Questions on Victorian law, answered plainly.

Yes. When you call Spencer Alexander 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 an experienced principal who knows your file.

After we understand what you need, we provide a letter of engagement setting out a clear fee estimate before any substantive work begins, so there are no surprises. For many discrete tasks, such as a straightforward will, we can offer a fixed fee. 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 east, 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.

A good commercial lawyer helps you start on solid foundations and stay protected as you grow: choosing the right structure, putting clear contracts and terms of trade in place, handling leases and employment, and documenting the agreements between owners. If a dispute arises, we act to recover what you are owed and protect your position.

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.

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, reach a compromise or apply to court to set it aside, and the application and its supporting affidavit must be both filed and served on the creditor within those 21 days. The deadline cannot be extended. Miss it and the company is presumed insolvent, with serious consequences. Call us before the clock runs down.

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.

A director who suspects a company may become insolvent can be personally liable for debts incurred while it keeps trading. Safe harbour is a defence available to a director who, once that suspicion arises, starts developing and following a course of action reasonably likely to lead to a better outcome than an immediate winding up, such as a genuine restructuring plan made with proper advice. 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 generally open to companies with total liabilities under $1 million that have paid employee entitlements which are due and brought their tax lodgements up to date. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Not unilaterally, if the move would significantly affect the children's time with the other parent. Relocation generally needs the other parent's agreement or a court order, and moving first and asking later can seriously damage your case. Speak to us before making any plans.

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.

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 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. Couples remain free to agree their own arrangements.

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. 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. We give you a clear fee estimate before any substantive work begins.

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 the economic effect of family violence when assessing contributions and future needs in a property settlement, 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.

A will is the only way to be certain your assets go where you intend and that someone you trust administers your estate. 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.

Often yes, and the limits are strict. In Victoria a family provision claim under Part IV generally must be commenced within six months of the grant of probate. Because missing a deadline can end a claim entirely, it is important to get advice as early as possible.

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 cancels gifts to a former spouse, so both call for a review.

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.

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.

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.