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Monday, 28 May 2012

What Is The Inheritance Act And Who Does It Benefit?

In Australia, each state has its own Inheritance Act, which has been designed to ensure that the family of a deceased person receives adequate provision out of his or her estate. Basically, it benefits the family of a person who has passed away, as the Act allows them to contest the contents of a will if they believe that their inheritance is not fair.
 The Inheritance Act outlines the way that the court will decide who receives what from a deceased person’s estate (including money, property and other assets), as well as how the court may choose for the recipients of an estate to receive their inheritance (in a lump sum or through periodic payments). The Act also outlines that any applications for a deceased person’s estate must be made within 6 months of the will being read to be considered valid.

According to the Inheritance Act, there are a number of people who are entitled to a portion of a person’s estate after their passing, including: their children, their parents, their spouse, their domestic partner (they lived with the deceased but were not legally married), their ex-spouse, their spouse or domestic partner’s children, their grandchildren, and their siblings.

Whilst a deceased person may leave any of their possessions or assets to any person of their choosing (including friends, pets and charities), only the people outlined in the Act (and listed above) are seen as having any sort of claim on the inheritance and, therefore, are able to legally contest the will’s contents.

Monday, 21 May 2012

How To Size Your Yard For The Construction Of A Pergola


There are a number of reasons that homeowners like to construct pergolas in their backyard, from the provision of shade to creating a private place to sit. In order to ensure that the structure you choose is the best fit for your yard, however, you will need to do some measuring before making a final decision.

Get in contact with the town-planning department at your local council and ask them what sorts of regulations there are regarding the addition of a pergola to your yard. The staff in this department will be able to point you in the right direction.

Choose the area of your yard that you think would benefit from the construction of a pergola. Make sure that this location won’t block other features of your yard (such as a swimming pool).


Make sure that the location you have chosen for your pergola is clear of debris and obstructions, as this will help you to obtain the most accurate measurements possible. Use a piece of chalk or string to draw out the base of your structure on the ground.

Decide on how high you would like your pergola to be, remembering that it needs to be high enough to stand in (with additional head room) and that the height cannot exceed council regulations.
The above tips should help you to effectively size your yard for the construction of a pergola, ensuring that it is the best fit for your space and that it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. To make doubly sure, you could build a ‘trial’ structure out of cardboard and judge its size in comparison to the rest of your property.

Friday, 18 May 2012

How To Organise Your Ageing Parents’ Estate


If you have recently come to the realization that your parent’s are not as young as they used to be (perhaps one of them had a fall or has been diagnosed with an illness), you may also be starting to realize that it is important to start organizing their estate. Doing this with your ageing parents will ensure that they continue to receive the best possible care.


 ·       Designate a point-of-call person who will handle your ageing parents’ health-related affairs. Ideally, this person will be chosen by your parents and should be a relative or close friend. You should also ensure that they designate a second point-of-call person for health-related matters, just in case the first person is unavailable.
·         Help your parents to draft a living will, which ensures that health care professionals will follow their personal medical choices in the scenario that they can no longer speak for themselves (such as a terminal illness or a coma).
·         Designate a point-of-call person who will handle your ageing parents’ financial-related affairs. Like the health point-of-call person, your parents should choose them. A financial adviser can assist you here.
·         Meet with your siblings or other family members to discuss what will happen to your ageing parents when they can no longer make their own decisions. You should look into home nurses, aged care facilities and even private hospitals.

When it comes to organizing your ageing parents’ estate, you may find it beneficial to meet with a financial adviser, a lawyer and even a doctor before making a final decision. These people will be able to answer any questions that you may have about the process, as well as providing you with relevant and up to date advice.

Thursday, 17 May 2012

How To Make Your Patio An Extension Of Your Garden


The lure of a patio for many homeowners is that it’s a little bit like having an indoor/outdoor room – somewhere that they can sit and relax without being too exposed to the elements of the wildness of the great outdoors. If this is the reason you had a patio constructed on your property, use these tips to help decorate it in a true garden theme:
Theme: you will need to decide on a theme for your patio, as ‘garden’ means a lot of things to different people. When you think of the term ‘garden’, what do you think of? A rustic look with lots of wildflowers, or the rich properties of mansions in Versailles? A botanic showcase or a peaceful Japanese Zen patio?

