Legal Updates
Legal update: The Collaborative Divorce: A new approach
Is the collaborative approach right for you? Do you trust yourself and your partner to prioritise the needs of your family? Do you trust yourself and your partner to be open about your financial situation? Are you able to communicate with your partner openly and…Read More
Are your employees stressed at work?
“In our daily work, there are many factors which may exert great stress on us, such as heavy workload or mundane job, poor working environment, long working hours, no clear working instructions, no job security, inharmonious relationships with colleagues and supervisors etc.” Labour Department, Occupational…Read More
Legal wedding checklist when preparing for marriage
Marriage is a legal matter. An important part of marital planning is to ensure that the implications of marriage on your legal status are well considered with ample time before the wedding. Planning takes time. Time will be short as the big day approaches. Consider…Read More
Pre-nuptial Agreements FAQs, examples
With marital planning, wealth acquired by one’s own hard efforts before marriage could be protected from the financial consequences of divorce. This firm has seen an increased client demand for protection of wealth acquired before marriage including family businesses, interests in family trusts, investment properties,…Read More
Will your inheritance count towards the matrimonial pot in your divorce?
The guidelines for how judges should deal with financial provision in a divorce case are set out by the Court of Final Appeal in the landmark case of DD v LKW (2010) 13 HKCFAR 537. Generally after providing for the needs of both spouses any…Read More
Legal update: Government proposes compulsory reinstatement and re-engagement of unreasonably dismissed employees
The Government published in the Gazette on 12 February 2016 the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2016. The Bill seeks to amend the Employment Ordinance (Cap 57) (“EO”) to allow the Labour Tribunal (the “LT”) to order an employer to reinstate or re-engage an employee where the…Read More
Marrying rich? Better safe than sorry.
Ranking 3rd in Forbes’s “Cities With The Most Billionaires In 2015”, it is common for married couples in Hong Kong to live lavishly through the generosity of family members but with no absolute entitlement to wealth. This begs the million dollar question, for spouses who…Read More
Improperly obtained documents in divorce proceedings
For the court or parties to reach a decision on financial relief, parties are required to disclose their financial positions to each other fully and frankly. The fight over financial relief in divorce cases can be long and bitter. If you know or suspect that…Read More
Validity and need for registration of foreign marriage in Hong Kong
When people speak of a white wedding, they used to mean the colour of the bride’s dress. Now they are just as likely to be talking about the colour of the sand on the exotic beach where the ceremony was held. A survey has claimed…Read More
Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Cap 623)
A. INTRODUCTION The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Cap 623) (the “Ordinance”) came into effect on 1 January 2016. The Ordinance modifies the doctrine of “privity of contract” which states that only those who are named in the contract and have signed it are…Read More
Legal update: The Competition Ordinance – Leniency Policy
INTRODUCTION The Competition Ordinance (Cap 619) (the “Ordinance”) came into force on 14 December 2015. Since our previous overview of the Ordinance (click here), the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) and the Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) have been formally established. The Enforcement Policy published by the…Read More
Legal update: Tax update: Hong Kong is removed from Italy’s blacklists
Following the tax treaty between Italy and Hong Kong that was entered into on 14th January 2013, Italy removed Hong Kong from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions (also know as “Italian blacklists”) on 30th November 2015. It is expected that this development will boost…Read More