Szabo & Associates News & Updates

What is coercive control?

The term coercive control refers to a range of repeated patterns of family and domestic violence. These behaviours can include emotional, financial and psychological abuse used to gain control over an individual. Examples include restricting activities and access to bank accounts, insults, humiliation, and threats to take away the children or harm themselves. By having their independence and autonomy removed in this way, the individual can feel trapped in a cycle of abuse.

New rules, which took effect on 3^rd April 2023, have been introduced by the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Conflict of Interest) Regulation 2022, affecting council-related development applications on land under the 'control' of a local council.

A Will is a legal and binding document about what should happen to a person’s property after their death. Within a Will, the Will-maker (testator) can specifically devise or leave a gift to someone. A specific devise is a gift of personal property that is described in the Will.

Even though hiding assets and sources of income in divorce proceedings can have serious consequences, there are those that prepared to take that risk. Property settlement negotiations can only really begin seriously once both parties have fully disclosed their financial position to each other.

Generally speaking, for a Will to be accepted as legally valid, it unsurprisingly requires that the legal formalities of the relevant jurisdiction are wholly adhered to. Nevertheless, sometimes a Will that does not meet these requirements, referred to as an 'informal Will', can be accepted as valid.