Practical Legal Solutions from an Experienced Solicitor
In addition to our accounting and taxation services, Flanigan’s Accounting & Legal offers select legal services through our principal, Gary Flanigan, who has practised as a solicitor for more than 40 years. This combination of legal and accounting expertise allows us to provide integrated advice that considers the full picture of your affairs.
Our legal services focus on areas where practical, cost-effective solutions make a genuine difference to our clients. We’re not a large law firm, and we don’t try to be. Instead, we offer experienced guidance in specific areas where our expertise can help you achieve your objectives without unnecessary expense.
Wills
A properly drafted Will is one of the most important documents you’ll ever have prepared. It ensures your wishes are clearly documented and legally enforceable, providing certainty for your loved ones during what will already be a difficult time.
We prepare Wills for individuals and couples, taking the time to understand your circumstances, your assets, and your wishes. Whether your situation is straightforward or involves complexities such as blended families, business interests, or specific bequests, we draft documents that accurately reflect your intentions and comply with Victorian legal requirements.
For clients who also use our accounting services, we bring valuable insight into your financial position and asset structure. This integration helps ensure your Will works effectively within your broader financial arrangements, including any trusts, company structures, or superannuation interests.
Powers of Attorney
Planning for the possibility that you may one day be unable to manage your own affairs is a responsible step that protects both you and your family. Powers of Attorney allow you to appoint trusted individuals to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself.
We prepare both Enduring Powers of Attorney (Financial) and Enduring Powers of Attorney (Medical Treatment), explaining the differences and helping you make informed decisions about who should hold these important responsibilities. We also discuss the scope of powers you wish to grant and any limitations you may want to include.
These documents are often prepared alongside Wills as part of a comprehensive estate planning exercise. However, they serve different purposes—Powers of Attorney operate while you’re alive but incapacitated, whereas your Will takes effect after death. Both are essential components of a complete plan.
Probate and Estate Administration
When someone passes away, their estate typically requires formal legal processes before assets can be distributed to beneficiaries. We assist executors with obtaining Grants of Probate and navigating the administrative requirements of estate administration.
The probate process can feel overwhelming for executors, particularly when they’re also grieving. We provide practical guidance on the steps involved, the documentation required, and the timeline to expect. Our aim is to make a difficult process as straightforward as possible while ensuring all legal requirements are properly met.
For clients whose deceased family members were also clients of our accounting practice, we can often streamline the process by drawing on our existing knowledge of their financial affairs. This continuity can significantly reduce the time and effort required to identify and value estate assets.
Business Structures and Commercial Advice
Choosing and implementing the right structure for your business has significant legal and tax implications. As both a solicitor and accountant, Gary provides integrated advice on business structures that considers both the legal and taxation dimensions of your decision.
We assist with establishing new structures, restructuring existing arrangements, and documenting the legal agreements that govern business relationships. Our services include partnership agreements, shareholder agreements, unit holder agreements, and other commercial documentation essential to well-organised business arrangements.
Commercial Contracts
Clear, well-drafted contracts protect your interests and reduce the risk of disputes. We assist with reviewing and drafting a range of commercial agreements, helping ensure your business dealings are properly documented.
While we don’t handle complex commercial litigation or major corporate transactions, we provide practical assistance with the everyday contracts that small and medium businesses encounter. This includes supply agreements, service contracts, terms of trade, and similar commercial documentation.
Family Law: Binding Financial Agreements
When relationships end, the division of assets can become contentious and expensive. Legal fees in contested family law matters routinely run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars—money that could otherwise go to building your future.
We offer an alternative approach for couples who are prepared to negotiate a fair division of their assets without proceeding to court. Working with both parties, we help develop and document a Binding Financial Agreement that reflects a negotiated settlement you can both accept.
This approach isn’t suitable for every situation. It requires both parties to engage constructively and commit to reaching agreement. But for couples who can work together despite their personal difficulties, it offers a path to resolution that preserves more of your joint assets and allows you both to move forward sooner.
It’s important to understand that under family law, each party must receive independent legal advice before signing a Binding Financial Agreement. We can prepare the agreement and guide the negotiation process, but the law requires that at least one party obtain separate advice from another lawyer before the agreement becomes binding. This requirement exists to protect both parties.
Parenting Arrangements
For separating couples with children, reaching agreement on parenting arrangements is often the most important—and most sensitive—issue to resolve. We can assist parents who are able to communicate constructively in documenting agreed parenting arrangements.
As with financial matters, we encourage an approach that prioritises agreement over conflict. Children benefit when their parents can cooperate, and avoiding adversarial court processes generally leads to better outcomes for the whole family.
Our Approach to Legal Services
We bring the same philosophy to our legal work that defines our accounting services: experienced professionals providing personalised service with a focus on practical, cost-effective outcomes. We’re direct about what we can help with and what falls outside our practice areas, and we’ll refer you to appropriate specialists when your needs require it.
If you have a legal matter you’d like to discuss, please contact our office to arrange a consultation with Gary. We’ll let you know whether we can assist and, if so, what the process and likely costs will involve.
Other Services
What You Can Expect
Engage our Legal Services for practical, experienced guidance on matters such as wills, powers of attorney, probate, business structures, commercial contracts, and selected family law agreements. We provide clear, cost-effective advice that integrates legal and financial insight, helping you protect your interests, reduce risk, and make confident decisions.