Highlight of Tuesday Night

This month meeting was highlighted by the surprised visit of NSW President for 2011, Dr. Margaret Drever and the excellent presentation by our guest speakers (Stephen Lynch and Fiona Hoad from Somerville Legal).

"NSW president is visiting your group tonight." I got this news just couple hours before our group meeting. Dr. Margaret Drever was there around 10 minutes before 6pm. She talked to our group members and encouraged our members to make contributions to our community.

Stephen Lynch presented on "Will" in such a fun way, which really caught the attention of the audience. Q&A time had to be cut short as it had gone overtime.

Fiona Hoad, Accredited Specialist in Family Law, delivered her presentation professionally even though she did not feel very well at that time.

Accountants' PI Insurance Video Series

CPA Australia has produced a few recordings on professional indeminty insurance issues for members in public practice:

• Accountants' PI Insurance: an overview
• 2011 tax regime and risk management 
• Employment practices and insurance

These recordings are also available on the CPA webiste. More details on www.cpaaustralia.com.au/insurancetoolkit.

It might be interesting to our group members in public practice.

May 2011 Session

Fiona Hoad and Steven Lynch from Somerville will join us on the 24th of May as guest speakers.

Stephen Lynch

Bio:

Stephen Lynch has been a solicitor with Somerville Legal since 2001, and was made a director in 2010. He has specialised in estate planning and deceased estates throughout that time, working with clients, accountants and financial planners alike to create effective yet easy-to-understand wills which can cover even the most complex of situations. He is also highly experienced in the administering deceased estates, including obtaining grants of probate/administration and family provision claims.

Recently, Stephen was involved in the pioneering cases  AB v CB and Ors (2009) and Elayoubi, Application of Wosif (2010) which were among the first in NSW to allow the court to make a will on behalf of a person without testamentary capacity.

Presentation Summary:

Stephen Lynch will discuss some important considerations relating to wills, including the mechanics of testamentary trusts and the significant advantages they provide, particularly for relatively substantial estates. He will also discuss the growing area of Family Provision claims upon estates, as well as other important parts of estate planning including superannuation, powers of attorney and enduring guardianship.

Fiona Hoad

Bio:

Fiona Hoad has been a solicitor with Somerville Legal since August 1997.   Fiona was a Senior Associate from 2000 until 2010 when she was appointed a director of the firm. Fiona has practised in family law for over 12 years.  In 2005 Fiona became a Law Society of Society of NSW Accredited Specialist in Family Law. Fiona’s experience includes all areas of family law including property, parenting, spouse maintenance applications and relocation applications. 

Presentation Summary:

Fiona Hoad will present a paper aimed at arming accountants with some basic information to equip them to understand the manner in which assets are treated under the Family Law Act in the context of property settlement.  Fiona will also discuss the significance of Family Law Act Binding Financial Agreements which are the only mechanism in which a person can protect their asset(s) from the jurisdiction of the Family Court of Australia in the event of a relationship break down. 

Let me know what else you would like them to cover.