Areas we serve / Frankston City / Frankston
Lawyers and solicitors in Frankston
Commercial leases for landlords and tenants, business and contracts, property and apartments, wills and will disputes, and family law, from our office at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston. In English or Polish.
What we do for Frankston clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Commercial, property and estate lawyers in Frankston
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, a short walk from Frankston station and close to the Frankston Magistrates’ Court, VCAT’s Frankston venue and the Civic Centre. The city centre is changing quickly: it is one of Victoria’s 10 pilot activity centres, and council reports about 770 new apartments in developments completed or approved there.
We act for landlords and tenants of shops, offices and industrial units, for local businesses, for buyers and sellers of homes and apartments, and for families with wills, estates and separation. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish. Before any work starts, we tell you in writing how we will charge and give you an estimate.
Local note
Planning permits, rates and local laws for Frankston go to Frankston City Council at the Civic Centre, 30 Davey Street, a few minutes from our office.
Frankston city centre
Buying or leasing in the city centre
In late 2025, council reported that one completed and seven approved developments could add about 770 apartments to the Frankston city centre. Before you buy, lease or build there, check these points.
Tap or point to the gold markers on the drawing.
Leases, business, property and wills in Frankston
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Lease lawyers for Frankston landlords and tenants of shops, offices and industrial units: new leases, variations, assignments, surrenders and disputes.
- Disclosure: for a retail lease, the landlord must give the tenant the Small Business Commission’s information brochure when negotiations start, and a disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 14 days before the lease is entered into.
- Variation: a deed of variation for changes to rent, term, permitted use or area, with advice on whether the change affects disclosure, an option or a guarantor.
- Assignment: a retail landlord may refuse consent only on limited grounds, and is taken to consent if it does not respond within 28 days of a complete request.
- Surrender: a deed of surrender to end the lease early by agreement, covering any surrender payment, make-good and the return of security.
- Disputes: most retail lease disputes must go to mediation at the Victorian Small Business Commission before VCAT can hear them. We act for landlords and tenants at the mediation and, if it does not settle, at VCAT. Non-retail lease disputes are generally heard in the courts.
Commercial lawyers for Frankston businesses: contracts and terms of trade, buying and selling a business, unpaid invoices, and advice when a business is in financial difficulty.
- Terms of trade: credit terms, late payment interest, personal guarantors and retention of title clauses, which generally need registering on the Personal Property Securities Register.
- Buying or selling a business: due diligence on the business, its contracts, staff and assets, the sale contract and restraint of trade, and assignment of the premises lease.
- Unpaid invoices: start with a clear letter of demand. The Magistrates’ Court hears claims up to $100,000, and VCAT hears disputes about goods and services.
- Statutory demands: a creditor owed a due and payable debt of at least $4,000 can serve a statutory demand on a company. The company has 21 days from service to pay or apply to court to set it aside, and the court cannot extend that time.
Conveyancing for houses, units, apartments and commercial property in Frankston, including off-the-plan purchases in the city centre.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls on the land, including any overlay, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
- Off-the-plan: the deposit is capped at 10% and held in trust until registration, and buyers have rights if the plan changes materially or is not registered in time.
- Owners corporations: units and townhouses with common property are managed by an owners corporation. Read the rules, the fees and any special levies before you sign.
- Commercial property: leases, GST and going concern sales, and whether the property has entered the commercial and industrial property tax regime.
Wills lawyers for Frankston families: wills, powers of attorney and probate, updated as your family changes.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young children and testamentary trusts, including for blended families.
- Enduring power of attorney: appoints someone to make financial or personal decisions for you, and continues if you lose capacity. Made under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic).
- Executors: probate and administering the estate. Probate applications are filed online with the Supreme Court of Victoria.
- A parent who can no longer manage: if they made an enduring power of attorney, the attorney can act under it. If not, an application to VCAT for an administration or guardianship order may be needed. VCAT hears most of these in the Melbourne CBD, and some at a venue closer to home, such as Frankston.
Contesting a will in Victoria: family provision claims, challenges to the will itself and disputes with executors. We act for claimants, beneficiaries and executors.
- Family provision claims: under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), an eligible person can ask the court for provision, or further provision, from an estate. Eligible people include a spouse or domestic partner, children and stepchildren, and in some cases others who depended on the deceased.
