Areas we serve / Mornington Peninsula / Mount Martha
Lawyers and solicitors for Mount Martha
Buying, selling and downsizing, wills, powers of attorney and estates for Mount Martha clients, from our Frankston office about 20 minutes away.
What we do for Mount Martha clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Mount Martha clients
Mount Martha runs from the beach boxes and red bluffs on the bay to the Briars and the Balcombe Creek estuary, with established family homes and newer estates that have grown since the 1990s. It is part of the Mornington Peninsula Shire, which handles planning permits and rates.
We act for Mount Martha families buying and selling, for people moving to a smaller home, and for those planning their estates or looking after a parent’s affairs. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish, and we meet at our Frankston office or by video.
Downsizing
Moving to a smaller home often means selling and buying at the same time. Line up both settlement dates before you sign either contract.
Property, wills and estates in Mount Martha
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Contract and section 32 review, auctions and private sales, and settlement for houses, units and land in Mount Martha.
- 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.
- Cooling-off: for many private sales of residential property, you have 3 clear business days after signing to end the contract. There is none at a publicly advertised auction.
- Selling: most sellers now need an Australian Taxation Office clearance certificate by settlement, whatever the price. Apply early, because it can take some weeks to issue.
Selling the family home and buying something smaller, often at the same time.
- Two contracts: selling and buying at once means two settlement dates. We line them up, or negotiate the dates, so you are not left with two homes or none.
- Duty: land transfer duty is assessed on the purchase, and concessions apply to some homes, including for pensioners. We check whether you qualify.
- Units and townhouses: many smaller homes are part of an owners corporation. Read the rules, the fees and any special levies before you sign.
Wills, testamentary trusts, enduring powers of attorney and medical treatment decision makers, updated as your family changes.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young grandchildren where needed, 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).
- Medical treatment decision maker: the person who makes medical treatment decisions if you cannot, under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 (Vic).
- Superannuation: usually not covered by your will unless you have a valid binding death benefit nomination.
Probate and estate administration, family provision claims, and help when a parent can no longer manage.
- Executors: probate and administering the estate. Probate applications are filed online with the Supreme Court of Victoria.
- Family provision claims: must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration.
- 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 these at its Frankston venue.
Selling a parent’s home?
If the home was in a late parent’s sole name, the executor usually needs a grant of probate before the sale can settle. We can run the probate application and the sale together.
Downsizing in Mount Martha
Moving to a smaller home, step by step
From deciding to sell to settling into your new home. We handle both transactions and explain each step, in English or in Polish.
01
Plan the timing
Decide whether to sell first, buy first or do both together, and talk to your lender early if you may need bridging finance.
02
Prepare the sale
We prepare the contract of sale and the section 32 statement, and you apply for the tax clearance certificate most sellers now need by settlement.
03
Check the purchase
Before you sign for the new home, we review the contract, the section 32 statement and any owners corporation documents, and check the duty and any concession.
04
Line up settlements
We negotiate settlement dates so the sale settles on or before the purchase, and both go through an electronic platform such as PEXA.
05
Update your plans
A move is a good time to review your will, powers of attorney and superannuation nominations, so they match your new home and your family.
How we work
One lawyer, start to finish
Radek Dajer acts on your matter personally, from the first meeting to the final document, settlement or hearing.
Costs in writing
Before any work starts, we tell you in writing how we will charge and give you an estimate, and we update it if things change.
English or Polish
Meetings, advice and explanations of documents in English or in Polish.
Close to Mount Martha
About 20 minutes from Mount Martha via Peninsula Link, with parking nearby, or meet us by phone or video.
Visit us from Mount Martha
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
From Mount Martha
About 20 to 30 minutes by car via Peninsula Link or the Nepean Highway.
By bus
Route 781 runs from Mount Martha through Mornington and Mount Eliza to Frankston station, a short walk from our office.
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.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 20 to 30 minutes by car via Peninsula Link. Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email, so you may only need to come in to sign documents.
It depends on your finances and the market. Selling first gives certainty about what you can spend; buying first secures the new home but may need bridging finance. We can negotiate settlement dates and conditions that reduce the risk either way.
Since 6 January 2026, an interim Erosion Management Overlay (EMO7) has covered land across the Peninsula that the Shire has mapped as highly susceptible to landslides. Where it applies, most development, removing vegetation and altering drainage will likely need a planning permit. The planning property report shows whether it applies.
Not always, but it is a good time to review it, together with your powers of attorney and superannuation nominations. Review your will after buying or selling significant assets, and otherwise every three to five years.
Usually, once the executor has a grant of probate, if the home was in the deceased’s sole name. If it was owned as joint tenants, it passes to the surviving owner without a grant. See probate and estate administration.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language services.
Wills and property insights
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Talk to us about your Mount Martha matter
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We will explain your options, the next steps and how we charge. Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.