Sections: many homeowners find that separating their patio into sections makes decorating the space much easier, as they know exactly where certain things need to be placed. Choose some patio furniture (in the theme of your choice); tables and chairs should go close by to where food is prepared, whilst lounges should be within view of the yard where your kids play.

Privacy: use plants to create privacy on your patio area, whilst fully embracing the theme you have chosen for your garden. Lattice that you have entwined with climbing roses is perfect for a Versailles style, whilst tall bamboo plants will go with your Zen space.

Accessories: remember that turning your patio into an extension of your garden is all about the accessories – use old china tea cups as planters for an English style garden, for example, or incorporate a soothing fountain to add to the Zen of the area.

It can be very simple to make your patio into an extension of your garden, as long as you know what sort of style you want your garden to embrace. Too often homeowners will throw together elements that they like, only to find their patio looking more like a wasteland than a beautiful garden area.

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Inheritance Rules Regarding Unclaimed Inheritance


Whilst it may seem implausible that you have received an inheritance but not even known about it, if you have moved around a lot or lost touch with some of your family it could have happened. Whilst the lawyers in charge of handling the will try to track down all of the beneficiaries, this is not always possible. What are the inheritance rules, however, if you discover that you have been left some money or property?

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators is in charge of looking after unclaimed property in Australia and for controlling the inheritance rules – visit their website, click on your state and you will be put in touch with the governmental organization in charge of unclaimed inheritance for that state.

You can complete the search form on the state’s website (just remember that the inheritance rules surrounding access of this form will differ from state to state), providing as much information as you can. At the very least, include your last name and a few letters of your first name.

If you discover that you do have an unclaimed inheritance, you can fill out the claim form on the state website. Remember that, according to inheritance rules, you will need to include as much information as you can in order to substantiate your claim to the money or property.

If you have lived in other states or have family who do, you might also like to return to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators website and check these states for any other unclaimed inheritance. You will need to abide by the inheritance rules for these states, however, if you find that you do have unclaimed money or property.

This blogs is about the fact of Inheritance Rule in Australia, how folk can claim for their rights.


Monday, 7 May 2012

How To Split A Property Inheritance Between Siblings

When a parent has passed on, the property inheritance is not simply handed out to whomever happens to be around at the time – the deceased person will, usually, have a will that will give strict instructions on to how their property is to be distributed. Often, it helps to meet with a financial advisor (especially the one who met with your parent) when it comes to deciding how a property inheritance is split, as they will be able to advise you as to the best way to achieve this:

Open a bank account in the name of the deceased’s estate. Any assets or money will need to pass through this account before going on to the inheritor so that it can all be documented and accounted for.

Create a list detailing all of the deceased’s estate. In most cases, a will won’t account for every single item so, if the instructions of the property inheritance are to split it equally between siblings, you need to know what property exists to make this decision equal.

Pay any bills or outstanding debts that the deceased may have. This money must come out of their estate and what is left over will be split between the children.

Contact the heirs of any property inheritance and notify them as to what the deceased has specifically left them. You may also need to collect account information from each of these people so that you can deposit their inheritance in directly.

Sorting out and distributing a property inheritance can be a complex and difficult job, especially if only a few items are specifically named as being inherited by certain people. It is for this reason that it is beneficial to meet with a financial advisor during this process, as they will be able to look at the money and assets from a financial and objective standpoint.

Friday, 4 May 2012

Why latest cranes are not fluently used in India


Every year many latest cranes are introduced in the market including India. Each of them is featured with special abilities and empowered with extra capacity still not all of them get as much response as expected. Since, cranes are preferred for hiring by the builders and contractors rather buying, it is expected from crane hiring companies to keep the stock of latest cranes. However, even crane service providers don’t keep all the latest stocks. The cause can be two – affordability and risk.

Latest cranes in India are often not affordable for some people, especially for small scale crane service providers. Buying and hiring latest cranes in India is costly for both small and large scale, yet large scale companies dare to buy them but small scale companies don’t. Also, the number of crane companies in India is high, the scarcity seems more enlarged. 

Secondly, it also involves risk. Risk is for the performance. Since they are new and performance review is not available, it raises question on its success. Any new heavy machine needs couple of months to provide review from the users. Since the budget of Indian crane service providing company is not that high, they don’t actually have the gut to buy them as in case of failure they will lose a great sum of money.  

However, that doesn’t mean that latest cranes are totally abandoned by Indians. There are many crane service providing companies which walk hand in hand with the technology to provide its customers with modern, powerful and extra equipped cranes.