- Time limit: a family provision application must be made within 6 months after the date of the grant. The court can extend the time, but an application to extend must be made before the estate is finally distributed.
- Challenges to a will: doubts about the will-maker’s capacity, knowledge and approval, undue influence, fraud, or whether the will was properly signed and witnessed. A caveat can be lodged to stop a grant while a genuine dispute is resolved.
- Executors: an executor who distributes within 6 months after the grant, or after learning that a family provision claim has been made, can be personally liable if the claim succeeds.
Separation, divorce, property settlement and parenting arrangements for Frankston families.
- Separation and divorce: are separate legal steps under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). You do not need to be divorced to settle property or parenting arrangements, and a divorce does not settle them for you.
- Time limits: married couples must apply to the court within 12 months after their divorce takes effect, and de facto couples within 2 years after the relationship ends.
- Consent orders: once you agree, the court can make your agreement into binding orders, usually without anyone attending court.
- Courts: the nearest registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is at 53-55 Robinson Street, Dandenong.
Need a notary in Frankston?
Radek Dajer is also a notary public. Notarial appointments are held in person at our Frankston office, in English or in Polish.
Leasing in Frankston
A commercial lease, step by step
From the first offer to the end of the lease. We act for landlords and tenants and explain each step, in English or in Polish.
01
Agree the terms
Rent, term, options, outgoings, incentives and make-good are agreed in principle, often in a letter of offer, before the lease is drafted.
02
Disclosure
For a retail lease, the landlord gives the tenant the Small Business Commission’s brochure when negotiations start, and a disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 14 days before the lease is entered into.
03
Review and negotiate
We review the lease and the disclosure statement and negotiate the clauses that cause most disputes: rent reviews, outgoings, make-good and options.
04
During the lease
Outgoings must be estimated in advance and reconciled each year, and the landlord must remind a retail tenant of an option deadline at least 3 months before it closes.
05
Ending or selling
At the end of the lease the make-good clause applies. To leave early, the usual routes are a negotiated surrender or an assignment to the buyer of your business.
How we work
Visit our Frankston office
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
By train or bus
A short walk from Frankston station, the end of the Frankston and Stony Point lines and the main bus interchange.
From around Frankston City
Usually 10 to 15 minutes by car from Seaford, Frankston South, Carrum Downs and Langwarrin.
Parking
Wilson Parking at 453 Nepean Highway, street parking on the Nepean Highway, and the car parks at McDonald’s across the road and at Dan Murphy’s.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
At 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, a short walk from Frankston station, with parking nearby. Much of the work can also be done by phone, video and email.
Both. We act for landlords and tenants of shops, offices, warehouses and factories, and for buyers and sellers of businesses where a lease is being assigned. See commercial leases.
Check the option clause and its deadline now. Under a retail lease the landlord must remind you at least 3 months before the option closes, but under other leases a missed deadline can cost you the option. We review the lease and negotiate any new terms.
Not unilaterally, unless the lease or the law gives you that right. The usual routes are a negotiated surrender, or an assignment of the lease to an incoming tenant, often on the sale of the business. Both require the landlord’s involvement.
If you are an eligible person, you may be able to make a family provision claim, which must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate. A will can also be challenged if there are doubts about how it was made or signed. Get advice early, because the time limit is strict. See probate and estate administration.
Many are resolved by agreement, and agreed arrangements can be made into consent orders, usually without anyone attending court. When court is needed, the nearest registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is at 53-55 Robinson Street, Dandenong.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language page.
Leasing and business insights
The Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) gives retail tenants in Victoria important protections. Learn about disclosure statements, minimum lease terms, rent reviews, and how to resolve disputes at VCAT.
Australian directors owe clear legal duties under the Corporations Act 2001. Learn what those duties are, what the business judgment rule means, and how to avoid personal liability.
When a debtor fails to pay, knowing the correct legal steps can mean the difference between recovering your money and writing off the debt entirely.
Signing a commercial lease is one of the biggest financial commitments a business can make. A lawyer can identify risks before you are locked into a long-term obligation.
Talk to us about your Frankston matter
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We reply to every enquiry within one business day, by phone, email or text, whichever you prefer.
What happens next
- Send the form.
- We reply within one business day.
- We arrange a time to talk, or ask for any information or documents we need first.
Prefer to talk? Call 1800 776 529, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.