Services

Beckhaus Legal Services – Sunshine Coast

Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Sometimes disputes are unavoidable and often involve a breach of contract, defamation or negligence. Our civil litigation lawyers deal with disputes involving neighbours, consumers and suppliers, business partners, landlords and tenants, buyers and sellers of property, home owners and builders, executors and beneficiaries of a deceased’s estate, and creditors and debtors.

There are also alternative ways to resolve a dispute that may be better suited to your matter without resorting to court proceedings. For example, mediation can be an opportunity for the parties to discuss the matter in a neutral environment with a qualified mediator acting as an independent third person. This gives parties the opportunity to consider whether it can be settled before proceeding to a trial before a Magistrate or a Judge.

Limitation periods apply when it comes to making a claim or commencing proceedings, so it’s important to seek legal advice quickly before time runs out.

The staff at Beckhaus Legal are experienced in litigation and dispute resolution and would be happy to help.

Deceased Estates

After death, the administration of a loved one’s estate can be quite overwhelming. The friendly team at Beckhaus Legal can help you with all aspects of deceased estates, from applying for a grant of probate to advising on the entitlements of the next of kin if someone dies without leaving a will, right through to assisting the executors with calling in the assets and making distributions to beneficiaries.

It is not uncommon for someone who has been appointed as the executor to seek assistance from a solicitor when administering the estate. This includes completing the forms to have the deceased’s real estate transferred to the beneficiaries’ names, or transferring shares owned by the deceased to the beneficiaries. Depending on the location of the deceased’s assets, the executor may need to apply to the Supreme Court of another jurisdiction to re-seal a grant of probate.

Some executors may not feel confident in taking on the responsibilities of an executor so they may want to apply to the court to have someone else appointed.

And, occasionally, family members may feel that they have been unfairly excluded from a loved one’s will and so there are avenues to take legal action and make a claim against part of the estate.

The staff at Beckhaus Legal are experienced in all types of estate matters and estate litigation and are able to assist you with all of this and more.

Wills and Estate Planning

Planning for your family’s future once you have passed away is extremely important. Taking the time now to seek legal advice and to prepare a Will can save your family unnecessary stress and expense during a very difficult time. The staff at Beckhaus Legal can advise you about estate and probate laws, choosing executors and guardians and what you might want to include in your will.

Beckhaus Legal can also store your Will in safe custody at our Nambour office at no extra cost and provide you with a number of complimentary documents to make the executor’s job as easy as possible when the time comes.

For simple Wills, Beckhaus Legal offers the following prices to their clients;

Will for husband and wife/partners: $880.00 including GST
Single Will: $550.00 including GST

For more complicated Wills, call us or send us an email for a quote today.

We do not provide advice in relation to complex testamentary trusts.

Powers of Attorney and Advanced Health Directives

A General Power of Attorney, an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) and an Advanced Health Directive are the three types of documents used in Queensland to appoint others to make certain decisions on your behalf.

The staff at Beckhaus Legal can assist you with deciding when to appoint someone else to make decisions on your behalf, who that person should be and what type of decisions they should be allowed to make for you.

Call us now to help you make the arrangements so you have things in place before you perhaps decide to travel or need to go into hospital. We offer our clients the following prices:

EPOA for husband and wife/partners: $270.00 including GST
Back-up EPOA for husband and wife/partners: $195.00 including GST
Single EPOA: $195.00 including GST
Single back-up EPOA: $125.00 including GST
Advanced Health Directive: $190.00 including GST

Family Law

Legal issues resulting from a separation can be extremely stressful and expensive and we understand it’s something most couples would prefer to avoid.

Beckhaus Legal offers a wide range of services in relation to family law matters. Our aim is to provide the personalised advice to help you resolve your matter as quickly and as amicably as possible. We are committed to working with you to identify your objectives, represent your interests and help you secure a fair and equitable outcome in both property settlements and children matters.

Whether you are someone who has complex business or property structures or an individual with a smaller property pool, we can help you with the division of your property and any parenting arrangements you may require for your children.

