Justice James noted that  Sef’s motives  for such extreme violence were only “to  prevent his parents withdrawing privileges they had extended to him: and  to gain access to their $1.5million estate “as their sole heir”.
The affect of  Sef having been found guilty  of  the murders of  his family automatically  excluded  him from his family’s estate. The law  precludes a person who has unlawfully killed another person from acquiring a benefit in consequence of  the killing, their rights are forfeitied by  law.
Should you have any enquiries about estates, wills,  and the importance of  having your own will, contact  our office.

•  You and  your neighbour should usually be sharing the cost  of  repairing any fence between your properties?  If you neighbour does  not attend to the cost  of  the repairs, you can proceed against your neighbour to recover the costs.
•  Cutting  back the branches and  roots  of  your neighbour’s trees  that  protrude onto your property usually requires the consent of  your Local Council under its Tree Preservation  Order? If trees  are about
3 metres in height, which  includes large bushes, it would be wise to check  with your Local Council before proceeding to prune!
•  If your neighbour’s tree is causing damage to your property, for example if a driveway is being damaged due to the neighbour’s tree roots, you may be entitled to sue for compensation?
•  There are regulations  that  restrict the use of  certain noisy items such as lawn mowers, air conditioners, etc to be used by  your neighbour. They may only be used during certain  times on certain  days? If you have any problems in relation to pollution  caused due to neighbour’s noise, we can advise  you on the best course of  action with regards to the relevant Local Council Rules and  Regulations and  the Act that  relates  to the Environmental  Protection Authority.

•  You have a right under the Clean Air Act to prevent your neighbour from burning off any material in their premises except for cooking,  recreational, agricultural and  fire fighting purposes. If your neighbour is burning off, you may report this  to your Local Council.
Please contact  us if you require any advice about your rights in a dispute with neighbours. We can assist you with writing  letters or completing forms that  may be required in approaching the relevant authorities.

A   number of  high profile corporate collapses in the recent times, including the collapse of  the HIH Insurance Group and  Onetel, have seen the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and  Investments  Commission (ASIC), come to the forefront in enforcing the Corporations law. ASIC took immediate  steps to institute actions against the HIH directors after it’s collapse. ASIC sought and  the court granted declarations that  a director, Rodney Adler, had contravened  the law by engaging in the following activities: entering into related  party transactions, obtaining financial assistance to buy own shares,  breaching hisduties of  care and  diligence, good faith and  misuse of  position to gain advantage for himself. As a result he was ordered to pay  pecuniary penalties and disqualified from being  a director for a period of  20 years.

It is clear from this  case,  and  from ASIC’s prosecution of  the directors  of  Onetel Pty Limited, that  a serious view is taken of  the role of  directors  in company law in Australia. Hence, it is important that  directors  recognise their duties and  where necessary  obtain legal advice where they are unclear of  their obligations in regards to such duties.