Saunders & Co Solicitors

17/11/2025

We have uploaded photos of our new office location in Manly - please remember that appointments are required for office visits.

14/11/2025

We have relocated to our new premises - 179 Stratton Terrace Manly - by appointment only.

05/03/2024

We dream of a world where DIY Will kits would be sufficient for families to use while distributing estate assets.

Unfortunately, we have seen too many failures with them that lead to more legal work and costs for families compared to if the Will was completed by an experienced legal practitioner.

We recommend our clients have a Will drafted by a legal practitioner as opposed to a DIY Will kit for the following reasons:

1. there are less limitations;
2. the potential for error and mistakes is substantially reduced;
3. you obtain legal advice; and
4. you can customise the Will to suit your needs.

In addition, paying a little extra to have the Will drafted by a legal practitioner could save your family substantial costs and stress when you are no longer here. We find creating more costs and stress is usually the last thing our clients would like to gift to their family.

Give our office a call today on 07 3902 1177 or email [email protected] to discuss you Will with us.

21/02/2024

Making a Will is a vital task.

If you are considering making your first Will, updating your last Will or attending to your estate matters, you may wish to consider the following:

1. Who will be your executors;
2. Who will be your beneficiaries;
3. Who will be the guardian of your children;
4. What would you like to happen to your body;
5. What assets and liabilities do you have;
6. What would you like to happen with your superannuation; and
7. Do you have an Enduring Power of Attorney in place.

Give us a call on 07 3902 1177 or email as at [email protected] to draft your next Will.

13/11/2023

What is the usual deposit amount in Queensland?

The standard deposit amount is usually between 2.5% to 10% of the purchase price. Typically, a small deposit is made upfront and the remaining balance of the deposit is paid when the contract becomes unconditional. However, currently there are no rules and it is the amount that is negotiated between the parties, not greater than 10% and what the Buyer can afford.

What is the difference between the initial deposit and balance deposit in Queensland?

The Initial deposit is the deposit amount payable when the contract is accepted by both parties on an agreed date.

The Balance deposit is the deposit amount payable when the contract becomes unconditional.

If you would like our office to provide a free* review of your conveyancing Contract prior to ex*****on, contact our office on 07 3902 1177 or [email protected]

*terms and conditions apply

Saunders & Co Solicitors is a boutique firm that can provide you with straight forward legal advice at a reasonable price in the areas of Family Law, Wills, Deceased Estates, and Business Law. We are available by appointment only.

23/05/2023

Tenants in Common or Joint Tenants

When there is more than one owner of a property, the law requires their shares to be described within the title deed.

There are two main concepts for ownership of more than one person in Queensland - Joint Tenants and Tenants in Common.

Joint Tenants means is the joint owners own the whole of the property together with the other owners. The shares are dealt with dependently of the other owners. A joint tenant cannot sell their share to a third party, nor can they leave it in a will or mortgage it independently to a bank.

The most common scenario this is used for is that when one of the joint owners dies, the other owners inherit the deceased parties’ interest, so the remaining living parties continue as joint owners of 100% of the property. The property cannot be left in the terms of a will independently to any outside parties. You may see this the most in cases with life partners being shown as Joint Tenants on a title.

Tenants in Common is different. Each person’s share is dealt with independently of the others. A Tenant in Common can leave their share of the property to a third party in their will, or they can mortgage only their share to a bank, or they can sell it to someone else independently of the other owners.

Tenant in Common shares of ownership do not have to be even. However, the total percentage of all owners must add to 100%.

If the tenancy has not been correctly recorded on the title in the first instance, then the situation is not easily remedied and may involve payment of additional government transfer duty in some circumstances and further titles office and mortgage fees to update the title.

To ensure the title documents are prepared to correctly to reflect the intentions of the parties prior to Settlement and save you unnecessary stress and additional potential expenses later, give us a call on 07 3902 1177 or email us at [email protected]

15/03/2023

Have you experienced some major life changes recently – bought a home, marriage, divorce, death of a loved one, birth of a new family member etc.

Is your Will up to date?

Ensuring you have a Will drafted by a Solicitor, provides your family and friends a clear guide of how you want your assets to be distributed and can save them stress and costs when you pass over.

It can also be necessary to draft an Enduring Power of Attorney to appoint people you trust to make decisions for you, should you lose mental capacity to make decisions for yourself in the future. Have you considered who would be your attorney to make those important health and financial decisions for you?

Call our office on 07 3902 1177 or email at [email protected] to discuss your Will and Enduring Power of Attorney further with us.

Saunders & Co Solicitors is a boutique firm that can provide you with straight forward legal advice at a reasonable price in the areas of Family Law, Wills, Deceased Estates, and Business Law. We are available by appointment only.

09/03/2023

Before settlement, buyers should conduct searches to satisfy themselves that good title will be provided on settlement.

As soon as possible, a search of the property should be done at the Titles Queensland to see what mortgages or other encumbrances (e.g. easements) are registered in relation to the land and to confirm that the description of the land is properly recorded on the contract. A photocopy of the registered plan of the land may be obtained to ensure that the block of land being purchased is in fact what was inspected, and that its dimensions are correctly described in the contract.

After the land title searches are completed, the buyer should also carry out searches to find out further information about the property being purchased. The local authority is the best source of information and will provide particulars regarding:

1. the amount of rates payable on the property and whether or not they are paid up
2. the zoning or the use of land
3. sewerage and drainage plans for the property
4. any requirements for work to be done on the land
5. past flooding of the land
6. approvals for building improvements.

Email us at [email protected] or call on 07 3902 1177 to obtain the right searches for your next property purchase.

Saunders & Co Solicitors is a boutique firm that can provide you with straight forward legal advice at a reasonable price in the areas of Family Law, Wills, Deceased Estates, and Business Law. We are available by appointment only.

16/01/2023

We hope you all enjoyed the Festive Season.

We are back in the office and ready for 2023.

If you found a suitable property to purchase in Queensland or New South Wales during the Festive Season call us on 07 3902 1177 or email [email protected] for your free* contract review.

*Terms and conditions apply

19/12/2022

Hello Community!

We hope you are enjoying this upcoming holiday season. We are currently preparing to close our office during the festive season to spend time with our family and friends.

Saunders & Co Solicitors will be closed from 12pm Friday 23 December 2022 to 9am Monday 9 January 2023.

We would also like to take the opportunity to advise that if you would like your residential conveyancing contract reviewed prior to contract ex*****on email [email protected] or call us on 07 3902 1177 for your free review*.

Wishing you all happy holidays from us at Saunders & Co Solicitors.

*Terms and conditions apply.

22/11/2022

When someone passes away and leaves you in charge or if you are a beneficiary of a deceased estate there are a lot of things to consider and a number of obligations that can come your way.

Most, but not all estates will require a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. A Grant of Probate is obtained when there is a Will. Letters of Administration is obtained when there is no Will or there is another situation that has a arisen such as there is no executor or the executor has lost mental capacity etc.

We are here to help. We can do as much, or as little, of an estate’s administration as an executor may wish.

Contact us today on 07 3902 1177 or [email protected] to discuss your deceased estate matter further with us.