Criminal Matters

If you have been charged with a criminal offence you don’t have to face it alone. Facing criminal charges is a daunting experience for both individuals and their families. The outcome of your Court case could potentially be life changing, so it is important that your matter is being handled by an experienced and professional solicitor.

At Beckhaus Legal we are committed to doing the right thing by our clients and working to vigorously defend their interests. We will advise you of your rights, get you ready for your Court appearance and explain the Court procedures so you understand what’s happening. We regularly appear in all Court jurisdictions in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast. We can assist with all areas of criminal law ranging from small shop stealing charges through to charges for serious violent offences.

The staff at Beckhaus Legal can also help with traffic offences (including drink driving and special hardship orders) and white collar crime offences (including tax fraud, employee theft, various offences under the Corporations Act, Customs Act or Workplace Health and Safety Laws).

Traffic Offences

Beckhaus Legal regularly represents people charged with traffic offences. The traffic laws in Queensland can be difficult to navigate and many mistakenly think they can achieve their desired result by representing themselves in court.

The laws in Queensland relating to drink driving and traffic offences are complex and change regularly. Whether you’ve been caught drink driving, driving on a suspended or disqualified licence, or you’ve been charged with careless or dangerous driving, we can help. If you need to apply for a work licence or a special hardship order, we can advise you on your eligibility, prepare your documents and represent you in court. If you have been disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence for a period of more than two years, we can help you make an application to the court for the removal of the disqualification.

If your driver licence is important to you, competent advice and representation is essential.

What Our Clients Say

In 2017/2018, I was put in the unpleasant situation of having my membership terminated from a local sporting organisation (Nambour Bowls Club). They then proceeded to ban me from the premises, which ensured I would not be able to compete in any inter-club competitions held at their venue.

Through a friend (retired solicitor), I was introduced to Beckhaus Legal. I had two choices: walk away from bowls or take legal action in the Supreme Court. Kristen was very open with me and advised that although I had damning evidence against the Club, there were certainly no guarantees in the Supreme Court. During the weeks leading up to the court case and also during the period waiting for a decision, Kristen and her team were always available to answer questions and also give advice on handling situations, e.g the media. When the decision was handed down, 4 months had lapsed. A very difficult period, however with such a great result it had been worth the effort, I had been vindicated in the Supreme Court. A great outcome, achieved by a great team at Beckhaus Legal.

At all times Beckhaus Legal showed professionalism and empathy with regards to my situation, and I sincerely thank them for the many hours spent with me. Beckhaus Legal are a legal firm that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Robyn Perren

"It's with pleasure I can share our pleasant experience with you. Our settlement was on 23rd November 2015. You kept updating us & during times of challenges you were there for us keeping us informed & very professionally. We can highly recommend Beckhaus Legal. This company went the extra mile to assist us in our transition, well done we are very happy with the work you did for us."

Paul Kind

"A couple of years ago Kristen had handled the probate of my mothers will. I was very impressed with them, so I chose them to look after a new transaction. They kept me up to date with everything that was happening & ensured that I fully understood all my options. I highly recommend the team at Beckhaus Legal."

Gillian Hennessy

"I first heard of Beckhaus Legal through my role with Kureelpa Public Hall Committee, which needs legal advice from time to time. Kristen was so helpful and generous towards our community group that I thought her philanthropy would be a positive indicator of how she may respect private clients.

I was correct! We recently needed renewal of wills for both my husband and myself and also for my ninety year old mother. Power of Attorney was also needed. At mum’s age, she goes quite slowly about her thinking but they were patient and kind and most respectful of her needs. Kristen and Sophie were very willing to accommodate our group of three with a minimal number of trips to the office. They have efficiently followed through with signings and I am more than happy to recommend Beckhaus Legal to Community Groups and Individuals who require their many services."

Dianne Fitzgerald

"Beckhaus Legal have supported me through: House Settlement and Trade Marking of a Business Logo. In both experiences I have found the team to be extremely professional to deal with. Furthermore, the team is friendly and approachable and forever happy to assist. I highly recommend their services and will continue to use them in the future."

Joanne Warne

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