We offer fixed fees when buying or selling a business.
The buying or selling of a business involves a number of possible elements. Legal fees start from $400 plus GST.
We can provide a fixed fee to assist with each all or any of these processes
By way of example we estimate the following costs in a typical transaction
| Drafting a business sale Contract | $500 plus GST |
| Advice before signing a Business Contract | $500 plus GST |
| Negotiating changes to a business Sale contract | $800 plus GST |
| Obtain consent to the assignment of a lease and drafting or negotiating a Deed of Assignment, excluding negotiating amendments/variations to the lease or terms of the proposed Deed | Fixed Fee – $1500 plus GST |
| Reviewing a 40 page lease and providing written advice and a legal advice report | Fixed Fee -$1600 – Plus GST |
| Carrying out the terms of the Business Contract including preparing settlement figures and attending to settlement | Fixed Fee – $1700 – Plus GST |
Generally when we are asked to assist with a number of elements at the same time then the individual cost is reduced further.
Advice to a tenant – Commercial Lease
In Queensland there is no widely accepted standard commercial lease. It is common for tenants to unwittingly give indemnities and make promises including promises to make structural repairs, and cover costs and expenses associated with a building.
The only way to know what a lease requires you to do and to ensure that you understand all promises given, is to read the entire lease. Most retail or commercial leases are approximately 50 page documents. Very few clauses are inserted for the protection of the tenant.
The queensland government require tenants who are signing Retail shop leases to obtain legal advice before they sign a lease.
Tenants of commercial and industrial offices are not required to get legal advice however the risk is the same.
If you are entering into a retail shop lease we can review your lease and provide you with a Legal Advice Certificate for $1600 plus GST if your lease is is no longer than 50 pages. This is very inexpensive insurance against unintended consequences.
We can assist you with execution of your lease for a further $200 plus GST
If you have read your lease and you believe that you understand most of it you may save some cost by examining only those clauses that cause you concern. We can meet with you (up to one hour)to answer your specific questions for $400 plus GST. This service is not available for retail shop leases which are required to be read in full. We recommend that you obtain legal advice on the full document in every instance.
Costs
| Drafting a Commercial/Retail lease for a landlord | $1600 plus GST |
| Reading a Commercial/Retail lease for a tenant and providing a certificate | $1600 plus GST |
| Transferring A commercial Lease/Retail Shop Lease. (excluding variations) | $1200 plus GST /$1500 plus GST |
| Obtaining Landlord Consent to Transfer a Commercial Lease/Retail Shop Lease for a tenant or business (excluding variations) | $1200 plus GST/$1500 plus GST |
Our aim is for our clients to avoid litigation. The primary focus of our firm is commercial transactions. Nevertheless commercial transactions sometimes result in litigation. We are able to brief any barrister in Queensland and we have as necessary briefed some of Queensland’s best Barristers including Senior Queens Counsel.
We generally do not accept instructions to proceed to court where the subject matter of that dispute is less than $25,000.
A dispute relating to a sum of $25,000 or less can often be heard in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. If you have a dispute of this kind we can assist you to prepare your claim or defence however we are not permitted to appear in this jurisdiction, as lawyers are excluded.
Litigation can be very expensive. Some litigation can be resolved and other litigation must proceed to court as quickly as possible so that it can be resolved without unnecessary cost. We are business people first and lawyers second. We don’t like to see our clients involved in litigation but we will fight hard for your rights and we will put to work Queensland’s best barristers to achieve the best result possible.
We charge between $400 and $500 per hour plus GST for work relating to commercial litigation. Our aim is always to minimise the hours worked on any litigation. Sometimes this means negotiating a solution however in other circumstances this may mean filing or demanding a claim, at the earliest possible time. Making of early well thought out offer can often be used to obtain a legal costs order against a troublesome litigant who wants to proceed without basis and therefore can apply significant pressure for a settlement. Ask us how!”
A couple can prepare mutual wills for under $300 each, if it is not necessary to deal with business assets and structures and the family is not blended. Modern families look very different today. 30 years ago blended families were rare and it was a simple matter for a parent to leave their assets to their spouse and then to their children. Families are now far more complex. In a second marriage or defacto relationship parents must balance the interests of both their biological children and a new partner. Anyone making a will should consider the possibility that claims may be made against their estate. It may not be possible to ensure that children receive their inheritance if assets are left to a new partner. Carefully thought needs to be given to how an inheritance can be protected for children while making sure that obligations are met to a new spouse or defacto partner.
It is generally unrealistic to expect that a new spouse will adequately protect assets for the biological children of a spouse over long periods of time. Indeed it may not be possible for a spouse to provide that protection.
There are a number of strategies that can be used to help protect the inheritance for biological children including:
The most important element however is good planning.
If you wish to sit down and talk through these issues and look at how we have dealt with these issues in the past we would enjoy the chance to assist you. These are challenges that we all face.
We have been working with Franchisors and Franchisees for nearly 20 years. Including transactions involving publicly listed companies such as Luxottica and Oakley.We have built franchise systems from their inception.We also provide advice to franchisees.Franchising is a complex area of law.The cost to establish a franchise system and prepare all legal documentation is between $8000 and $12,000.Ask about our concept program to see if your franchise concept is eligible for a discount in legal fees.
