Newsletter December 2004Welcome to the third edition of the Flint Forensics Pty Ltd semi-annual newsletter. This newsletter is to help keep you informed of the latest developments relevant to Life Policies and personal and commercial litigation support. It is a free service provided by Flint Forensics Pty Ltd. Things have been busy the past six months, Bruce Flint has made significant contributions to the industry with a presentation to the ALUCA NSW Claims Management Group late last year on the Day to Day Application of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988. In September 2004 Bruce Flint made presentations at CPA Australia Seminars in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane on the Legal Dimensions of Fraud: Maintaining the Integrity of Your Evidence. You can review the presentations at www.flintforensics.com.au/media.html. The stand-out achievements for 2004 was Bruce Flint's completion of the Graduate Certificate of Forensic Studies majoring in Accounting at Monash University in Melbourne and becoming a Certified Member with the Association of Fraud Examiners. Index
Life InsuranceLegal Precedent - Trust DistributionsWhy are trust distributions to other parties of the insured treated as a legitimate income splitting arrangement? Any trust distribution to other parties not earning that income is included in the insured's earned income. The court concluded that the meaning of income from "personal exertion" included income distributed to others through a trust in Nosic v Zurich Australia Life Insurance (1995) QCA 195. In summary, when financial assessments are carried out, the insured is attributed 100 per cent of the trust earnings if they are the sole income earner of the trust. Legal Precedent - Partnership Profits The legal precedent regarding partnership profits are dealt in Commissioner of Taxation v Everett (1980) 143 CLR 440. Legal Precedent - Company Profits It is my understanding that there is no legal precedent regarding the attribution of profit from a company to an insured under an income protection policy. FICSHot Items for an Issued FocusThere are no issues of note. High Court JudgementsNo matters of note. Federal Court JudgementsNo matters of note. Litigation MattersThe Rules of Evidence in BriefEvidence law can be used to prove facts or it sets the standard by which facts must be proved in order for a claim or charge to succeed. Rationale for evidence lawCourts have developed rules about what evidence is received and how. The primary rule of evidence law is that evidence must be relevant. However, there is an overriding prerequisite that evidence must be admissible. At common law all relevant evidence is prima facie admissible, unless made inadmissible by a further exclusionary rule. Sources of evidence law Evidence law differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction which has been developed from common law, however statutes such as the evidence acts and crimes acts in each state should be examined. How facts are proved The law of evidence dictates how facts in issue can be proved which are:
More on how facts are proved will be explained further in the next edition. New Additions to Web SiteDownloadsI have included the links to voice recorder software for formal taped factual interview conducted by Flint Forensics. A CD of the taped interview is provided to the client and interviewee on completion of the consultant or expert witness report. The software can be downloaded to listen to the taped interview. Administrative and Marketing ChangesBruce Flint MembershipsBruce Flint became a Certified Member with the Association of Fraud Examiners. Bruce Flint New Qualifications and ServicesBruce Flint obtained a Graduate Certificate of Forensic Studies majoring in Accounting from Monash University in Melbourne. It's all about money trademark Flint Forensics was successful in trade marking, "It's all about money". In the next edition, look forward to more. Talk to you soon, Bruce Flint
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