Electronic Communication - have you kept the appropriate records

The use of Email in particular has become a common practice for parties to a contract to communicate. Just because you have saved the email that you have sent, if it comes to litigation, have you kept the necessary records?

In the Electronic Transactions Act (Qld) 2001 it provides that you must keep, in electronic form –

· The origin of the electronic communications;

· The destination of the electronic communication;

· When the electronic communication was sent;

· When the electronic communication was received.

We find that people tend to dispute whether they have received a certain email, and when they received it. To make it easy for people to determine this, there are a few rules set out in the Electronic Transactions Act 2001. We have briefly summarised these for you. These rules will apply unless your contract says something different.

· The time of receipt of the electronic communication is the time the electronic communication becomes capable of being retrieved by the addressee (that is the recipient) at an electronic address designated by the addressee; or

· The time of receipt of the electronic communication at another electronic address of the addressee is the time when both -

o The electronic communication has become capable of being retrieved by the addressee at that address and the addressee has become aware that the electronic communication has been sent to that address.

For more information refer to the Electronic Transactions Act (Qld) 2001 or speak to us.

Why should I review my Will?

Once we have completed a Will for a client we always advise them to keep the Will under regular review. There are numerous reasons why it might be necessary to amend the terms of your Will, perhaps the most obvious is simply that you change your mind about what you want to happen to your Estate. You may acquire more assets or you may sell some assets, you may wish to appoint a different person as the Executor of your Estate, a Beneficiary of your Estate may experience financial difficulty or become bankrupt, divorce or family breakdown may occur. Any or all of these factors may well prompt you to want to change the terms of your Will.

It is important to realise that unless and until you do actually change the terms of your Will then the Will that you have already written will apply in the event of your death. For complete and comprehensive service in relation to Wills & Estates contact Ian Field at Aylward Game.