write changes on the original. Marriage generally revokes a will made beforehand, and divorce generally cancels gifts to a former spouse and their appointment as executor unless it appears you wanted them to stand, so both call for a review. Our guide to making a valid will in Victoria covers the formal requirements and the common mistakes.

Someone you trust who is organised, likely to outlive you, and willing to take the role on, commonly a spouse, adult child or close friend, often with a backup named as well. Executors can engage a lawyer to do the heavy lifting, so good judgment matters more than legal knowledge. Our guide to an executor's duties in Victoria sets out what the role involves.

A straightforward estate is commonly finalised within six to twelve months. Probate usually takes a few weeks once filed, then debts are paid and assets collected before distribution. Executors are generally advised not to distribute within six months of probate, the window for family provision claims. Our guide to an executor's duties in Victoria walks through the complete checklist.

Once the application is filed, a straightforward grant is commonly processed within a matter of weeks. Before filing, the executor must publish notice of the intended application on the Supreme Court's online system at least 14 days beforehand. Administering the whole estate takes longer: a typical estate is fully administered within six to twelve months of death. Our step-by-step probate guide walks through the whole process.

Adult children are among the people eligible to bring a family provision claim, but eligibility alone does not decide the outcome. For an adult child the court must also consider the degree to which they are not capable, by reasonable means, of providing adequately for their own proper maintenance and support, and it weighs that alongside any moral duty the will maker owed them and whether the will made adequate provision for them. Long term estrangement can weaken a claim without automatically defeating it. The usual six month time limit still applies.

Executors are expected to administer an estate within a reasonable time, often referred to as the executor's year, though complex estates can genuinely take longer. If a beneficiary believes the delay is unreasonable, they can generally ask the executor for information and an account of the administration, and, if that does not resolve things, apply to the court, which can require the executor to account for the estate or, in serious cases, remove them.

Victorian law requires an attorney to act honestly and in the interests of the person who appointed them, and to keep the person's money and property separate from their own. If you are concerned an attorney is misusing their powers over a family member, you can generally raise it with VCAT, which has power to review the attorney's conduct, order compensation, and revoke the appointment. Acting promptly helps protect what remains.

Generally the sale cannot be completed until probate is granted, because the executor needs the grant to transfer the property to a buyer. It is sometimes possible to list the property and even sign a contract earlier, provided the contract is carefully drafted so that settlement depends on probate being granted. Selling this way carries risk if the grant is delayed, so executors should get advice before committing the estate to a sale. Our probate guide explains what executors can and cannot do before the grant.

Either can prepare a valid will, and the better choice depends on your circumstances and on who you want administering your estate. A trustee company typically expects to be appointed executor, and its fees for administering the estate are commonly calculated from the value of the estate. A lawyer drafts the will around your situation, you choose your own executor, often a family member who can engage professional help as needed, and the estate pays for legal work as it is actually done. Tailored advice matters most where there is a blended family, a business, a trust or significant superannuation. Whoever prepares the will, the signing formalities are the same, and our guide to making a valid will explains them.

A good deal of the groundwork. While the application is pending, an executor can gather details of assets and debts, secure and insure property, redirect mail, notify banks and service providers of the death, and keep careful records, and banks will often release estate funds to cover funeral costs before a grant. A grant can take longer than families expect when application volumes are high or the Probate Office raises a requisition asking for more information. What an executor generally cannot do before the grant is complete a sale of estate property or distribute the estate. Our probate guide and our guide to executor duties cover each step, and our free executor first steps checklist puts the first weeks in order.

They are different claims with different outcomes. Contesting a will usually means a family provision claim, where an eligible person, such as a spouse, domestic partner or child, asks the court for adequate provision from an estate that left them out or short. The will itself stands, but the distribution changes. Challenging a will disputes whether the document should stand at all, on grounds such as lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence or a failure of the signing formalities, and if the challenge succeeds an earlier will or the intestacy rules govern instead. A family provision claim must generally be started within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration, and a late claim needs the court's permission, which can only be sought before the estate is finally distributed. Our guide to contesting a will in Victoria explains both paths.

Three things make up the cost. There is the Supreme Court filing fee, which the court sets on a scale according to the gross value of the Victorian estate, so a modest estate pays far less than a large one and the smallest estates pay no filing fee at all. There is also a charge for publishing the notice of intention to apply. Then there are legal fees, which turn on how straightforward the estate is: one property, a couple of bank accounts and the original will in hand is a very different job from a missing will, an asset held overseas or a dispute about who should administer the estate. Court fees are reviewed each financial year, so ask for the current figures rather than relying on an older guide. Our fixed fee for a probate application in a straightforward estate is $1,815 including GST, which covers publishing the notice, and administering the estate after the grant is estimated in writing once its shape is known. Our guide to how probate works in Victoria sets out the steps.

Yes, as long as the power covers the right matters and is already in effect. Under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014, personal matters include where and with whom a person lives, and financial matters include paying for their accommodation, so an attorney appointed for both can make the decision about the move and deal with its costs, giving effect to your parent's wishes as far as they can be known. The difficulty comes when there is no power at all, because one can only be made while your parent still has the capacity to make it. Once that has passed, a family member may need to apply to VCAT for a guardianship or administration order, which VCAT makes only if it is satisfied, among other things, that your parent needs one. That is why we suggest signing an enduring power of attorney well before a move is in view. Our guide to enduring powers of attorney explains how to make one.